Ranked again as ‘exceptional’ in the Best Estate Agent Guide for 2025, we proudly sit in the top 3% of agents in the country. Our reputation and commitment to delivering first class customer service means buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants are continually delighted by their experience with Maddisons.
We love Langton Green and love supporting your local community. And with over 300 years’ worth of knowledge between our well established team, we are well placed to sell at all price points in the village, often achieving in excess of the guide price, and often from private sales. But don’t just take our word for it…
“Thank you so much to the whole team at Maddisons for helping us sell our family home. The whole team are professional, approachable and gave us complete confidence that we had chosen the right agent. If we ever chose to sell again we wouldn’t hesitate to instruct Maddisons. A special thank you to Deborah who went above and beyond and took control of the whole chain and got us all to completion.” JP (Maddisons seller)
Contact Langton Life magazine!
The magazine is a celebration of life in Langton Green and is published 6 times a year. It is delivered door to door to the 1200-plus houses in the village, and is available at local shops and in some surrounding villages.
Please submit editorial and advertisements (pre-paid) for the next edition by 11th May 2025.
Advertising: Rob Mauduit advertising@langtonlife.com
Editor: Jayne Sharratt
Tel: 07532 339434 editor@langtonlife.com
Director: Ed Langridge
Registered in England 8709597
local happenings
“On November 29th, 2024, I was awoken by a huge thud,” writes a resident of Langton Road. “At 7.20 am a freak accident occurred. A Hi Lux truck crashed into my bay window destroying the front of my house. The driver was a young man who was shaken and very apologetic. Little did I know then that it would take three months to have all the repairs completed. It has been a stressful and cold there months,” she tells us, as I’m sure we can all imagine. Happily, as many observers passing the house will have observed, there has been a happier ending. “Fast forward three months later and it is a very different picture. The builders PB Build were fantastic, and the finished project is wonderful.”
Plant Sale for Hospice in the Weald
If you enjoy stocking up for your garden at the annual Hospice in the Weald Plant sale, you will be pleased to know it will be back again this year! Organised by Daphne Streeter on behalf of the charity Hospice in the Weald, Daphne says, “We are holding our Plant Sale at 62 Dornden Drive on Saturday 10th May from 10.30 am to 3.00 pm. Once again, our friends Ann and Allan Dell and Rosemary and Ray Smith have been busy organising plants. We were lucky to have a very warm day last year resulting in steady sales with nearly £1,000 raised. Many thanks to everyone for their continued support and we would be happy to receive any surplus plants or garden related items for our stall".
Langton
Cover photo: Daffodils on The Green planted by the Village Society.
local happenings
Local resident Nicci Levy raised an impressive £785 for Cancer Research at the start of this year by taking part in Cancer Research’s 50 Burpee a day challenge in February – that’s 1400 Burpees in 28 days. Burpees are a squat thrust with an additional stand between repetitions, and are a full body exercise often used in strength training. At the end of the challenge, Nicci said, “It’s not been at all enjoyable, but I have raised money for cancer research, and that’s what it’s all about. Thank you so much to all the fabulous people who donated – they kept me motivated!
It's not too late to donate at https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk. org/page/niccis-burpee-challenge
Burpees challenge for Cancer Research Nature Watch
We have had a much colder winter this year. The Blackthorn is much later coming into flower. This is always the first of the native trees and scrubs to flower. In mild winters they start to bloom in late January but this year it’s been the first week in March, so we cannot rely on climate change to give us warm winters just yet.
The government has approved the release of Beavers into the English countryside. It is hoped this will help to cut down on flooding risks and restoring nature. A licensing system has been introduced to allow the reintroduction of the semi-aquatic animals, whose dams, canals, and ponds enhance wildlife and offer protection against floods and droughts.
As the ivy berries ripen, they have been eaten by Wood Pigeons, Squirrels, and mice. They are an important food source at this time of the year as well being a home for hibernating Butterflies, Beetles, many types of Flies and Moths and it does not kill trees, just uses them for support.
There is a chance to see our first damselfly of the year, the Large Red, in April, around farmland and garden ponds, with the larger Dragonflies appearing in May.
At least two more species of Butterfly should be found in April. The Holly Blue is seen flying along hedgerows in gardens and woodland edges. These early ones will lay eggs on Holly and the second batch in the late summer will lay their eggs on Ivy. The second species is the Orange Tip. The females are white on the top of the wing and the males have the top half orange and the under sides are a mottled green. These lay their eggs mostly on Garlic Mustard plants and Milk maids /Cuckoo Flower. Alan Ford
Local Repair Cafés
Most people know that they should make use of council recycling services, and they probably also know that it’s even better for the sustainability of our planet if they can reduce their waste by reusing and repairing things as much as possible. If you’re like me and would like some help with repairs, you will be pleased to know that there are two local Repair Cafes, one in Rusthall and one in Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells.
