The poet Sir Philip Sidney was born here in 1554. The oldest part of the building dates from the fourteenth century, but the present house represents a curious blend of five centuries of architectural styles. The house is open Saturdays and Sundays in March, and seven days a week from April 1st to October 31st. Opening times for the gardens are 11am to 6pm, for the house midday to 5.30pm. The church contains the effigy of the top half of Stephen de Penshurst, Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle, who died in 1299.
Admission is free.
The spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells had its beginning in 1606, when a courtier, Dudley, Lord North, discovered an iron-bearing spring which made good the damage to his health from dissolute living. At the town's zenith, William Pitt, Dr Johnson, David Garrick and Sir Joshua Reynolds were regular visitors. The colonnaded Pantiles are named from the small clay tiles that Princess Anne paid for in 1698, after her son fell on the slippery ground. This is a large pub with good food, four log fires for the winter and a superb view across the Medway Valley to Swaylands and Penshurst. Despite being out of the way, this is a very popular and well-known pub, so in season, particularly on sunny days, arrive early to avoid long waits for lunch.