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
Royal Tunbridge Wells spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town remains highly popular and derives some 30 per cent of its income from the tourist industry. The town has a population of around 56,500, and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells Borough and the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. Evidence suggests that Iron Age people farmed the fields and mined the iron-rich rocks in the Tunbridge Wells area, and excavations in 1940 and 1957–61 by James Money at High Rocks uncovered the remains of a defensive hill-fort. It is thought that the site was occupied into the era