Tudeley

Summary

Tudeley is a village in the civil parish of Capel, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England.

All Saints Church
Tudeley is located in Kent
Tudeley
Tudeley
Location within Kent
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTonbridge
Postcode districtTN11
Dialling code01732
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°11′05″N 0°19′07″E / 51.1848°N 0.3185°E / 51.1848; 0.3185

The village is home to All Saints' Church,[1] the only church in the world[2] that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall.[3] The East window was commissioned by Sir Henry and Lady D'Avigdor-Goldsmid in memory of their daughter Sarah, who died aged 21 in a boating accident in 1963. The other windows were added later,[4] the final ones being installed in 1985, the year of Chagall's death. Today the church also hosts the Tudeley Festival, an Early Music event which has been running since 1985.[5]

In 1881 the civil parish had a population of 549.[6] On 25 March 1885 the parish was abolished and merged with Capel.[7]

Somerhill House, which houses The Schools at Somerhill, lies within the bounds of Tudeley.

Nature edit

Tudeley Woods is owned by the Hadlow Estate and managed in partnership with the RSPB. It comprises restored ancient wood and heathland, which have been connected through extensive coppicing to open up the woodland floor and allow the woodland flowers and butterflies to flourish. The result is that there more than 1,000 species of fungi in the woods, with orchids intermingled with carpets of bluebells and primroses in spring. The coppicing allows for charcoal burning, with the products sold locally. Free to access, car parking is restricted, whilst dogs on leads are allowed on the public footpaths and bridleways.[8]

Future edit

The Tunbridge Wells Borough draft local plan published in August 2019, suggests a new town of 2,800 dwellings replacing the village and destroying 600 acres of green belt land [9] including ancient woodland and the habitat of three European protected species. Despite vocal local concern over the destruction of green belt and agricultural land and serious transport issues [10] the borough council have decided to press on with their plan.

Images edit

References edit

  1. ^ "All Saints' Church, Tudeley". Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  2. ^ Places around the world to see Marc Chagall’s stained glass http://www.tudeley.org/downloads.htm Accessed 2009-12-03
  3. ^ The art of Marc Chagall at All Saints, Tudeley http://www.tudeley.org/chagall.htm Accessed 2009-12-03
  4. ^ Marc Chagall stained glass at All Saints, Tudeley http://www.tudeley.org/lookatthewindows.htm Accessed 2009-12-03
  5. ^ The Tudeley Festival http://www.tudeleyfestival.org.uk Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Population statistics Tudeley AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Tonbridge Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Tudeley Woods". RSPB. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Tudeley Village". beta.tunbridgewells.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Campaign | Save Tudeley and the Parish of Capel". Save Capel. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

External links edit

  • Hadlow Estate
  • All Saints' Church, Tudeley
  • RSPB Tudeley Woods
  • Tudeley Festival
  • Save Capel campaign group
  • Capel History Group