Church of King Charles the Martyr, Royal Tunbridge Wells

In the 1670s, Tunbridge Wells had few permanent structures when it started to receive visits from members of the English Royal Family. The church was built on land belonging to Viscountess Purbeck as a chapel of ease for those visiting The Pantiles and was opened in 1676 after being constructed by Thomas Neale. It was dedicated to King Charles the Martyr: the cult of Charles I, who was executed in 1649 and whose son Charles II had been restored in 1660. While it was a chapel of ease, it served the parishes of Frant, Speldhurst and Tonbridge. When it was built, the church was the first substantial building constructed in Tunbridge Wells. The church had no resident vicar until 1709, and…

The church was built using red bricks. The ceilings inside are made of plaster with five domes and were designed in 1678 by John Wetherell. In 1688, Henry Doogood, the chief plasterer of Sir Christopher Wren, expanded it. In 1846, a vestry and a schoolroom was added. In 1882, Ewan Christian re-orientated the church while adding a chancel and reinforcing the church with steel. Outside the church is a stone set into the pavement which marked the parish boundaries of Speldhurst, Tonbridge and Frant, and also of Kent and Sussex before the county boundaries were redrawn. In 1969, Lawrence Lee produced The Ruth Window, a small two-light window with the figure of Ruth in one light and her work -…