Copyright 2011. KMJ Property. All rights reserved

Southborough lies immediately to the north of Tunbridge Wells and to the South of Tonbridge and connects between the two by the A26, London Road. Southborough originally came within the Domain of Tonbridge Castle, there were four boroughs and this was the South Borough and hence the name.

Southborough separated from Tonbridge in 1871 and until 1894 was an urban district with its own elected council. In 1974 it reverted to a civil parish but by a "historical accident" it retained its town council. Southborough now forms part of the Tunbridge Wells Borough.

Although very sparsely populated prior to the Norman Conquest, arrowheads and stone axe heads provide some evidence of 'prehistoric' habitation and burial sites from both the Bronze and Iron Ages have been discovered.  From 1639 Lodging houses started to appear in Southborough to supply accommodation for those visiting the Chalybeate Spring and the Pantiles.

Industry
Iron was worked in Southborough since pre historic times and from the Mid 16th Century there were a number of water powered furnaces and one of these was at Modest Corner. Iron Forges worked until around the 18th Century when Iron became uneconomical. In 1771 some sites were taken over for the manufacture of gun powder (hence Powder Mill Lane) and around 1845 this was replaced by a Corn Mill until 1942.

Sport
With Cricket being played on the Common for over 200 years it comes as no surprise to hear that the town became known for the manufacturing of Cricket Balls and Cricket can still be seen being played here regularly.

Southborough also has three football clubs, the largest being Ridgewaye FC, which was formed in 1995.

Yet another long lived tradition is Southborough Wheelers cycling club, which was formed in 1932 and includes club rides, charity rides, time trials, cyclo cross etc. They also have a Juniors Cycle Coaching club

which meets every Saturday morning.

Southborough Today

Southborough offers a wide variety of shops and amenities, including;
butchers, bakers, hardware store, general stores, medical centre,
dentists, chemist, library, bank, etc etc.

Although it doesn't have it's own Railway Station it has good bus
links to both Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, which both have mainline
stations. With it's outstanding primary school, Southborough is a popular choice for families moving to Southborough and looking to buy
property here.