The Rusthall Repair Cafe dates are Saturday 5th April 3rd may, 31st may and 5th July. Doors open at 11am and last visitors to come by 1pm. Although visitors can turn up without any notice, they will get a higher chance of success if they email RusthallRepair@gmail.com with a note of what they would like done -make/model and photos help too. Information is also available on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RusthallRepairCafe/
The Tunbridge Wells Repair Café dates are Saturday 12th April, 17th May, 21st June and 26th July. Doors open 9.45am and we start repairs at 10am and take our last repairs at 12.30pm and close at 1pm.
Full details are on our website - https://tunbridgewellsrepaircafe.co.uk/
Regular Domestic Cleaning
Services tailored to your requirements for more information visit clareabelles.co.uk or call Clare on 07786 243638
local happenings
Commander Rob Smith RN, 1942-2025
All communities have people who have had interesting careers; some, far more interesting than others. In Langton Green, Rob was one of the latter. He had been the Commander of a nuclear submarine; more specifically a hunter-killer submarine. It was during the Cold War and a key task was to find and follow the giant Soviet ballistic missile submarines, and to sink them should nuclear war have been declared. Those who have seen the film The Hunt for Red October will have a small inkling of what this entails.
Rob was a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where he met his wife, Patricia. At the time she was the secretary to the Training Commander, and Rob was a dashing Sub Lieutenant who invited her to the Passing Out Ball. Rob opted to join the Submarine Service and served on many vessels, including HMS Conqueror that later sank the General Belgrano during the Falkland’s War. He rose through the ranks to eventually command HMS Sceptre
Rob was ever careful not to disclose anything classified, but as time passed and books were published, he was able to speak more openly. He told me he spent much time in the freezing Barents Sea to the north of Norway, silently awaiting Soviet Delta ballistic missile submarines leaving their bases near Murmansk. He needed to station his submarine close behind his quarry, within the sonar blind spot wake created by its “propellor” and then keep in place. This required nerves of steel, which Rob had in abundance. Sometimes there would be an almost silent Soviet attack submarine riding “shotgun” to the missile submarine, and so he had to be on guard for this. If the Soviet would start a series of known procedures, including hovering in the water (to give it a stable launch base), then Rob had to monitor the acoustics for such sounds as the missile hatches opening. He would need to discriminate between a launch exercise and the real thing.
He often spent time under the Arctic ice and on an earlier occasion his then diesel submarine surfaced at the North Pole, and a short
cricket match was played. This had to be rapidly abandoned as the ice closed in.
Rob accompanied our local Car Club on one trip to Chatham Dockyard. We visited the resident World War Two submarine HMS Ocelot, and he showed us how the submariners would escape should their submarine sink. It wasn’t something for the faint-hearted.
Rob was well-known in the village as the coordinator of poppy distribution for Remembrance Day. Even in his care home for the past year he attracted the admiration and respect of everyone. He was a very special person and a good friend and will be much missed. Lawrence Dollimore
Smashed hits Langton
When Langton Green singer Rachel Martin went for an audition at the home of guitar player Alan Ray, she discovered that by chance he had been living next door to her a few weeks previously. “He was very a quiet neighbour” Rachel says, laughing as she adds “it was only later I discovered how loud he can get”. Bonding over a shared love of ‘70s disco classics and Taylor Swift, the two immediately agreed that they wanted to work together and that they wanted a second singer. Alan says “We want our audience to sing along with us.
Having two lead singers harmonising makes a fabulous sound, and it also gives people the extra encouragement to join in.” Rachel’s friend Verity Riley, a fellow parent at Langton Green Primary School, was the obvious choice. Rachel continues “I forgot to mention to the others that I’d never actually heard her sing but her audition was flawless.”
Verity says “I love singing with Rachel, she’s a singing teacher and her confidence and stage presence spreads through the whole band. Our set is a broad variety of songs but in our hearts, we’re a disco funk party band, and everything we do has a little bit of that funky flavour to it, But the boys in the band, Lee on drums and Simon on bass, can get a bit crunchy, so even the dad dancers will find something to get them on the dancefloor. No one leaves one of our shows without a bit of a dance and a sing.”
So why call yourselves ‘Smashed’? “It’s the British sense of humour.
It’s about having a good time, and it’s a play on our set list of ‘smash hits’. Ironically, none of us really drinks as we are too busy playing and rehearsing.’
Rachel says “We had a little break in the run up to Christmas and we’ve just played our first show with a whole bunch of new songs. It was so great to be back, like pulling on an old pair of comfortable slippers.” Verity adds “Sparkly disco slippers, right?” “Exactly”, says Rachel, “ex-actly”.
Smashed are on social media.
The Molyneux Almshouses at Rusthall
Recruiting New Trustees
The Molyneux Almshouses is a small charity, established in 1922, which provides social housing accommoda>on for people of limited financial means who have long term connec>ons with Tunbridge Wells. Our vision, as a charity, is “to provide convenient, comfortable and secure accommoda>on to those in need, within a friendly and suppor>ve seEng and the local community”.
A number of our current Trustees will be re>ring within the next 12 months and we are looking for new Trustees to join our Board.
Our new Trustees should ideally be people from the local area who are involved with the community, prepared to take responsibility for specific aspects of the Charity’s work, can commit to regular mee>ngs and ac>vi>es, and will bring experience to complement the exis>ng Trustee Board. Good people skills, the ability to communicate, and empathy, understanding and pa>ence are essen>al. Most importantly, they should be someone who is enthusias<c and has the <me and energy to be ac<vely involved.
