The great New Year’s Quiz!

1. What is the Assembly Halls Christmas Pantomime this year?

A] Cinderella

B] Jack and the Beanstalk

C] Dick Whittington

D] Sleeping Beauty

 

2. Which European town is Tunbridge Wells twinned with?

A] Wiesbaden

B] Lambersart

C] Beauvais

D] Heusenstamm

 

3. How much money was stolen in the 2006 Tonbridge Securitas robbery, the second biggest heist recorded in British history?

A] £48million

B] £53million

C] £56million

D] £61million

 

4. For how long has Tunbridge Wells been represented in parliament by a Conservative MP?

A] 33 years

B] 35 years

C] 44 years

D] 48 years

 

5. Which of these MPs was the first to serve the Tunbridge Wells Constituency?

A] Greg Clark

B] Archie Norman

C] Adrian Ekins-Daukes

D] Patrick Mayhew

 

6. What has recently opened in Tonbridge to set local people purring?

A] Cat café

B] Playground for cats

C] Adopt a cat scheme

D] Cats, the musical, showing at the Angel Centre

 

7. What was the old Opera house building used for in the 1990s before it was turned into a Wetherspoons?

A] Community space

B] Wedding venue

C] Bingo hall

D] Cinema

 

8. Which local village is almost entirely owned by the National Trust?

A] Chiddingstone

B] Penshurst

C] Fordcombe

D] Poundsbridge

 

9. What is the oldest park in Tunbridge Wells?

A] Dunorlan Park

B] The Grove

C] Calverley Grounds

D] St John’s Park

 

10. What is Tunbridge Wells’ population according to [most recent] figures published in 2014?

A] 113,893

B] 116,100

C] 116,899

D] 119,327

 

11. Which monarch gave Tunbridge Wells its Royal title?

A] Queen Elizabeth II

B] Queen Victoria

C] King Edward VII

D] King George V

12. How many people can the Assembly Halls seat?

A] 800

B] 950

C] 1,000

D] 1,150

 

13. Which supercar manufacturer has opened a garage in Tunbridge Wells? 

A] Ferrari

B] Lamborghini

C] Porsche

D] Bugatti

 

14. On which date did Tonbridge School open?

A] 1542

B] 1553

C] 1557

D] 1561

 

15. When was the last time that Tonbridge town centre suffered serious floods?

A] Christmas 2012

B] Summer 2012

C] Christmas 2013

D] New Year 2014

 

16. Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark is a Cabinet Member – but what is he secretary for?

A] Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

B] Leaving the European Union

C] Health

D] Buses and zebra crossings

 

17. Cllr Peter Bulman represents Park ward on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council – but where does he live?

A] Hawkenbury near Tunbridge Wells

B] Larkfield in Tonbridge borough

C] Notting Hill Gate in London

D] Holt in North Norfolk

 

18. Late local historian Frank Chapman suggested that ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ originally came from letters written to The Times [not the Times of Tunbridge Wells!]. What is the name of the publication that he believes first used the phrase? 

A] The Courier

B] The Tunbridge Wells Advertiser

C] The Tunbridge Wells Observer

D] The Tunbridge Wells Herald

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS ROUND

19. The 200^thparkrun in Tunbridge Wells was held earlier this year. What is the course record for men?

A] 29mins 09

B] 17mins 48

C] 16mins 12

D] 15mins 17

 

20. Which national institution launched its 70th birthday celebrations at Tonbridge parkrun this year?

A] Social services

B] State pension fund

C] Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

D] The NHS

 

21. Which of these food outlets in Royal Victoria Place reported it was closing?

A] KFC

B] McDonald’s

C] Subway

D] Spud U Like

 

22. Tunbridge Wells will have a BID established next year, what does this stand for?

A] Bulky Industrial Design strategy

B] Brain Injury Department

C] Business Improvement District

D] Banner Incident Detection board

 

23. There are plans to build a new cinema on the old ABC cinema site on Mount Pleasant in Tunbridge Wells – when did the old one close?

A] 1998

B] 2000

C] 2003

D] 2001

 

24. Tunbridge Wells West Station hosted which major event in the autumn? 

A] CAMRA Real Ale and Cider Festival

B] Heritage Railway Association annual general meeting

C] Beat and Track music festival

D] UKIP Party conference

 

25. The 2018 Times Business Awards were hosted by which ex-MP turned documentary presenter? 

A] Ed Balls

B] Edwina Currie

C] Michael Portillo

D] Angela Knight

26. And at the same awards, which award was not presented for overall low standard?

A] Architectural design of the year

B] Shopfront of the year

C] Major project

D] Newspaper quiz of the year

 

27. What did Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat do at the same time as he was being interviewed on the radio?

