River Teise

The River Teise is a small tributary of the River Medway in Kent. It rises in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells and flows east past Bayham Abbey and Lamberhurst. Two miles below Lamberhurst the River Bewl joins it, bringing water from Bewl Water reservoir. Near Marden the Teise splits into the Lesser Teise and the Greater Teise, each taking a separate course to the Medway. The Lesser Teise runs for about four miles to join the Beult at Hunton, while the Greater Teise continues for five miles to Twyford Bridge above Yalding. The Teise powered several historic watermills from the 16th century onwards. Gloucester Furnace at Lamberhurst produced two hundred tons of iron in 1717, and Hoadly Forge supplied the railings around St Paul’s Cathedral. Hope Mill at Goudhurst once had two waterwheels, one breastshot and one overshot, driving three pairs of millstones. Marden Mill, run by the Hammond family for three generations, was demolished in 1912. Remains of weirs and old meanders still mark the river’s engineered and natural sections. A walk along the Teise passes surviving mill ponds, old weirs and stretches of woodland where former bends are visible. The riverbanks show traces of ironworks and forges that once lined its course. At Lamberhurst the furnace site and forge pond recall the industrial past, while Goudhurst’s converted mills stand as quiet reminders of the river’s working life. The landscape around the Teise combines parkland, farmland and wooded hills, offering gentle riverside paths and views across the Kent countryside.