Royal Tunbridge Wells owes both its fame and its fortune to a serendipitous discovery in 1606 by the then Lord North, who, returning from a period of over-indulgence at his estate at Eridge, interrupted his journey in order to refresh himself with water flowing from what was later to be termed The Chalybeate Spring 1. Finding himself completely revived as a result of his fortuitous discovery, he soon began to spread the word about the restorative powers of this spring, and it was not long before the small settlement of Tunbridge Wells (as it was to become known) found itself a centre of attraction for visitors from London and beyond. In 1909, King Edward VII granted the town its Royal Charter, and it then became known — as it is still known today — as “Royal Tunbridge Wells”.
[1] The Oxford English Dictionary defines Chalybeate as meaning Impregnated or flavoured with iron, esp. as a mineral water or spring relating to such waters or preparations.