A] Participated in a charity rowing event

B] Changed his daughter’s nappy

C] Drove a tank

D] Took to Twitter to talk about his children using the hashtag #solodad

  

28. Which town did David Wright, Chairman of the Civic Society Awards committee, say Tunbridge Wells was in danger of turning into?

A] Croydon

B] Milton Keynes

C] Grimsby

D] Tonbridge

 

29. What ‘first’ did Dame Kelly Holmes achieve this year?

A] First coffee shop owner to sell a liquorice latte

B] First woman to be awarded the Freedom of Hildenborough

C] First person to take part in Times of Tunbridge Wells quiz to get more than ten answers correct

D] First person to be made an honorary colonel in the Army

 

30. In August, which musical sold less than half of its tickets at The Assembly Hall?

A] Fame

B] Grease

C] Wicked

D] Cats

 

31. Which town beat Tunbridge Wells to be named UK High Street of the Year?

A] Altrincham

B] Kingston

C] Crickhowell

D] Croydon

 

32. Name the much-loved Tonbridge station cat who sadly passed away this year.

A] Luna

B] Sapphie

C] Barney

D] Kelly

 

33. Which heritage building that is 6ft taller than Nelson’s column was put up for sale this year?

A] Penshurst Tower

B] Fordcombe Tower

C] Hadlow Tower

D] Mount Pleasant cinema site

 

34. How much money was the Tunbridge Wells branch of the British Royal Legion reported to raise this year from its Remembrance Campaign?

A] £37,000

B] £39,000

C] £42,000

D] £46,000

 

HISTORY

 

35. In what year was the Chalybeate Spring in the Pantiles discovered?

A] 1589

B] 1606

C] 1627

D] 1634

 

36. In what year was the spelling of ‘Tunbridge’ changed to ‘Tonbridge’, so as not to confuse between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells?

A] 1708

B] 1780

C] 1807

D] 1870

 

37. What sort of event, hosted in Tunbridge Wells in 1895, was the first of its kind in Britain?

A] Agricultural show

B] Motor show

C] Flower show

D] Gun show

     

38. Which family built the first stone castle in Tonbridge? 

A] De Clare

B] Rufus

C] Curthose

D] Charpentier

39. What was the first building that started the settlement in Tunbridge Wells in 1678? 

A] Grove Hill House

B] Chapel of King Charles’ the Martyr

C] Dunorlan House

D] St John’s Church

 

40. What traffic incident happened for the first time in Tonbridge in 1896?

A] An illegal drag race took place

B] The first speeding ticket was issued

C] A car was caught donut-ing for the first time

D] A car rolled for the first time

 

41. Who was the last woman to be hung in Britain in 1955, having been married in Tonbridge registry office? 

A] Sarah Johnson

B] Christine Barnett

C] Ella Campbell

D] Ruth Ellis

 

42. Tunbridge Wells was one of the first towns in England to provide which organised service in 1794?

A] Fire Brigade

B] Territorial Army

C] Telegraph office

D] Royal Mail post office

 

43. In what year did Tunbridge Wells open its first railway station?

A] 1836

B] 1845

C] 1852

D] 1867

 

44. The boundaries of Tunbridge Wells were widened in 1900 to include which area?

A] Southborough

B] Langton Green

C] Rusthall

D] Hawkenbury

 

45. The 12^th century Tonbridge Priory was dedicated to which saint?

A] St Mary Magdalene

B] St William

C] St Raphael the Archangel

D] St Agatha of Siciliy

46. In what time period was The Pantiles built?

A] Georgian

B] Victorian

C] Edwardian

D] Elizabethan

 

SPORT

 

47. In what year did the Tunbridge Wells Football Club play the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium?

A] 2012

B] 2013

C] 2014

D] 2015

 

48. Which famous football manager used to play for the Tonbridge Angels?

A] Gareth Southgate

B] Roy Hodgson

C] Jose Mourinho

D] Eddie Howe

49. What countries played in a Cricket World Cup game hosted on Nevill Ground in 1983?

A] Pakistan vs South Africa

B] Australia vs West Indies

C] India vs Zimbabwe

D] England vs Afghanistan

 

50. What are Tonbridge Angels Football Club celebrating this season? 

A] 70^th anniversary

B] Promotion in the league

C] Record number of goalless draws

D] Overtaking Tottenham Hotspur to be named as one of the South’s top 50 supported teams

 

51. Tonbridge played its part in hosting which major sporting event in 2007? 

A] World Rally Championship

B] Tour de France

C] Olympic Torch on its way to Beijing

D] UK Triathlon Championship

 

