Rusthall
Encyclopedia
Rusthall is a village located approximately 2 miles to the west of the spa town of Tunbridge Wells
in Kent
. The village grew up around a large property called "Rusthall" located on the Rusthall Common en route to the neighbouring village of Langton Green
.
Today the village is home to some sandstone outcrops on Harmony Street, one of which is called "Toad Rock" since it is shaped like a toad. The centre of the village is mainly Victorian and is surrounded by commonland.
Jeremy Menuhin, son of Yehudi Menuhin
was the previous Lord of the Manor
of Rusthall. In early 2008 this title, along with the common land and the Pantiles
in Tunbridge Wells was purchased by TargetFollow, a property development company based in Norwich.
is in a grant of lands by Egeburth, an Anglo-Saxon
or Jutish king of Kent
, to Diora
, Bishop of Rochester
in the 8th century.
During the 17th century, lodging houses appeared in Rusthall to accommodate visitors to the newly-discovered chalybeate spring at The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. During the reign of King Charles I
, Rusthall tended to attract visitors from the Puritan
faction, whilst the Cavalier
faction tended to stay at nearby Southborough
.
Following the end of the English Civil War
, a time during which the Puritans took a hostile attitude to most forms of amusement, the waters at Tunbridge Wells became popular once more, and further accommodation houses were provided in Rusthall. The village also gained an assembly room and bowling green, in order to provide amusement for visitors, making it a more popular destination than Southborough, which could only offer a bowling green and coffee house.
During the 18th century, Rusthall fell out of favour, following the emergence of Tunbridge Wells town, which could now offer ample accommodation closer to the waters. Following this shift in popularity, some Rusthall houses, which had been built on moveable sledges, were wheeled to be relocated to the more fashionable Mount Sion area of Tunbridge Wells.
, Groombridge
, Langton
and Speldhurst) when it was formed in 1894. Four years later, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council took control over Rusthall, apparently against the parish council's wishes, and the village formed part of the unparished Tunbridge Wells urban area between 1898 and 2011.
On 23 February 2011, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council agreed that Rusthall should become a civil parish
and have its own parish council. The first parish council election will take place in May 2011.
The local Member of Parliament for the Tunbridge Wells constituency is Greg Clark
MP.
The village is around 30 miles (48.3 km) south-east of London
.
The rock formation is not man-made, as was at first suspected, but was eroded into its current shape by wind action during the Ice Age. The area has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
As of the 2001 UK census, the Rusthall electoral ward had a population of 4,776. The ethnicity was 97.9% white, 0.7% mixed race, 1.2% Asian, 0% black and 0.2% other.
The place of birth of residents was 94.5% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.4% other Western European countries, and 3.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 74.8% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.1% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.9% Muslim. 16.8% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 6.9% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 43.6% in full-time employment, 12.9% in part-time employment, 11.1% self-employed, 1.8% unemployed, 2.1% students with jobs, 2.8% students without jobs, 12.8% retired, 7.2% looking after home or family, 3.7% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 18.6% retail, 9.3% manufacturing, 9% construction, 13% real estate, 11.5% health and social work, 8% education, 6.9% transport and communications, 3.4% public administration,
4.9% hotels and restaurants, 8.2% finance, 1.4% agriculture and 5.8% other.Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in construction and finance. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration and manufacturing. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 17.4% had a higher education
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Every October, the village hosts a torchlit procession, bonfire and fireworks night. The bonfire is built up throughout the day by villagers.
Pubs in the village include the historic Red Lion, The Oak, The White Hart, Toad Rock Retreat and the Beacon Hotel. There is also a working men's club
.
Rusthall St Paul's CE Primary School is located on the High Street. Rusthall Medical Centre is nearby, on Nellington Road.