The work of the Charity covers many spheres and we are specifically looking for people who have experience, skills and backgrounds in:
• Housing Maintenance and Management - with 16 proper>es and communal grounds there are con>nual and ongoing maintenance issues needing aOen>on and we are seeking a Trustee who can oversee our Maintenance Programme and work closely with our Clerk who has the day-today responsibility for this area of work.
• ICT and GDPR - our Database of records and informa>on is extensive and an experienced IT professional is needed to take over when our current ICT and DPO Trustee re>res early in 2026
• Fundraising - the Charity has access to grant funding for some of our development work but we are hoping to recruit a Trustee with past involvement in fundraising so as to advance the >ming of this work and to provide funds for addi>onal facili>es for the Residents.
If you think that you have what it takes to become a Trustee and want to find out more, please contact Gill Prater, Chair of the Trustees, at gill.prater@molyneux-almshouses.co.uk and ask for our Trustee Informa>on Pack which will give you more informa>on.
Closing date: 20th April 2025
Gold medal from the Queen for young Langton writer
Harvey Gardner, a young Langton Green resident, has recently been invited to Buckingham Palace to receive a Gold Medal for his prizewinning story in the 5-7 age category of the BBC’s 500 Words Competition. It’s the largest story competition for children aged 5 to 11 and says that its aim is to inspire the next generation of writers.
Harvey’s exciting day receiving his Gold Medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace included being escorted from the stage by Nitro the gladiator, and Matt Lucas reading his story out in full. In total there were 44,000 entries to the competition (with gold, silver and bronze winners in each of two age categories). While there he also met Olivia Coleman, Oliver and the Artful Dodger from "Oliver the Musical", Rob Brydon, Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Fire the Gladiator, and children’s writers Francesca Simon, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Malorie Blackman and Charlie Higson. Harvey had his story published in a book and received an original illustration from Dapo Adeola (an award-winning illustrator). Sir Lenny Henry also gave him writing advice and signed Harvey's winning book.
Interviewed on BBC Radio Kent, Harvey, who turned 8 in January, told listeners, “It was all amazing…I love writing, and I read a lot, I write what I love, for example I love this book about mythology called Beastworld, and at my next sleepover with my friend Raffi, we’re going to write a comic called The Diaries of Mythica. Mythica is a habitat of mythical creatures.” Asked if he would like to be a writer when he grows up, he said, “I think so, I would love to do that.”
Dad Justin said, “Harvey just loves dinosaurs and mythical creatures and he's always thinking and writing about what would happen if they had survived or came to life. The gruesome twist at the end is what they said won it for him as it made all the judges laugh out loudwhen they asked him about this on collecting his gold medal, he said "He had tried a happy ending, but it was just boring, so he tried the
gruesome ending and that was much better". He gets up and writes every morning and his style is quite gruesome and always has lots of twists."
Without further ado, it’s a pleasure to re-publish the story in Langton Life – and many, many congratulations to Harvey.
Bruce’s Big Choice (by Harvey Gardner, aged 7)
Once upon a time, a long time ago, millions of years ago, mmm… maybe billions… anyway, it was a very long time ago that a meteor BIGGER than an elephant’s BUTT crashed into earth so hard that all the dust that the lazy dinosaurs didn’t clean up filled the sky. Everyone thought that all the dinosaurs were extinct. Well, that’s almost true BUT what people don’t know is that two dinosaurs actually survived!
One of them was a fierce, fast and young velociraptor called Bruce. He loved nothing more than dinosaur liver for his evening dinner. YUMMY! The other dinosaur was a young but tall brachiosaurus called Phoebon. She loved eating damp and drippy shoots of trees. YUCK!
The morning after the meteor, dinosaur school was very empty. There were no other dinosaurs, no teachers and not even any dinner ladies. Bruce sprinted into the playground and saw Phoebon. He licked his lips and thought: what scrumdiliumpcious liver she must have and there’s no one to stop me!
“STOP,” yelled Phoebon. “Don’t eat me! “If you eat me, there will be no more dinosaurs left in the world.”
“So? I need to eat!” roared Bruce, baring his teeth.
“But there are so many delicious plants all around us.”
“YUCK! Plants are absolutely GROSS!”
Phoebon sighed. “Come on, Bruce, we could even start a whole new dino race together one day. You wouldn’t have to be alone. Surely it’s an easy decision. Why don’t you at least think about it?”
All day Phoebon followed Bruce through the playground chattering in his ear with reasons not to eat her and painting a picture of their future together. Bruce listened quietly. And that evening at sunset, he sat on a rocky cliff with a smile on his face. Phoebon had been right. It had been an easy decision. What an amazing final dinner he said to himself, licking the blood off his lips.
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News from Thrive Langton
We’ve had a busy spring, with very well-attended activities, like Dance-Fit and a morning’s digging in preparation for the Community Garden to bloom this growing season.
