Treasures of Tenterden

Today was the day of our walking quiz around Tenterden, Treasures of Tenterden. We set up our position at a reserved table just inside the front door of The Vine Inn at around 11am just as the annual Boxing Day hunt was getting into gear. A large throng had gathered outside to watch the hunt leave. Now, we at T3 are not into hunts per se, but large crowds mean potential customers! And this is what we wanted, and we weren't disappointed.

Carolyn starts to sell quiz sheets.

Carolyn and Christine (far right in edge of shot) surrounded by punters.

Folks paid the princely sum of one (1) pound for a quiz sheet made up of 30 questions. The quiz took them around the town and questions tested either local knowledge or observational skill.

As folks set off we let them know that 5pm was the cutoff time for entries. We also told them that the answers would be published here on the blog. I will do that in just a sec, but first I want to thank a few people.
First and foremost, a big thank you to Steve, Fraser and the rest of the staff of The Vine Inn, for agreeing to host us, for taking part, and for donating a great prize of a meal for two!
Paul and the staff of The White Lion Hotel for donating the prize of a night in the four-poster suite at The White Lion, and for taking part in the quiz also.
Debbie Fleet and the William Caxton staff for helping out, and putting up not one but four of our posters in the pub.
Carolyn, Laura, Justin, Christine and Christopher for their help with bringing the quiz to fruition, various errands and printing jobs, and spreading the word.

Carolyn, Justin and Christine in deep discussion.

Debbie Allen of The Village Directory for putting a piece in the December issue.
Emma Isworth for plugging us in the Kentish Express.
All of our advertisers and folks who put posters up for us.
And of course, the willing participants who took part! We all had great fun!

Laura looks over the questions.

Now... to the quiz itself! Here are the questions and answers, folks!


T3's Treasures of Tenterden

Start your walk at The Vine. Remember to have a drink before you start! The walk can be done in two hours or less, depending on your pace and length of rest stops(!)

Turn left out of the front door, and take the first left turn into Coombe Lane, cut through the coach park and into the old cemetery.
Q1.Who was Charles Finter's wife? A) Eliza
Exit the cemetery and back into Coombe Lane. Walk down to the KESR Station.
Q2.What time do they collect the mail from the George V 'lamp' letterbox on Saturday? A) 9 a.m.
Go back up to Church Path, and walk up towards Church Rd.
Q3.The Day Centre is on the right, but what was its previous purpose ? A) The National School.
When you get to the top of Church path, walk into the small car park on your left.
Q4. Which church can you see? A) St. Michael & All Angels
Turn around and walk along Church Road. On your left is St Mildred's Church. Go into the
Churchyard and enter the Church. Find the ship, and read the board about it.
Q5. What is the name of the ship? A) "The Grand Mistress" 
Go back to Church Road and walk back to the High Street.
Q6.Look right to see this lamp.

Which shop does it belong to? A) Payden's Chemists
Look at the hairdresser's (William Charles) on the corner of Church Road.
Q7.What was its former purpose? A) Toll House / Police Station (both are correct, but the present building was built as a Police Station on the site of the Tollhouse).
Walk along Church Passage, past the Woolpack, stop at the Town Hall.
Q8.Whose notice board is on the wall between the Town Hall and Fat Face? A) Tenterden Museum
Continue walking eastwards.

