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Early times
Edenbridge developed at a crossing point of the River Eden and
the Romans passed through on their London to Lewes road which first
crossed the river here. The route is marked in the straight line
of the main road.
In Saxon times the area lay among five denes of swine pasture in
the oak forest - some names survive locally as Broxham, Shernden
and Sundridge. Probably the first record of Eadelmesbrege
is early 12th century, as a parish within a list of churches paying
fees to Rochester.
Ancient church Parts of the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul
are early Norman and there is evidence of a smaller building than
the present church, which was rebuilt and enlarged at the beginning
of the 14th century.
Notable features include the tower clock which has only the hour
hand. Local Arts and Crafts connections are reflected in the large
Burne-Jones stained glass window in the Martyn Chapel, and the architect
Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott is buried in the old cemetery, beside
the Church Street boundary wall - his memorial is an obelisk, topped
with a small metal cross.
Market town
Under a Charter granted in the 13th century by Henry III to the
Lord of the Manor, Robert de Camvill, a market was held in Eadenegbrigge
every Saturday. When the market bell was rung, tolls due
to the lord were paid at the toll-booth. The lord also regulated
the sale of bread and beer and held the right of pillory for the
baker, and tumbrel for the brewer, if regulations were ignored.
The market tradition has continued through the centuries, and a
cattle market operated in the town until the 1920s. Market Yard
car park still hosts a weekly general market each Thursday.
Industrial past
For five hundred years Edenbridge was a tannery town and a major
chapter of its history ended when the tannery closed in the 1970s,
unable to compete with imported leather. The  owners
held deeds showing continuous title on the site back to the 1670s.
The office building, Tanyard House, remains at the southern end
of the High Street, and curves from the site gateway can be seen
on the ground of the Leather Market car park entrance. Opposite
is the white-boarded ancient corn mill building of medieval origin,
which contained a water wheel turned by the stream in the Mill Leat.
Politics and power Edenbridge has been home to some powerful historic
figures: one, William Taylour of the Grocers’ Company, was
elected Sheriff of London in 1455 becoming Lord Mayor in 1468, and
his house Taylour House still stands in the narrowest part of the
High Street opposite Ye Old Crown Inn. He was knighted Sir William
of St Mary Aldermary in 1483.
The Great Stone Bridge The present single-arch stone bridge (dated
1836) replaced the six-arch design in stone first built in the reign
of Henry VII. Records of the ancient Great Stone Bridge Trust date
from 1595, with originally 12 wardens who held office for life.
An inscription on the bridge names as Bridge Wardens George Langridge
and Augustus Corke. Over centuries surplus funds built up and were
used for the good of the parish, and the Trust is still actively
benefitting Edenbridge today.
Ancient inns and smugglers Located on a through-route from London
to the coast, finding old High Street inns like the White Horse,
with former stable yards behind, is not surprising. The 14th century
Ye Old Crown Inn has an unusual sign spanning the street and links
to smuggling - at its height in the early 19th century the Ransley
Gang were trading contraband. Upstairs there was a concealed passage,
where several casks could be hidden, with secret pipes down to the
tap room which were disconnected if Excise men appeared. Taylour
House opposite was the Griffin Inn in the 16th century.
Victorian railways
Edenbridge expanded with the building of two rail lines in Victorian
times. First, the Redhill to Tonbridge line opened in 1842. Then
the London Brighton and South Coast Railway reached town in 1888,
delayed by earlier riots at Mark Beech when English navvies, worried
about  wages,
attacked around 500 lower-paid French labourers in 1866. The tunnel-under-a-cutting,
at the lines’ cross-over point west of town, is an interesting
construction feature.
20th century expansion Major growth came in the 1950s and 60s with
private and public housing developments, including two London County
Council estates at Stangrove Park and Spitals Cross - both hailed
for the town-in-country design quality of the homes. New industrial
estates were also created, providing work for the incoming residents.
The town’s main industrial base is at the northern end, where
there is a variety of light industry, and there is also a small
trading estate in Hever Road.
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