Royal Tunbridge Wells to have been granted this (the others being Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Wootton Bassett). Although "Wells" has a plural form, it refers to the principal source, the chalybeate spring in the Pantiles (where the "waters" were taken). Royal Tunbridge Wells is the administrative centre for both Tunbridge Wells Borough and the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. The Borough is governed by 48 Councillors, representing 20 wards (eight wards fall within the town of Tunbridge Wells itself). Elections are held for 16 Council seats each year on a rotational basis, with elections to Kent County Council taking place in the
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells newspaper, the "Tunbridge Wells Advertiser". In later times, the term has continued to be used to describe conservative letter writers who complain to newspapers about a subject that they morally or personally disagree with. It is often used in relation to news stories regarding Royal Tunbridge Wells. Some residents of the town have criticised the term as obsolete, but several continue to embrace it. A "stuffy, reactionary image" was associated with the town of Tunbridge Wells by the novelist E. M. Forster in his 1908 book "A Room with a View", in which the character Charlotte Bartlett says, "I am