Q9.Where is this cat?
A) On the roof of Little Dane Court.
Keep walking until you get to the Unitarian Church, the Old Meeting House.
Q10. In which year did Benjamin Franklin come to worship here?  A) 1774
Q11. Carry on walking to the Catholic Church of which Saint? A)St. Andrew
Cross over the top of Turners Avenue.
Q12. Who is the pastor of the Trinity Baptist church? A) This was a trick question - there is currently no pastor. However, some people knew the name of the previous pastor, Rev. Mumtaz Ali, so we let them have that one.
Go back to the Catholic church and cross the road at the lights.
Go into Rothley Close and through the footpath to Danemore, passing the St John's Ambulance Hall. At the bottom of Danemore, find the postbox in the wall to your left.
Q13. What time is the Saturday collection? A) 10 a.m.
 Turn right and start to walk towards Oaks Road. At the junction is Plough Cottage, which used to be an alehouse called The Plough Inn. Walk along Oaks Road, pass the gates of Hales Place, past Wellington Place until you get to a row of white houses called Oaks Place.
Q14. What year was it built? A) 1836
You should now be at the Fairings. You can still see the original facade.
Q15.What was The Fairings originally? A) A cinema, built in 1912, named 'The Electric Palace'.
The garden here is called East Cross Gardens.
Q16. Where will you see the number 1948? A) On a memorial plaque commemorating the opening and dedication of East Cross Gardens.
Look at the Old Town Pump by the junction, then turn back and cross over Oaks Road towards the Recreation Ground. Walk down the lane at the left hand side,which is Sandy Lane, until you get to the kissing gate on your right. Go through this gate and walk across the grass towards the leisure centre. Walk through the path to the back of the Centre, where you will see the recycling bins.
Carry on round the back of the Leisure Centre to see the Wildflower meadow, then walk across to the edge of the car park where you can see the Infants school's garden.
Walk up Recreation Ground Road to the gates of the Junior School, then turn left into Judges Lane. As you walk along here you will see the Allotment area on the left.
Turn left at the end of the lane and walk down to the Scout hut. To its right is a small garage.
Q17 Whose garage is it? A) Weasel's Garage (no idea who Weasel might be, but there you go.)
The path continues to Six Fields path, which goes out to Smallhythe Road, but turn around at the Scout hut, and walk back up Bells Lane, taking in the views of St Mildred's church.
Bear left along Jacksons Lane, and find the soup kitchen.
Q18.When was that built? A) 1875
As you come out onto the High Street you should be able to tell us...
Q19...how far it is to Rye? A) 10 miles, on the old milestone.
Enter the Millennium Garden.
Q20.Which kind of birds have a house in the Millennium Garden? A) Doves. However the Millennium Garden, which should have been open, was closed, so that was another freebie.
By now you are probably quite tired, so have a rest (and a quick one!) at the White Lion.
Q21.Which group meets here on the 2nd Tuesday of the month? A) The Royal British Legion.
When you come out, carry on along the High Street until you get to the Zion Baptist Church. This was built in 1835, and rebuilt in 1887, but...
Q22...when was the Sunday School built? A) 1861
 Return to the High Street.
Turn left into Highbury Lane,and you will see the Highbury Hall. Have a look at the Community Garden we have started there. Volunteers are always welcome for this project !
Walk through the Council car park, bearing right, and going out into Malthouse Lane.
This takes you back to the High Street.
Q23.Which lady can you find on the War Memorial? A) Miss D. J. Collins.
Carry on walking westwards.
Q24.What number is Eden Villa? A) 153
When you get to the William Caxton, stop and have a drink.
Q25.What did this pub used to be called?(Hint - Ask at the bar) A) The Black Horse.
From outside the pub you can see the recently restored Heronden Gatehouse.
Q26.What does it say on the central cartouche? A) AD MMX
Return eastwards to the Methodist Church.
Q27. Who is the minister here? A) Rev. Peter Hills
Cross over at the crossing. Walk back along the High Street, past Quill House, which used to be The Gardeners Arms pub, and carry on past Manor Row until you see this clock.

Q28.Which shop is it on? A) White's the Jewellers
Turn left at Rush Witt and Wilson, then go into the Car Park to see the museum.
Q29.What year was Charles Steel born? A) 1916 (on a bench dedicated to his memory).
Walk through the Car Park to Station Road.
Q30.What other Station used to be at the top of this road? A) Tenterden Fire Station

Return to the Vine and ask at the bar to find out, then hand in your completed sheets. Good luck!!


There was a tie-breaker question -  Which town was the first Transition Town? The answer of course is Totnes, Devon.


So there we are folks - those are the answers, and tomorrow after all the sheets have been marked, we shall contact the winners and announce their names here on the blog! Watch this space.

---Jeff