Dance Fit was hosted by Jade Dickens. She has a 9-5 desk job but shares with us the importance of movement in your day and so trained as a fitness-to-music instructor in her ‘spare’ time. The sessions were so much fun - everyone was encouraged to do their own thing. It was the act of loving the music and steps that were important, not necessarily getting everything right!
We also screened the Our Kids Our Lives documentary on Tuesday 18th March, the decline in our youngster’s emotional resilience and what we can do to improve it. The film’s director Ben Akers came along to answer audience questions.
Thrive Langton is a community-led charity brought to life by a growing group of people who believe in the power of community for supporting well-being and emotional health. By connecting with each other and providing opportunities for everyone in Langton Green, we aim to encourage one another to nurture our own well-being and emotional health through art, music, learning, information-sharing, social interaction, engagement with nature and physical activity.
Pictured is everyone involved in the charity - from the Trustees to the event organisers; everyone volunteering time and enthusiasm.
However, just because we have an official photo, it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t love more people to join us! If anyone felt they had time to donate, in whatever capacity (admin, fundraising, etc) we would love to hear from them. They should email hello@thrivelangton.org.
Support your mental health on local allotment
The Flourish Allotment in Rusthall is run by the Cross Ways Community to support adults who are struggling with their mental health. It’s a hands-on project, offering a holistic, person-centred approach to gardeners to help improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
The benefits of time on the allotment include building diverse skills, increasing confidence and reducing social isolation, and connecting with the wider community. Activities include planning the allotment, preparing the soil, planting and tending to its seasonal needs, with help and guidance from our gardening project team and volunteers. There are also regular opportunities to prepare, cook and eat the produce. In addition to gardening activities, there are also seasonal outdoor crafts such as willow weaving, wreath making, and wood-working, as well as horticultural-based trips.
Flourish’s Kate Cheshire told us, “It has been all hands-on deck this Spring. February was the month to start seed sowing for the summer harvest of fruit and veg. We have filled countless seed trays and are keeping seedlings warm in the polytunnels, ready to plant outside when it is warm enough and the plants are at a good height to be less attractive to the slugs and snails!”
If you would like to see more of what Flourish do, you can visit them on their Open Day where you can have a look around with a cuppa and slice of cake. It will be held on Thursday 15th May, 12 noon -6pm, so please pop in and say hello, the kettle will be on!
Flourish is based at Southwood Road Allotments, Rusthall TN4 8UX.
For more information, please email flourish@crosswayscommunity.org.uk or visit our website: www.crosswayscommunity. org.uk/projects/flourish
Editor’s letter
It feels like it has been a long winter, but as I write I can see where the bluebells will be under the budding apple tree in my garden, I’m enjoying the crocuses and daffodils all around the village, and I can believe that the time when we relax outdoors will soon be with us.
At this time of year, I start to look forward to the community events that bring us together. I’m really loving the idea of the Party at the Pavilion 90s Style on Saturday 3rd May – not least because I’m old enough to have experienced them the first time round and am now regretting not having kept hold of my Spice Girl trainers. On Saturday 28th June there will be a School Fair at Langton Green Primary School, which will be a wonderful opportunity to support our village school as they raise funds for the benefit of the pupils. There isn’t going to be a Village Fete this year – I’m sure we can all appreciate that the amount of work that goes into putting it on means that the Village Society need a break – but there will be a village Party on the Green on Saturday 30th August which will be a lovely and more relaxed chance to socialise with neighbours in an iconic setting – let’s just hope that the sun shines on all these events!
At Langton Life we are very much here to support the community, and will always welcome contributions from residents, community organisations and institutions. I was especially pleased to hear this month about prize winning young writer Harvey Gardner who won a gold medal from the Queen for his short story – I think he will be a name to watch!
We are looking for a new writer to join us at Langton Life to help find, research and write community stories – this does have the potential to be a paid position. If this is something you are interested in, please do get in touch with me.
Jayne
Sharratt
editor@langtonlife.com
07532 339434
Langton Green Primary School Fair will be on 28th June this year.
‘YOUR
WORK HERE’ exhibition features ‘EXPLOSION OF CREATIVITY’
Langton Green artist and teacher Louise Dean is more than usually proud of her pupils this Spring, because no less than eleven of them are exhibiting in the open call exhibition ‘Your Work Here’ at The Amelia in the centre of Tunbridge Wells.
“The exhibition is open to professionals, hobbyists, amateurs anyone! You just have to have a TN postcode,” Louise tells me. “I encouraged all my pupils to enter for it, because they’re all very talented and I’m so proud that eleven entered. We all went to a private view in February - it’s an amazing show, accessible and reflective of an explosion of creativity locally!”
Louise told me a bit more about her background. “I have been teaching art to adults for ten years now. I’m a professional artist but I was also a swimming teacher for years. I then started teaching workshops to kids, but over time I thought how wonderful it would be to help adults rediscover their ‘inner artist’ - whether they were complete and utter beginners or had studied art to some level but then life got in the way, and they never ended up pursuing it,” she says. “I have met so many people with latent talent lurking just beneath the surface, and I find it so rewarding to help people unleash it. I’ve witnessed firsthand how happy and satisfied it makes people when they start on this creative path. There are many factors that stop people from starting a creative journey, and my job is to remove those barriers – once people start there’s often no stopping them!”
