Paddock Wood

Paddock Wood is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263,[2] falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census.[1] Paddock Wood is the centre for hop growing in Kent.

Paddock Wood

St Andrew's Church
Paddock Wood
Location within Kent
Population8,263 (2001)
8,253 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ675445
Civil parish
  • Paddock Wood
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTONBRIDGE
Postcode districtTN12
Dialling code01892
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

History

Paddock Wood developed as a settlement during the second half of the 19th century as a result of the local hops industry.[3] By 1900 it was a local transport hub with three railway lines at the railway station.

Government

Paddock Wood has three tiers of local government: parish, borough and county.

Borough council

Since 1974 Paddock Wood has formed part of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells. The borough is governed by a 48-member council. The town elects 4 borough councillors, with 2 each for the Paddock Wood East and Paddock Wood West wards. Three are members of the Conservative Party and one is Independent .[4]

County council

The upper tier of local government is provided by Kent County Council. The county council has 84 members, with each representing an electoral district. Paddock Wood forms part of the electoral district of Tunbridge Wells Rural.[5]

Geography
View of Commercial Road facing southwest from the station

The commercial areas of Paddock Wood are separated by the railway line.

To the South of the railway lies Commercial Road which runs north east to south west through the town, and is the main shopping street. At the north east end of the street is the entrance to the Railway Station. Commercial Road is home to the branches of several banks, a variety of take-aways, a restaurant and a number of small shops. To the east of Commercial Road, runs Maidstone Road. This road runs north to Beltring and East Peckham, and south to Matfield, and is the main route into and out of the town.

To the north of the railway line lie the industrial areas. Eldon Way Industrial Estate can be found to the east and is home to British Car Auctions, among others. To the west is the larger Transfesa Road and Paddock Wood Distribution Centre. This is the home to a number of companies including Gabriel Chemie UK Ltd, Norman Collett, CoolChain, Mack Multiples, Warburtons and a Whirlpool warehouse, which was destroyed in a large fire in early July 2005.[6]

Culture and community

Mascalls Gallery, a public art gallery opened in 2006 on the site of Mascalls Academy. It had a frequently changing programme of exhibition featuring national and international known artists. These included Henry Moore, LS Lowry, Graham Sutherland and Lee Miller as well as artists from Latin America, Japan and America. In 2010 Mascalls Gallery exhibited for the first time in the UK drawings by Marc Chagall for nearby Tudeley Church.

The gallery has since closed, because priorities at Mascalls have shifted, as they have nationally.[7]

Transport

Paddock Wood is on the B2160 and B2161 roads and not too far from the A228, A264, A21 and A26 roads. The A21 in the area suffers from congestion and traffic problems.[8] It is served by Paddock Wood railway station.

Education

The town has two schools, Paddock Wood Primary School which was built in 1909,[9] and which has approximately 600 pupils[10] and Mascalls Academy (formerly Mascalls School), (a comprehensive secondary school), opened in 1956 and has around 1400 pupils,[9] and it takes its pupils from Brenchley, Matfield, Capel, Five Oak Green, East Peckham, Horsmonden, Lamberhurst and Yalding, as well as Paddock Wood itself.[11]

Literary references

Some Dickens scholars believe that Paddock Wood is the rural railway station described in Dombey and Son. Some believe that one of Charles Dickens's children was buried in the graveyard as it says on the sign at the entrance.

Paddock Wood Railway station appears in the novel Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens where, in chapter 55, the character of Mr Carker accidentally falls under a train at the station and is killed.[12]

Notable people

References
  1. "Town population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  2. Office for National Statistics: Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts: Tunbridge Wells Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 January 2010
  3. "Kent Past". Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. "Your Councillors by Ward". Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  5. "The County of Kent (Electoral Changes) Order 2004" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  6. "BBC News – Warehouse collapsing after fire". 5 July 2005. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  7. "Mascalls Gallery in Paddock Wood is set to close this summer".
  8. "A21 Balfour Beatty Dualling scheme". MVMS. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  9. Walker, Jack (1985). Beginnings and Bygones of Old Paddock Wood. Paddock Wood, Kent: J C Walker.
  10. "Paddock Wood Primary School – Our School". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  11. "Mascalls Academy About Us - Mascalls Academy". Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  12. Railways and Culture in Britain: The Epitome of Modernity Archived 20 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine; y Ian Carter

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