Pembury, Kent

Pembury is a large village in Kent, situated just north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. Its village centre, including the village green and High Street, is designated as a conservation area, preserving its historic character. The village green, once known as Copingcrouch Green and first recorded in 1629, remains a focal point, overlooked by the Camden Arms hotel, a former coaching inn serving travellers on the London to Hastings road.

The parish church of St Peter, often called the “Old Church,” dates back to the late 11th or early 12th century, with significant additions made in 1337. A second church, the District Church of St Peter or “Upper Church,” was built in 1847 from local sandstone on one of the village’s highest points. This church originally featured a 92-foot spire, added in 1886 but removed a century later for safety reasons.

Pembury lies within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, characterised by steep valleys, undulating slopes, and predominantly agricultural land with scattered woodland. Historically, farming focused on grazing, fruit orchards, cereals, coppicing, and hops, though hop cultivation has largely declined.

The village is home to Tunbridge Wells Hospital, opened in 2011 on the site of the former Pembury Hospital. It was the first acute NHS hospital in Britain to offer every inpatient a private room with en-suite facilities and views over surrounding woodland. Nearby, Kent College occupies a Victorian manor house set in a 75-acre estate adjacent to the Old Church.

Pembury’s war memorial, unveiled in 1921 and designed by local architects, stands on Hastings Road. It underwent refurbishment in 2018, with original stone plaques reinstated after the discovery of spelling errors on earlier metal plaques.