A colonnaded Georgian parade built around the historic Chalybeate Spring, discovered in 1606.
The Pantiles is Tunbridge Wells' most famous street, a colonnaded Georgian parade built around the Chalybeate Spring, discovered by Lord North in 1606.
The spring's iron-rich waters made Tunbridge Wells a fashionable spa destination from the early 1600s, visited by royalty including Queen Anne and Queen Victoria, leading King Edward VII to grant the town its "Royal" title in 1909. The Upper and Lower Walks were laid out in 1638. A fire in 1687 destroyed the original wooden buildings alongside the Walks; they were rebuilt with the covered colonnades that give the Pantiles its distinctive character today.
The Pantiles today is home to independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants beneath the historic colonnades, with the Chalybeate Spring still on view.