Tenterden, in the ancient Wealden forest, was a swine-pasture at the time of Domesday Book but over the next three centuries it developed into a centre of the cloth industry and a thriving market town. By the middle of the 15th century, Henry VIII had granted a charter and within a few years the town was a member of the Cinque Ports, with its own harbour. As late as the 17th century it was assessed heavily for ship-money; an indication of its wealth. But though there were increases in population in most towns, in the 19th century, Tenterden’s declined.