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Paddock Wood

Coordinates: 51°10′32″N 0°23′44″E / 51.1756°N 0.3955°E / 51.1756; 0.3955
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Paddock Wood
Commercial Road
Paddock Wood is located in Kent
Paddock Wood
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
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°10′32″N 0°23′44″E / 51.1756°N 0.3955°E / 51.1756; 0.3955

Paddock Wood is a 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 a centre for hop growing.

History

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

Government

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

Borough council

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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. As of July 2022, one is a member of the Labour Party, one is a member of the Liberal Democrats one is a member of local action group Tunbridge Wells Alliance, and one is an Independent.[4]

County council

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The upper tier of local government is provided by Kent County Council. The county council has 81 members, with each representing an electoral district. Paddock Wood forms part of the electoral district of Tunbridge Wells Rural.[5]

Geography

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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

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St Andrew's Church

Mascalls Gallery, was a public art gallery opened in 2006. It closed in 2016, due to a lack of funds.

Although technically in Beltring, in the civil parish of East Peckham, the nearby Hop Farm hosts many events such as the circus, monster truck racing and music festivals.

St Andrew's Church is a joint Anglican and Methodist church located on Maidstone Road.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from either the Tunbridge Wells[7] or Bluebell Hill TV transmitters,[8] BBC London and ITV London can also be received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitters.[9]

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent on 96.7 FM, Heart South on 103.1 FM, Gold on 603 AM and KMFM West Kent on 96.2 FM. As of November 2021, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood and Southborough are now served by community radio station West Kent Radio broadcasting on 106.7FM and 95.5FM.[10]

The town is served by the local newspaper, Kent and Sussex Courier.[11]

Transport

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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.[12] It is served by Paddock Wood railway station.

Education

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Mascalls Academy

The town's main primary school is Paddock Wood Primary School which was originally built in 1909, which has approximately 600 pupils.[13][14]

The town's main secondary school is Mascalls Academy (formerly Mascalls School), a comprehensive secondary school which opened in 1956, which has approximately 1400 pupils.[13][15]

Literary references

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Some Dickens scholars[who?] 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.[16]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ a b "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". Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  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. ^ "Full Freeview on the Tunbridge Wells (Kent, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Full Freeview on the Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Full Freeview on the Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  10. ^ "West Kent Radio". Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Kent and Sussex Courier". British Papers. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  12. ^ "A21 Balfour Beatty Dualling scheme". MVMS. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. ^ a b Walker, Jack (1985). Beginnings and Bygones of Old Paddock Wood. Paddock Wood, Kent: J C Walker.
  14. ^ "Paddock Wood Primary School – Our School". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  15. ^ "Mascalls Academy About Us - Mascalls Academy". Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  16. ^ Railways and Culture in Britain: The Epitome of Modernity Archived 20 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine; y Ian Carter
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Media related to Paddock Wood at Wikimedia Commons

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