Louise’s large group come to the Church Hall on Monday mornings and have a different project and mediums each week. “There is no categorising or judgement. You could be a total beginner or have an art degree! The collective buzz is amazing, and everyone is very supportive of each other. They are producing amazing stuff, and it has become a real community,” says Louise.
You can see the Your Work Here Exhibition at The Amelia until 1st June 2025.
Imogen, the designer’s daughter from from this magazine, was photographed with her exhibit
Alison Bolland
Lizzie Gripper
Cathy Brown
Isabella Bartleet
Heather Harrison
Clara Weatherley
Lesley Adshead
Carold Braidwood
Louise Dean
Martha Horsford
Sarah Weatherley
Tina Bone
local happenings
Many local residents will miss Dennis Penfold for his extensive local history knowledge. He was known for the history articles and exhibitions he researched and wrote about Rusthall’s past. Since his death his collection has been kept safe by his friends and Rusthall Parish Council, and a manuscript he left has been prepared for publication and was launched on March 22nd. Anyone interested in the book can email rusthallarchivegroup@yahoo.com
Potting shed news from Stone Ness Walled Garden
Stone Ness Walled Garden is a small charity that offers social and therapeutic gardening to members of the community with learning difficulties or mental health issues. You can find it on the road between Langton Green and Ashurst.
Springtime greetings to all our friends, volunteers, and everyone else who is interested in what we get up to in our wonderful walled garden.
I’m Scary the Scarecrow at the Walled Garden, and here is our latest news.
The Walled Gardeners have returned. This year, apart from growing veg, flowers and fruit, we will try extremely hard to be kind to nature, the environment and, especially, each other.
A history of Rusthall published Low
In our first week back we built a wildlife habitat in the field using prickly hawthorn and bramble so the small furry animals like mice and voles can hide away from the fox. I've just had a thought – the hedgehog won't need to use our habitat because he is prickly already!
Five groups are coming each week for two hour sort-of-gardening sessions (what I mean is that we do a whole lot more than gardening – we visit the ponies and groom them, play games, enjoy tea break, and sometimes go rambling in the fields and woods.) The committee will soon fix a date in July for our Open Day and when I know I'll write an article – so watch this space.
Finally, as I always say (because Jean tells me to) if you or anyone you know fancies joining us, please phone Jean now you'd be able to come here right through the gardening season from sowing to planting out to harvesting.
Love from Scary (Jean's phone numbers - 01892 740305 and 07889 731949 before 8pm)
Langton Crossword
We recently wrote to National Air Traffic Services (NATS) about our concerns that Emirates A380 jets – among others - fly very low over our area. NATS wrote back asking us for flight data so they can investigate. They also helpfully clarified that A380s are larger planes, so can appear to be closer than they actually are. So, if you see a plane flying suspiciously low, we’d like you to send us the flight track. You can get this by visiting https://www. flightradar24.com/ or via the Flightradar24 app. Find the relevant plane on the live map and tap it so you can see the track: Then click the ‘Share’ icon and a menu like this will appear: Now press ‘Copy Link’. You can then send us the track to inspect, group together, and forward to NATS for investigation. Please send the track links to: clerk@speldhurstparishcouncil.gov.uk with the subject ‘Low plane’. Speldhurst Parish Council
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local happenings
Local school news
SPELDHURST CE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Ofsted
By the time this article is published, parents and the community will already know the wonderful news that Speldhurst School has achieved ‘Outstanding’ in its recent Ofsted inspection in all five areas. “Pupils love coming to this friendly and welcoming school”, the report says, describing the School as a “safe and nurturing environment” where pupils are “hungry to learn” and “aspire to be the best they can be” and “where hard work and achievement are celebrated’.
Head Stephanie Hayward says: “I’m thrilled and proud. It is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the staff, pupils and the entire school community.”
Recorder Festival
Empire class were invited to take part in a local schools’ Recorder Festival which was held in Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School last month. It was a free event, organised by the local music teachers. The children were fabulous and showed just how musical our school is.
We
Cricket at Speldhurst
The Year 3, 4 and 5 girls were treated to the expert coaching of Speldhurst Cricket Club in March. In a drive to encourage girls into the sport and promote the growing demand of girls in sport, Francis Booth and Tom Churton delivered a fun and exciting coaching session to the girls.
World Book Day
In March the children of Speldhurst excelled themselves with their creativity and costume designs, with Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Gangsta Granny and Captain Underpants all making an appearance in the village, to name but a few. The whole day was filled with books, books and more books. The highlight of the day is always the staff performance of a well-known children's book. This year it was Mr Wolf's Pancakes.
RUSTHALL ST PAUL’S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Climate Change has been the topic for Key Stage 2 Children at Rusthall St Paul’s over the first term of 2025, and they embraced the subject, becoming experts in the causes of the crisis and the actions that need to be taken to make sure we have a liveable planet for future generations.
