The Forum, Tunbridge Wells The Forum, Tunbridge Wells The Forum is an independent music venue in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent with a standing capacity of 250. The venue opened in 1993, the building having previously been a public toilet. The Forum is located on Tunbridge Wells Common, close to the junction of the A26 London Road and Frant Road, opposite the King Charles the Martyr church and The Pantiles. It is approximately five minutes walk from Tunbridge Wells station. The Forum was the brainchild of four friends: Michael Oyarzabal, Peter Hoare, Jason Dormon, and Mark Davyd, two of whom had previously been involved with
Church of King Charles the Martyr, Royal Tunbridge Wells Charles I, who was executed in 1649 and whose son Charles II had been restored in 1660. While it was a chapel of ease, it served the parishes of Frant, Speldhurst and Tonbridge. When it was built, the church was the first substantial building constructed in Tunbridge Wells. The church had no resident vicar until 1709, and relied on visiting clergymen to conduct services. As Tunbridge Wells expanded, so did the church. After new parishes were created for the expanding town, the position of the chapel became an anomaly and it eventually became itself a parish church in 1889, but