52. Which famous cricketing family, who attended Tonbridge School, produced two England captains?

A] Boycott

B] Butcher

C] Vaughan

D] Cowdreys

 

FAMOUS CONNECTIONS

 

53. Which school did ‘I’m a Celeb’ contestant and DIY SOS frontman Nick Knowles attend?

A] The Skinners’ School

B] Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

C] The Judd School

D] Bennett Memorial Diocesan School

 

54. Which one of these famous 20^th century novelists attended Tonbridge School?

A] H G Wells

B] Anthony Burgess

C] D H Lawrence

D] E M Forster

 

55. The Forum celebrated an anniversary as a venue this year. How long has it now been open?

A] 10 years

B] 25 years

C] 30 years

D] 50 years

 

56. Which world famous female novelist’s father was born in Tonbridge?

A] Charlotte Bronte

B] Jane Austen

C] Agatha Christie

D] Mary Shelley

57. Which two of these famous artists performed at the Forum?

A] Green Day

B] Florence and The Machine

C] Bob Dylan

D] Ellie Goulding

 

58. In which local stately manor was ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ filmed?

A] Hever Castle

B] Ightham Mote

C] Penshurst Place

D] Knole Park

 

59. Which artist designed and created the stained-glass windows at All Saints’ Church in Tudeley?

A] Joan Miró

B] Marc Chagall

C] Henri Rousseau

D] Paul Klee

 

60. In 1850, Charles Dickens came to Tonbridge and saw what new technological invention in use?

A] Telegraph

B] Dishwasher

C] Sewing machine

D] Washing machine

 

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:

1. D) Sleeping Beauty
2. A) Wiesbaden
3. B) £53million
4. C) 44 years
5. D) Patrick Mayhew – He served the Tunbridge Wells constituency from 1974 to 1977
6. A) Cat café
7. C) Bingo hall
8. A) Chiddingstone
9. C) The Grove – Opening In 1889, the Grove Recreational Ground is counted as the town’s oldest park
10. B) 116,100
11. C) King Edward VII
12. C) 1,000
13. B) Lamborghini
14. B) 1553
15. C) Christmas 2013 – 37,000 houses were left without power and 1,000 properties were flooded on Christmas Day
16. A) Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
17. D) Holt in North Norfolk
18. B) The Tunbridge Wells Advertiser – Chapman believes that at the inception of the paper, the editor asked his staff to write complaints for the letter section. One of them signed the letter as ‘Disgusted’ and from that the phrase was created.

CURRENT AFFAIRS ROUND:

19. C) 16mins 12
20. D) The NHS
21. A) KFC
22. C) Business Improvement District
23. B) 2000
24. A) CAMRA Real Ale and Cider Festival
25. C) Michael Portillo
26. B) Shopfront of the year
27. B) He changed his daughter’s nappy whilst being live on air
28. A) Croydon
29. D) First person to be made an honorary colonel in the Army – Kelly Holmes served in the army for ten years, reaching the rank of sergeant, before becoming an internationally successful athlete. She has now been awarded the title of honorary colonel for The Royal Corps Training Regiment in Dorset
30. A) Fame
31. C) Crickhowell
32. B) Sapphie
33. C) Hadlow Tower
34. D) £46,000

HISTORY

35. B) 1606
36. D) 1870
37. B) Motor show
38. A) De Clare – After the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror, Tonbridge Castle was built by Richard de Clare in order to ensure that the Normans could rapidly install themselves as leaders to a hostile population.
39. B) Chapel of King Charles’ the Martyr
40. B) The first speeding ticket was issued
41. D) Ruth Ellis – In 1955 Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain for the murder of her lover
42. A) Fire Brigade
43. B) 1845 – Tunbridge Wells Central opened in 1845 and was operated by South Eastern Railway
44. C) Rusthall
45. A) St Mary Magdalene
46. A) Georgian

SPORT

47. B) 2013
48. B) Roy Hodgson
49. C) India vs Zimbabwe
50. A) 70th anniversary
51. B) Tour de France
52. D) Cowdreys

FAMOUS CONNECTIONS

53. A) Skinners
54. D) E M Forster
55. B) 25 years
56. B) Jane Austen
57. A) Green Day and D) Ellie Goulding
58. C) Penshurst Place
59. B) Marc Chagall – Marc Chagall was a French-Russian early modernist artist who never limited himself to one form. He worked with stained glass, ceramic, tapestries, paintings, stage sets and many more.
60. A) Telegraph

 

How did you do?

0-9 Special measures

10-19 Missed targets

20-29 Value engineering

30-39 Committee approval

40-49 A job Wells done

50+ Newsworthy