Tunbridge or Tonbridge....

Tunbridge with a u or Tonbridge with an o? No it's not a version of Liza with a zee which the cabaret singer used to chant everytime you saw her on telly. In fact that question should be: Is it Thunebrugge, Tonebrigge, Tunbrydge, Tunbridg, Tonebriga, Tunebruge, Tonebregge, Tunbrigg, various Saxon spellings with sqiggly lines over letters, Tonbridge or Tunbridge? These are all derivatives of the place name of our town which I've seen written in various books and prints on the subject. Did I miss any? The fact is no one knows where exactly the name Tonbridge actually comes from, it's all guesswork, since we can't go back to the Dark Ages or Roman times, so we can have as many thoeries as we like. People in general couldn't spell anyway until at least the Nineteenth Century, so they did what children do now, they make it up from the sound it makes; that's probably why the "correct" spelling has evolved. Town of Bridges it probably isn't, so don't start on that line. Like most place names it's usually incredibly dull when you do find out so it's much more fun guessing....