Ancient times

The area has been occupied for thousands of years. The Neolithic people left behind much evidence: megaliths such as Kit's Coty House at Aylesford and the Coldrum Stones at Trottiscliffe; and the Long barrows at Addington being examples. Bronze and Iron Age finds are also plentiful. There is evidence of the Romano-British civilisation along the Medway Valley.

The immediate district of Tonbridge is omitted from the Domesday Book; however most other settlements in the Borough are included. Castles were built at Tonbridge, Allington and West Malling in the 13th century. Religious houses: Malling, Aylesford and Tonbridge were built: one such was St Mary's Abbey dating from 1092. Aylesford Priory on the banks of the Medway, was built in the 13th century.

There are surviving medieval manor houses including Ightham Mote and Old Soar Manor.

19th century onwards

Modern times

The land included is mainly agricultural – orchards, and livestock in the main – although major business parks and buildings within 30 miles (50 km) coupled with the railways and the motorway means a majority of working residents commute to work in the more built-up villages and Tonbridge. The new settlement of Kings Hill can be regarded as tied in with the economy of Maidstone equally with that of parts of Kent further to the western extremity.

A remnant of the once flourishing hop-growing industry is provided by a tourist attraction at Beltring: once the Whitbread Hop Farm, it puts on weekend exhibitions and shows. Tonbridge and Malling has 27 listed buildings in the highest category of the national system, Grade I. This includes eight churches, five reduced structures left over from St Mary's Abbey or Malling Abbey, West Malling and four manor houses, mostly built by lower social ranks than the titled nobility.

A diverse materials and appearance construction is Ightham Mote which is recognised in the highest category of the UK's architecture listing system, Grade I, though no longer in private hands. East Malling Research Station disseminates results of research into matters affecting horticultural crops, with particular emphasis on the fruit, hop and nursery stock industries.

Many of the villages are beside long-distance walks with tourist accommodation, enabling tours of the orchards and bluebell woods.

Administrative history

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, all of which were abolished at the same time:^[3]

• Malling Rural District
• Tonbridge Rural District (parishes of Hadlow and Hildenborough only, rest went to Tunbridge Wells)
• Tonbridge Urban District

The new district was named Tonbridge and Malling, combining the names of the former districts.^[4]

The district received borough status on 16 December 1983, changing the name of the council from Tonbridge and Malling District Council to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.^[5]

Political control

Since the 2023 election the council has been under no overall control, being led by a coalition of the Conservatives and the Independent Alliance.^[9]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:^[10][11]

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tonbridge and Malling. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1985 have been:^[12]

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:^[15]

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's main offices are at the Gibson Building in Kings Hill, which had been built in 1939 as the officers' mess building of RAF West Malling.^[16] The building is named after Wing Commander Guy Gibson, known for leading the Dambusters Raid, who had been based at RAF West Malling in 1941–1942.^[17] The council moved to the Gibson Building in November 1974, just a few months after the council's creation.^[18] A large extension to the Gibson Building was added in 2000.^[19] The council also has an office at Tonbridge Castle, which had been the offices of the former Tonbridge Urban District Council.^[20]

Wider politics

In the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the area is covered by the larger Tonbridge and Malling Parliamentary Constituency and part of Chatham and Aylesford Parliament constituency.

Individuals

Military Units

• The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.^[34]
• 29 Squadron, RAF.

^[35]