All the children’s hard work culminated in a mini-COP event, held in the school on 26th February. Speakers Gemma Stapeley General Manager of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons, Richard Mackintosh co-founder of Reset Connect who organise sustainability and net-zero events, and local Councillor Jayne Sharratt, who was until last year the Cabinet Member for Carbon Reduction and Sustainability on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council all talked to the children about the importance of climate action and nature protection. The children had prepared persuasive speeches about the changes they would like to see from leaders. “The future of the earth is our responsibility! We have a decision to make, either to not help and have a brutally polluted world or have a beautiful world full of lush green, blue skied wildlife? We have to act now, or our world will suffer and temperatures will rise. The future generations are looking up at us as we choose,” wrote Year 4 pupil Teddy, while Year 6 pupil Agnes wrote in a letter to MP Mike Martin, “I am writing to inform you need to take immediate action to protect and preserve our natural resources. Young people will need to have an unpolluted and clean environment to live in when they grow up.”
During the day there were fun activities and dedicated time to read during the 'stop, drop and read' sessions. World Book Day is always such a fun day and the Speldhurst children get so much out of swapping books with their friends and immersing themselves into literacy.
Forest School
Forest School is a fantastic opportunity for children to experience learning different skills in the outdoor environment. At Speldhurst all the children get to experience this unique learning opportunity which is an inspirational process encouraging learners to develop confidence and self-esteem, through hands on learning outdoors. This month the school caretaker, Martin Steibelt, built a Forest School shelter. It was fully funded by a BUPA grant and as ever the school community came out in force to help with the hard graft and labour. The shelter will allow for even more exciting activities and time spent in the great outdoors.
The learning doesn’t stop there – the children have gone on to write poems about protecting their planet and have started a campaign for teracycle collection from their school.
Forest School at Rusthall continues to be a big draw, with children able to walk off-road from the back of the school onto Rusthall Common, where they have their own dedicated area that they are allowed to use by the Commons Ranger.
On Saturday 10th May the Friends of Rusthall School will be holding its Spring Fair in the school grounds, with lots of lovely stalls, games and a BBQ and other refreshments. They will be raising money to refurbish their school library to make it a fresh and inspiring place to get stuck into reading. The gates will be open from 11am until 2pm, and it would be lovely to see you there.
local council NEWS from Speldhurst Parish Council
SPELDHURST PARISH PRECEPT 2025/26
Every year we carefully consider our finances and determine what the parish precept will be for the coming year. This is the portion of Council Tax you pay to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which they collect on our behalf.
The precept for 2025/26 was agreed at our Full Council meeting on the 4th of January when councillors approved a total precept of £245,361. Compared to 2024/25, this is an increase of £19,681 or 8.5% for a band D property in Speldhurst parish.
As always, councillors try to keep increases as low as possible and extract value for money from all the services we provide. Despite our best efforts, our cost base is increasing, and this is reflected in our decision to increase the precept.
To provide some transparency on how your precept will be spent, here is a breakdown of costs:
✓ We will spend about £36,000 on the repayment of loans for the parish office building, and the Speldhurst chapel site which we have purchased to safeguard the long-term future of Speldhurst Community Shop and Post Office (read more about this loan at www.speldhurstparishcouncil.gov.uk).
✓ We will spend £97,000 on personnel costs for the 4 part-time staff we employ, and a further £24,000 on running the parish office.
✓ After covering these fixed costs, we will primarily use the remainder of the precept for various services that benefit the parish and to maintain parish council-owned green spaces.
✓ We will award various grants to local organisations and groups with a connection to the parish.
✓ We subsidize the pavilion at Langton Green Recreation Ground, where Langton Community Hub and Langton Green Community Sports Association are based, as hire income does not cover the full running costs of the building. For 2025/26 we have budgeted just under £14,000 for this.
✓ We maintain some reserves* for capital works or unplanned expenditures such as the replacement of equipment in the children's playground. A single item can easily exceed £20,000 and the recent replacement of the rubber matting surface cost over £10,000.
*These reserves have decreased over the past few years as we have drawn on them to keep precept increases as low as possible.
Would you like to know more about the precept and how it is spent? Our Clerk Katie Neve will happily answer your questions (contact info. below).
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING, 19TH MAY AT ASHURST VILLAGE HALL FROM 7 PM
This year’s APM will have an environmental theme, with presentations from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s Landscape and Biodiversity Officer, David Scully, and Tree Officer, Rhodri Jones.
We also look forward to sharing all we’ve been doing this year to tackle environmental issues, from biodiversity to EV chargers and recycling. Join us from 7 pm for a drink, meet our parish councillors, and browse our displays of recent biodiversity projects. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm, and, along with the environmental presentations, there will be updates from our Planning, Highways, and Amenities Committees plus an overview of how we will spend this year’s precept.
Throughout the year we try to share important information with as many residents as possible via our online media, council meetings, and articles in village magazines. But we don’t always manage to reach everyone, so, we want you to see this meeting as a chance to find out more and have your questions answered. There’s no need to RSVP – just come along!
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 1ST MAY 2025
A list of candidates who will stand as County Councillors for Tunbridge Wells West will be published after 2nd April, and you have until 11th April to register to vote if you haven’t already done so. Visit https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to find out how.
