Tunbridge Ware trinkets, toys and showpieces were the fridge magnets of their time; now they are the ultimate collectibles. When in the 18th and 19th centuries the aristocracy and middle classes travelled to Royal Tunbridge Wells for its curative waters, traders in West Kent saw an opportunity. The visitors needed souvenirs or gifts and with the forests of the Weald providing plentiful raw materials, turners and craftsmen started creating wooden objects decorated with veneered inlaid marquetry and intricate mosaics.
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