Street Directories
The entries in the spreadsheet below have been taken from the Kellys Street Directory for Tunbridge Wells for the years shown. When most of the houses in Ravenswood Avenue were first built, they were named and the numbering occurred shortly after, eg the 1938 and 1939 directories show numbers for houses 2-28 on the south side and 1-23 on the north side, and names for the other houses that had been built when each directory was published. The 1940 directory shows numbers for all the houses listed in the directory and no names at all. The house names have been included alongside the houe numbers in the spreadsheet below. The later houses that were never named (like number 40 where I used to live) have a blank space in the appropriate column.
The spreadsheet (in xls format) can be downloaded
Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 2SG, TN2 3SJ & TN2 3SQ
Recent pictures of Ravenswood Avenue: top left: the start of Ravenswood Avenue looking east between 38 and 40 Hilbert Road, showing number 1 on the left, number 4 on the right and number 14 at the end of the road; top right: looking west from number 26 on the left, number 19 on the right and numbers 4 and 6 at the end of the road; top centre left: looking east from number 29 on the left and number 38 on the right; top centre right: looking north from number 42 on the right and number 37 on the left; bottom centre left: looking north from number 57 on the left, 68 on the right and (present day) 14 Lipscombe Road at the end of the road; bottom centre right: looking west from number 67 on the left, and number 78 on the right; bottom left: looking east from number 100 on the left and number 89 on the right; bottom right: the other end of Ravenswood Avenue looking between (present day) numbers 66 and 68 Hilbert Road, looking east from number 110 on the left and 91 on the right, and left: an aerial view of the south side of Ravenswood Avenue from the junction with Hilbert Road (top right) to the junction with Pinewood Road (top left) and along the straight east side to numbers 58 and 59 – aerial photo thanks Zooplah. Do you have any old pictures of Ravenswood Avenue that you would allow me to display, please?
The 1939 Register
The entries in the text file below have been taken from the 1939 Register. The Register was taken on 29 September 1939 and is one of the most important twentieth century genealogical resources for England and Wales. The 1931 census was destroyed by fire. No census was taken in 1941 because of the war. So the 1939 Register is the only national census-like resource available for this period. Once war became inevitable the British Government knew they had to issue National Identity cards. They planned for the wide-scale mobilisation of the population and the eventual introduction of rationing. The most recent census was now almost a decade old, so more up-to-date statistics were needed. Some preparations had already begun for the 1941 census, so the Government capitalised on this to take a register of the civilian population. They issued Identity cards immediately afterwards (which were used until 1952). The Government constantly updated and changed the 1939 Register over time to take account of changes of address or deaths. When they introduced rationing in 1941, they planned it with information from the 1939 Register. The 1939 Register eventually formed the basis of the NHS registration system.
The text file (in doc format) can be downloaded
The four columns show the house number (or name), occupiers name (later additions in brackets), occupiers date of birth, Married (M), (Single (S) or Widowed (W) and occupation. A name in square brackets in the occupation column for women indicates a change of surname on marriage, sometimes showing the year of marriage. A ‘Closed Entry’ indicates the record is closed for a century after the person’s birth (the 100 year rule), unless it can be proven they passed away before this milestone.
Abbreviations are commonly used in the Register as follows:
AFS Auxillary Fire Service) ARP Air Raid Precautions Warden ARW Air Raid Warden GPO General Post Office RNVSR Royal Navy Volunteer Supplementary Reserve
TW Tunbridge Wells UDD Unpaid domestic duties (used for women not working and looking after the home) WVS Womens Voluntary Service
Some house numbers are missing. This is because the houses had not been built by September 1939. In fact there are no records at all for Pinewood Road. The maps for the other four roads show where the gaps in building were located.
It is interesting to note the different occupations of the persons living on the estate. There were 11 police officers and three retired police officers, and I know of at least two other police officer who moved to the estate the following year. The size of Tunbridge Wells Borough Police in 1939 was only about 40 officers, which means over a quarter of them lived on the estate. It must have been a very law-abiding place to live!
Map of Ferndale Park Estate showing the location (black arrowed) of Ravenswood Avnue, and the gaps in building (dark grey areas) on the estate at that time.
