25 Years ago in Tenterden - December 1997
From the Tenterden Archives
Researched by Jack Gillett
- The future of Tenterden’s West View Hospital is still on the line.
- Sharp eyed viewers of BBC’s The Phoenix and the Carpet may have recognised the Victorian carriages and steam train used by the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
- Pupils at the Audrey Hill School of Dancing at Tenterden will entertain audiences at a pantomime in Bethersden Village Hall.
- Tenterden’s Kent and East Sussex Railway went miniature when its Terrier Trust staged a two-day exhibition of model trains and track at Homewood School.
- Sixth form students at Homewood school promoted their own catwalk show as part of a GNVQ Leisure and Tourism course.
- Glowing tributes to Roderick Jeary of Homewood Road, Tenterden, for his 18 years as a magistrate were paid at Ashford Court when he sat in judgement there for the last time.
- The Weald of Kent Art Group held a Christmas Exhibition of paintings in Tenterden Town Hall.
- A Police chief has confirmed that the full-time counter service at Tenterden and Cranbrook police stations is due to be closed in the spring.
- Nine serving mayors, including Tenterden Mayor Cllr Scilla Aitchison, joined more than 130 members of the Kent Mayors’ Association for the annual Christmas luncheon at the Hotel Imperial, Hythe.
- Tenterden Vineyard winemaker Stephen Skelton has been awarded £2,000 by Canterbury Farmers Club to study vine growing in New Zealand.
- Preparations are under way for the next Tenterden Archives Exhibition by the town council in 1999.
- Beef eaters in the Ashford and Tenterden area have been given food for thought with the latest revelations in the Kentish express over the possible local origin.
- Dave and Sheila O’Callaghan will retire next month after almost 27 years behind the bar at the Vine Inn in Tenterden.
- Conservative candidate Paul Clokie won the three way by-election contest for the Tenterden East seat on the Ashford Borough Council.
- Students can now sit for the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society diploma at Homewood School adult education centre.
- The Mayor of Tenterden, Cllr Scilla Aitchison was guest of honour at the annual dinner and presentation for the town bowls club.
- The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, presided over the ordination as priest of the Rev John Emmott, 65, at The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Tenterden.
- The arguments against allowing Tesco to build a supermarket on the old Highbury chemical works site were abolished one-by-one in a 22 page report by the planning inspector who conducted the public inquiry into the scheme.
Jack Gillett
December 2022