DEER SIGHTINGS – CAN YOU HELP?
Following multiple reports of near misses and collisions with deer on Groombridge Hill, we have asked Kent County Council to install a deer warning
sign. They have replied that they require more data about the number of deer and how frequently they are seen on the road. If you can help by letting us know when you next see deer in Groombridge (or if you often see them in other parts of the parish) we’d really appreciate it. If you have a passenger who can safely take a photo, then even better. Our contact details are at the end of this article. Thank you to Ed Crutchley for his photo of deer on Broom Lane Langton Green
ENJOY THE EASTER HOLIDAYS AT LANGTON GREEN RECREATION GROUND
With the school holidays approaching you’ll be pleased to hear that Langton Community Hub, with Langton Pavilion Café, will open Tuesday 8th –Friday 11th April, with some lovely easter activities planned.
As well as the usual family-friendly café offerings, there will be daily easter egg hunts together with an arts & crafts workshop during the afternoon of Tuesday 8th April. And on Thursday 10th April, Wonderland will come to Langton Pavilion, with a visit from Alice and the White Rabbit. Please note that some of these are booking-only events; you can find out the exact timings and how to book by visiting the Langton Pavilion Café Facebook page, or just ask at the café when you next visit for coffee.
Meanwhile, the recreation ground itself is a fine place to spend time without spending money in the school holidays. Make the most of the quieter carpark and bring your bikes and scooters, enjoy the playground, all-weather games court, zip wire, and acres of green space. Hopefully, the sun will shine, and you can pack a picnic too – don’t forget we have plenty of picnic benches. Our Groundsman Len has been busy tidying up so the rec will look its best for you!
LOOK OUT FOR… our article on how to report low-flying planes elsewhere in this magazine.
FULL COUNCIL MEETINGS – EVERYONE WELCOME
7.30 pm, Monday 7th April, Ashurst Village Hall, Ashurst. 7.30 pm, Tuesday 6th May, Langton Green Pavilion, Langton Green Recreation Ground.
Speldhurst parish covers the villages of Ashurst, Langton Green, Old Groombridge and Speldhurst. The Councillors representing these villages are:
Paul Curry (Chair); Katrina Lyle (Vice-Chair); Hugh Cleaver; Jade Dickens; Richard Ellery; Rebecca Leach; Giles Littlefield; Simon Norton; Alan Rowe; Domenico Tarricone; John Turner
If you like to enjoy a walk on the Commons on a Saturday,
be
than
for
at Rusthall St Paul’s Church Chorister’s Café, before or after a stroll around the beautiful scenery of Happy Valley? The Church choir are running a café in the Lodge next to the church every Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 4pm. They are serving tea and coffee as well as delicious home-made cakes and hot snacks such as soup and bacon rolls. It sounds so delicious, I’m sure you will find us all there soon! The choir are raising funds to support their choir tour to |Normandy in the summer where they will be singing in cathedrals.
local history
Postcard album from the past
I was recently lent an album of old postcards from the local area by Ian Marshall, one of the Freeholders of Tunbridge Wells Commons, who purchased it at an auction in the North of England. It’s a treasure trove of pictures from the landscape of the past, much of it still familiar to us today.
Shadwell woods Speldhurst Kent
High Rocks Lane, Rusthall
High Rocks Station
In the woods near Tunbridge Wells
High Rocks, Tunbridge Wells
Smallbrooke, Speldhurst, Kent
The Playground High Rocks around the Green
High Rocks Hotel
The
local church
News from All Saints’ Church
It is lovely to see the spring flowers decorating the roadside and gardens. The promise of better weather just around the corner and hope.
Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting is on Sunday 27th April. This is when church wardens and PCC members are nominated, and we look back at everything the church has achieved in the last year. This year we also have the completely new Electoral Roll for every church. Even if you have been on before, you need to reapply. It is especially important if you want to be known as a church member and it makes a difference to how many people we need on our PCC. There is still just enough time if you wish to be added but our final date will be 5th April as it has to be published on the 6th. There is a form on our website and our Facebook page as well as a paper copy at the back of church.
We are waiting to hear whether our advertisement run, for a new priest in charge of our four churches, which finished in March has
been successful. Let us live with hope and prayers.
We had a visit from Tony Ford, who is from the Diocese Communications team on the 16th March. He came to our 8am service and Build a Faith to make a short video for the Rochester Dioceses short film series called Growing God’s Kingdom. It was truly wonderful to be able to share a success story with others, as our 8am services are growing so well.
We hope to welcome you in for our Easter services on Maundy Thursday 17th April at 7.30pm, Good Friday 12noon to 1pm is Children’s Hour, 1pm to 2pm Quiet reflection in church and 2pm to 3pm Good Friday Liturgy with Rev Jane Edwards. On Easter Sunday we will be holding our annual Easter Egg Hunt following our 9am service. We will be delighted to see you.
