Edenbridge, Kent

Edenbridge is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. Its name derives from Old English Eadhelmsbrigge (meaning "Eadhelm's Bridge"). It is located on the border of Kent and Surrey, on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and takes its name from that river's tributary, the River Eden. The town had a population of 7,808 in 2011.

The old part of the town grew along a section of the otherwise disused Roman road, the London to Lewes Way at the point where it crossed the river. Iron slag from iron smelting in the surrounding area was used in building the road. In the Middle Ages it became a centre of the Wealden iron industry.^{[citation needed]} There are many mediaeval timber buildings in the town, one of which houses the Eden Valley Museum.

With the coming of the railways the town expanded and the community of Marlpit Hill, north of the original settlement, is now part of the town.

After World War II, the London County Council built two modernist housing estates at Stangrove Park and Spitals Cross.

Owing to its position on the River Eden floodplain, the centre of the town is prone to severe flooding. The worst flood occurred in 1958, before any flood defences were built, and led to enormous damage to the High Street. Ten years later in 1968, despite the Eden having been dredged to prevent the same occurrence, the town was once again flooded after heavy storms in September. Although there were no fatalities, a helicopter was needed to save a man from his flooded home. Local legend has it that he hadn't noticed the flood waters rising, having been too engrossed in The Forsyte Saga on television. More adequate flood defences have been built since then, with the local community now well prepared to deal with possible flooding. In December 2019 the town was "paralysed" when the river again burst its banks.

Edenbridge has had four mills over the centuries, Haxted Mill and Honour's Mill on the River Eden, Christmas Mill on a tributary of the Eden, and a windmill to the south of the town. All four mill buildings survive, but now converted to other uses.

There are two railway stations serving Edenbridge. The earliest, on the South Eastern Railway (SER) route from Redhill to Tonbridge, was opened on 26 May 1842. The station, simply named Edenbridge, is located in Marlpit Hill. To the west of that station the route crosses what was once the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway main line from London to Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne (via Lewes), opened on 2 January 1888. The crossing of the two lines takes place at a mid-break in the Edenbridge Tunnel on the SER line. The second station, named Edenbridge Town is about a mile South-east of this point. The line serving it is now truncated at Uckfield. There is no connection here between the two routes: Edenbridge is not a junction; one existed four miles (6 km) to the west of Edenbridge Town at Crowhurst, but that junction with the Oxted to East Grinstead line no longer exists. Severe damage to the embankments of both the SER line and the East Grinstead line occurred following the excessive rains in the winter of 2019/2020 but was repaired after extensive works by end of March 2020.

All services at both stations are operated by Southern, which manages both stations.