Eighteen new Heritage Plaques provide a trail through Cranbrook, representing points of interest around the town and conjuring up a picture of how the town used to look.

The Green Plaques commemorate important buildings, people and events. Three examples are:

• Vestry Hall: Built for the parish in 1859 replacing the George Inn as Cranbrook’s court house. The Old Fire Station was below.
• St Dunstan’s Church: ‘The Cathedral of the Weald’. Wealth from the cloth industry enabled successive enlargements of the medieval church in 15th and 16th centuries.
• Cranbrook Museum: Restored 15th century house. Formerly part of the rectorial farm.

The installation of the new plaques is the result of a partnership between Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Cranbrook Tourism Development Forum, Cranbrook Parish Council, Cranbrook History Society, and Cranbrook Conservation Area Advisory Committee, who formed a working party of local people and decided on which buildings the plaques would be installed.

A special Heritage Leaflet has been produced for 2008, which lists the new plaques and provides a map of their locations.

Trisha Spencer, Rural Tourism and Local Economic Development Officer at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, said: ‘This is a fantastic initiative which will help to attract more visitors to our picturesque, historic town. Many thanks to everyone involved who have been so enthusiastic about the plaques.’

For more information contact Trisha Spencer at the Weald Information Centre on 01580 714086.

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