Love and Prayers
Sally-Anne Gathern, Church Warden
Langton Green Village Hall
You
471147
HENRY PAUL FUNERALS
Allotment Society
Simon Heller 077112 24053
Brownies
Sally-Ann Gathern 822261
Church (admin)
Sally-Ann Gathern 822261
Emma Stevens 861213
Church Hall Bookings
Jacqui Avery jacqui.avery@btinternet.com
Friends of All Saints' Church
Jenny Greenaway 01342 850727
Hospice Link / Langton Ladybirds
Daphne Streeter 863753
Langton Green Cricket Club
James Marples 07966 131471
langtongreencc@gmail.com
www.langtongreen.play-cricket.com/home
Langton Green Allotments
Chris Pullen 07931 311925
Langton Green Car Club
Ed Langridge 862006 edlangridge@yahoo.co.uk
Langton Life Editor
Jayne Sharratt 07532 339434
Langton Life Distribution
Ed Langridge 07711 627492
Little Saints Parent and Toddler Group, All Saints’ Church Hall
Cordelia.nevill@gmail.com
Mothers’ Union
Penny Woodford 862562
Netball
Laura Kerr-Sheppard 07718 333813
Nursery School
Nikki Lanchester 01892 862943
Painting Group
Rosemary Lee - 01892 862762
Parish Clerk
Katie Neve 862927
clerk@speldhurstparishcouncil.gov.uk
PCSO
www.mycommunityvoicekent.co.uk/ Rainbows
Sunday School
Sally-Ann Gathern 822261
Speldhurst Parish History Society
Ed Langridge 07711 627492
Village Hall Bookings
Adrian Moss www.langtongreenvillagehall.org.uk
LGV committee langtonfete@gmail.com
Talk Club (men’s mental health) james.marples1@btinternet.com
local happenings
Remembering fields in Langton’s street names
I recently went to visit local historian Peter Batts, who was kind enough to share with me his archive of articles he wrote for this magazine, between 1997 and 2012. What follows is adapted from one of those articles, and I hope to share more of the wealth of local knowledge in future editions.
The road from Ashurst Lodge was initially just called Ashurst Place, but this caused confusion, and the Post Office asked for a change. Lampington Row, an old name for Langton (Stonewall was originally Lampington Farm) was chosen. Winstone Scott had been a Parish Councillor and had I think helped with the purchase of the recreation ground, hence Winstone Scott Avenue.
Then in the 1960s new developments and road names came thick and fast. Mr Smith of Byeways asked to have the road to his house called Gypps Close Lane, Miss Rowcliffe, of Knowle Orchard suggested a name for the new road on her property and it was called Knowle Close; Langton then began to seriously expand and in a short time planning applications were received for Dornden Park, Newlands, and Langholm Road.
When eventually the developers started coming up with road names Speldhurst Parish Council thought they were unsuitable and it was agreed that Mary Chattell, a Parish Councillor who was also on the Planning Committee of Tonbridge Rural District Council, would look in the County Archives to try to find some names that had local relevance. By digging out the nineteenth century Langton Green Tithe maps, Mary discovered the original field names on which the developments were taking place. (The tithe map shows each field with a number, and an attached key lists the name of the field and its size, the owner and its use; for instance, the copy of the tithe map I have lists that Asher Reeds was arable, Upper Nellington meadow, and Great Courtlands was hops.
Asher Reeds, Upper Nellington, Upper Stephens and Great Courtlands were the agreed choice of the council and the developers were allowed to choose two from the remaining six - Mercers, Knights Meadow, Forstall, Upper Profit, Ox Pasture (later amended to Ox Lea) and Sugar Loaf - the developers were allowed to choose two. (In fact four of these were used and more were produced later). It was made clear that the names were sufficient as they were - there was no need for the addition of such words as Drive, Close or Avenue.
The idea of adopting names of local significance was quite novel at the time, and it is to the credit of Mary Chattell and the
Speldhurst Parish Council that it gradually became the preferred procedure in all cases. Later either Cushmas or Rushetts was proposed for the extension to Langholme Road and when, in 1965, Greenfinch Close was suggested for the new cul-de-sac off Langholme Road, SPC proposed Upton Quarry, Rook Pasture or Pantle’s Shaw (a shaw is a local name for a wood). Similarly, in 1966, East Park Drive was rejected in favour of Hither Chantlers
An SPC minute of December 1947 indicates that the YMCA had purchased some land at Northfields for use as a sports field. Their then President, Percy Ryder, who had lost his son Michael in World War 2 in the merchant navy, had bought them the field. By the 1970s it was being used less and less; the work of the YMCA had changed and with some reluctance they decided to sell it
to a developer. The sale raised a very large sum of money part of which went towards the Sports Centre in St John’s Road and a hostel in Tunbridge Wells. The development was marketed as Lorne Park (the Marquess of Lorne had lived at Dornden), but better counsels prevailed and when complete the road was very fittingly named Ryders. However Speldhurst Parish Council would not claim that everything it decides is adopted unquestioningly. In 1964, when they were asked if they preferred the road off Speldhurst Road to be officially called Waterfrets or Burnt House Lane, they decided Burnt House Lane (after the house on the corner burnt down in Victorian times) and the official sign went up. More than forty years later it is still widely called Waterfrets Power to the people.