Rusthall Common separates the village from the main built up area of neighbouring Tunbridge Wells and features a cricket pitch, open spaces, wooded areas and footpaths.
by the frequent 281 bus service operated by Arriva
. There is no railway line serving Rusthall, although the 281 bus service links the village to Tunbridge Wells main-line station for direct services to London, Tonbridge
and Hastings
.
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The village grew up around a large property called "Rusthall" located on the Rusthall Common en route to the neighbouring village of Langton Green
Langton Green
Langton Green is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, England, lying around two miles west of the town centre along the A264. It is located within the parish of Speldhurst although it has its own church on the village green. There is a village primary school, Langton Green CP School...
.
Today the village is home to some sandstone outcrops on Harmony Street, one of which is called "Toad Rock" since it is shaped like a toad. The centre of the village is mainly Victorian and is surrounded by commonland.
Jeremy Menuhin, son of Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
was the previous Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Rusthall. In early 2008 this title, along with the common land and the Pantiles
Pantiles
The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Formerly known as The Walks and the Parade, it leads from the well that gave the town its name...
in Tunbridge Wells was purchased by TargetFollow, a property development company based in Norwich.
History
The first known mention of Rusthall and SpeldhurstSpeldhurst
Speldhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is to the west of Tunbridge Wells: the village is west of the town.-Parish Church:...
is in a grant of lands by Egeburth, an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
or Jutish king of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, to Diora
Diora
Diora was a medieval Bishop of Rochester.Diora was consecrated between 765 and 772. He died between 781 and 785. Around 779 or so King Ethelbert granted land inside the city of Rochester to Diora and his cathedral clergy.-External links:*...
, Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
in the 8th century.
During the 17th century, lodging houses appeared in Rusthall to accommodate visitors to the newly-discovered chalybeate spring at The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. During the reign of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, Rusthall tended to attract visitors from the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
faction, whilst the Cavalier
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
faction tended to stay at nearby Southborough
Southborough
Southborough is the name of several places:* Southborough, Bromley in London, England* Southborough, Kingston upon Thames in London, England* Southborough, Kent in England* Southborough, Massachusetts in the USA** Southborough...
.
Following the end of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, a time during which the Puritans took a hostile attitude to most forms of amusement, the waters at Tunbridge Wells became popular once more, and further accommodation houses were provided in Rusthall. The village also gained an assembly room and bowling green, in order to provide amusement for visitors, making it a more popular destination than Southborough, which could only offer a bowling green and coffee house.
During the 18th century, Rusthall fell out of favour, following the emergence of Tunbridge Wells town, which could now offer ample accommodation closer to the waters. Following this shift in popularity, some Rusthall houses, which had been built on moveable sledges, were wheeled to be relocated to the more fashionable Mount Sion area of Tunbridge Wells.
Cold Water Baths
Rusthall, which derived its name from the rusty nature of the local water, also had its own wells known locally for their curative powers. A cold water bath house used to be situated on the south side of Rusthall Common, in the grounds of what is now the Beacon Hotel. The bath waters were known for their coldness and the clearness of the water which were observed to be "as excellent as any in the kingdom". The baths were designed as a place of entertainment, the grounds being embellished with fountains and ornaments. Despite these attractions, the baths waned in popularity by the end of the 18th century and fell into a state of decay. The foundations of the cold bath house are still present today.Government
Rusthall originally formed part of Speldhurst civil parish (together with AshurstAshurst, Kent
Ashurst is a village five miles west of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, and is in the civil parish of Speldhurst. The 10th century parish church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours The parish is located on the border between Kent and East Sussex; the River Medway forms the border between the two...
, Groombridge
Groombridge
thumb|right|A house in GroombridgeGroombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells, about away by road....
, Langton
Langton Green
Langton Green is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, England, lying around two miles west of the town centre along the A264. It is located within the parish of Speldhurst although it has its own church on the village green. There is a village primary school, Langton Green CP School...
and Speldhurst) when it was formed in 1894. Four years later, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council took control over Rusthall, apparently against the parish council's wishes, and the village formed part of the unparished Tunbridge Wells urban area between 1898 and 2011.
