‘‘On our way to school we used to call in at the Carlton Cafe and ask if they had a penneth of stale buns…’’
Margaret Maddison

Tonbridge High Street - 1961

This was the year when JFK became president, man went to space, America entered the war in Vietnam and the Berlin Wall sprung up overnight - dividing Europe and escalating the cold war. Meanwhile in Tonbridge, it was business as usual on the High Street as the farthing ceased to become legal tender and the cafe’s started to the swing to the sound of The Beatles and The Supremes. Listen to Tonbridge residents Anne Clement and Margaret Maddison recount their historic memories of the High Street.

Pic: Courier Archives / Gavin Sawyer

Audio: ‘Downtown’, Petula Clark