From the Pantiles to Calverley
The town grew around its spa. The Pantiles and Mount Sion date back to the 1680s, and in the nineteenth century Decimus Burton laid out the Calverley estate, with its terraces and villas set around parkland. Today there are roughly 270 listed buildings within about 1.5 km of the centre, and conservation areas cover The Pantiles, Mount Sion and the High Street, Calverley Park, Camden Park and Broadwater Down, among others.
For owners, that history affects decisions as small as a front door colour. If your home is listed or inside a conservation area, it is worth checking with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council before changing an exterior, and keeping to the existing look is usually the simpler path.
Caring for stucco and stone
Smooth painted stucco is the signature finish of many Regency fronts here. Older stucco can be soft, and it often carries decades of previous coatings. The job starts with washing down, raking out and filling cracks, and finding out what is already on the wall, because the new paint has to suit both the render and the old layers. Breathable masonry paints are often the right choice on older walls. Some buildings are faced in local High Weald sandstone, which is generally best left unpainted unless it already has a coating.
Sash windows and traditional colours
Timber sash windows are everywhere in the older streets. They need careful easing and preparation so they slide freely afterwards, and a paint system suited to exterior joinery. Many owners prefer traditional off-whites, stone shades and deep heritage colours that sit well with neighbouring houses. Our sash window page explains the process, including where a joiner is needed for repairs.
Tall rooms and fine plasterwork
Inside, period rooms bring high ceilings, deep cornices, ceiling roses, picture rails and panelled doors. Cornices clogged with old distemper or many layers of emulsion can lose their crisp edges, so we take care not to add to the build-up. High ceilings need proper access equipment, and long staircases rising through three or four storeys are planned as a single job.
Converted flats and letting
Many large Victorian houses have been divided into flats, and about 19.2% of homes across the borough are privately rented. Conversions often share a grand hallway and staircase, which can be decorated as a communal project for freeholders or managing agents. Individual flats can be refreshed between tenancies.
Front doors, railings and porches
Regency and Victorian fronts here often come with panelled front doors, pillared porches, decorative ironwork and railings. Each needs its own approach. Doors are sanded, filled and finished in an exterior joinery paint, and railings have loose rust and flaking paint removed before a metal primer and topcoat. Doing these details at the same time as the walls and windows gives the whole front a finished, cared-for look.
Tall houses and several storeys
Many period houses here rise three or four floors, sometimes with a basement level below the pavement. Reaching upper windows and parapets needs suitable access, which we assess on the first visit. Indoors, long runs of stairs and landings are best decorated top to bottom in one sequence.
Post-war homes and town-centre shops
Not everything here is period. Estates at Sherwood and Ramslye were built after the war and suit straightforward interior and exterior decorating. In the centre, Royal Victoria Place, Mount Pleasant Road and the shops and restaurants of the Pantiles mean plenty of commercial work, from office suites to shop interiors. Tunbridge Wells is within our working area of up to 40 miles from Swanley. Call Eric on 07872 324935 or send your postcode through the form.