On 23 February 2011, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council agreed that Rusthall should become a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
and have its own parish council. The first parish council election will take place in May 2011.
The local Member of Parliament for the Tunbridge Wells constituency is Greg Clark
Greg Clark
Rt. Hon. Gregory David Clark is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells since 2005. Clark is currently a Minister of State in the Department for Communities and Local Government, with responsibility for overseeing decentralisation, a key...
MP.
Geography
Rusthall is located just under 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Tunbridge Wells town centre, and is separated from the built-up area of Tunbridge Wells by Rusthall Common and the Tunbridge Wells Golf Club.The village is around 30 miles (48.3 km) south-east of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Toad Rock
Rusthall and the surrounding area features several sandstone outcrops. One of these formations, located in the Denny Bottom area, close to Rusthall Common, is known as Toad Rock because it resembles a sitting toad. The first known record of the rock's name is in an 1823 guide by J. Clifford, although the rock itself was first popularised in a local guide published in 1810. The fencing around the rock's base was first installed in 1881-2 and has since been renovated in 1993-94.The rock formation is not man-made, as was at first suspected, but was eroded into its current shape by wind action during the Ice Age. The area has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
Demography
| Rusthall compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Rusthall | Tunbridge Wells district | England |
| Population | 4,776 | 104,030 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 5.5% | 7.1% | 9.2% |
| White | 97.9% | 97.5% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 1.2% | 1% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0% | 0.3% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 74.8% | 75% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.9% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 16.8% | 16% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.8% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 12.8% | 13.3% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Rusthall electoral ward had a population of 4,776. The ethnicity was 97.9% white, 0.7% mixed race, 1.2% Asian, 0% black and 0.2% other.
The place of birth of residents was 94.5% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.4% other Western European countries, and 3.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 74.8% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.1% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.9% Muslim. 16.8% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 6.9% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 43.6% in full-time employment, 12.9% in part-time employment, 11.1% self-employed, 1.8% unemployed, 2.1% students with jobs, 2.8% students without jobs, 12.8% retired, 7.2% looking after home or family, 3.7% permanently sick or disabled and 2% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 18.6% retail, 9.3% manufacturing, 9% construction, 13% real estate, 11.5% health and social work, 8% education, 6.9% transport and communications, 3.4% public administration,
4.9% hotels and restaurants, 8.2% finance, 1.4% agriculture and 5.8% other.Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in construction and finance. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration and manufacturing. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 17.4% had a higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Culture
The village fete returned in 2010, for the first time since 1977. It is held on the playing fields at Southwood Road and features a variety of stalls and events.Every October, the village hosts a torchlit procession, bonfire and fireworks night. The bonfire is built up throughout the day by villagers.
Community Facilities
Rusthall has a thriving High Street featuring an unusually wide variety of services for a village of its size. These include convenience stores, post office, a greengrocer, butcher, baker, hardware shop, bookmaker, pharmacy and dry cleaner amongst others. Restaurant and take-away options include Chinese, Indian, fish and chips, and pizza as well as a traditional "greasy spoon" cafe.Pubs in the village include the historic Red Lion, The Oak, The White Hart, Toad Rock Retreat and the Beacon Hotel. There is also a working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
.
Rusthall St Paul's CE Primary School is located on the High Street. Rusthall Medical Centre is nearby, on Nellington Road.
Rusthall Common separates the village from the main built up area of neighbouring Tunbridge Wells and features a cricket pitch, open spaces, wooded areas and footpaths.
Transport
Rusthall is connected to Tunbridge Wells and High BroomsHigh Brooms
High Brooms is a north eastern suburb of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Its railway station is High Brooms railway station. It is connected by train to London and Hastings....
by the frequent 281 bus service operated by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
. There is no railway line serving Rusthall, although the 281 bus service links the village to Tunbridge Wells main-line station for direct services to London, Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
.