Tuesday markets in Tonbridge....

Just found this information in an old agriculture book on Kent which some of the more nostalgic among you may find interesting: Market days were every Tuesday in Tonbridge (the market entrance was right opposite Mr. Books shop in fact) Now I'm not talking about a bit of fruit and veg, some dodgy batteries and t-shirts; I'm talking about a proper thriving livestock market. In fact the numbers of livestock which moved through Tonbridge market in a typical year are recorded, up to the early 1950s, as being 4,500 cattle, 3,000 calves, 18,500 sheep, and 11,000 pigs; a total of 37,000! They would have all been herded from the railway station and later from lorries along the main streets through the town. Now that's a lot of crap down the High Street to clear up on a Tuesday evening! Whatever happened to these traditional market days? Why did they suddenly disappear? Wasn't it better in those days? Can't we bring them back?...