Christmas carols in Tonbridge: a free Advent concert on 4 Dec, family carols on 13 Dec at 3.30pm and the hospice's carols on 20 Dec at £30. Church times due.

Three Christmas concerts in Tonbridge already have a date, and all three are in the same building: the Chapel of St Augustine at Tonbridge School, on the High Street. Tonbridge School’s free Advent concert is on Friday 4 December, the Tonbridge Philharmonic’s family carols are on Sunday 13 December at 3.30pm, and Hospice in the Weald’s Carols at Christmas is on Sunday 20 December at 6.30pm. The town’s churches have not yet published their Christmas service times. Every date and price below is from the organiser’s own page, read on 13 October 2026.

The quick answer

  • Free: Advent Concert, The Sound of the Screen 4, Friday 4 December, 7.30pm, book ahead.
  • Family carols: Tonbridge Philharmonic, Sunday 13 December, 3.30pm, doors 2.45pm, tickets on sale from November.
  • The big one: Hospice in the Weald’s Carols at Christmas, Sunday 20 December, 6.30pm, adults £30, children aged 8 to 16 £15.
  • Church carol services: not yet published for 2026.

Friday 4 December: the Advent concert

Tonbridge School’s music department ends its autumn film music series with The Sound of the Screen 4, an Advent concert in the chapel at 7.30pm. The box office describes it as “classic favourites from Elmer Bernstein and John Barry, as well as music from our favourite Christmas films”. It is free, but you need to book a ticket in advance through the EM Forster Theatre box office.

It is a concert rather than a carol service, so expect film scores more than congregational singing. The earlier concerts in the same series, on 13 and 20 November, are on our What’s On page.

Sunday 13 December: family carols

The Tonbridge Philharmonic Society holds its Family Carols concert in the chapel at 3.30pm, with doors open from 2.45pm. Its concerts page says tickets “will be on sale from November” and has not yet printed a price. The afternoon start makes it the easiest of the three for young children. The society’s season opens three weeks earlier, on Saturday 21 November, with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in the same chapel.

Sunday 20 December: Hospice in the Weald carols

Carols at Christmas is the hospice’s annual fundraising concert. For 2026 it is at the chapel on Sunday 20 December: doors at 6pm, the event at 6.30pm, finishing by about 8pm (Hospice in the Weald).

  • Tickets: £30 for adults and £15 for children aged 8 to 16, booked online. The confirmation email is your ticket.
  • Who is performing: the Royal Tunbridge Wells Orpheus Male Voice Choir, harpist Mark Levin, mezzo soprano Abby Page and the Tonbridge Community Singers, with readings. A festive drink and a mince pie follow.
  • Age: the hospice advises it is suitable for adults and for children over 8.
  • Access: wheelchair users can get into the chapel, but the hospice asks you to tell it in advance. Toilets are in the Orchard Centre, to the left of the chapel.

The hospice’s Christmas market and its Santa visits, which in past years fell on the last weekend of November, were not on its events page on 13 October; see our Father Christmas page.

Parking at the chapel

There is no general parking at the chapel. The hospice says the chapel’s own spaces are for disabled guests who reserve them in advance, first come first served, and that some parking is available in the school’s sports centre car park, a five to ten minute walk away. A drop-off can be arranged with the hospice for anyone who cannot walk far. Otherwise use the town centre car parks: our parking page lists them with their charges. Check the roadworks page before a December evening drive, and the Christmas train times page if you are coming by rail.

Church carol services

None of Tonbridge’s parish churches had published 2026 Christmas service times on 13 October, including the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, whose A Church Near You page lists no December services yet. This page will add the carol services, crib services and midnight communion times as the churches publish them.

Other Christmas events in Tonbridge

The Rotary Club’s Christmas Festival and lights switch-on is on Sunday 29 November, with live music on the High Street stage: see our switch-on page. The Tonbridge Christmas Fest runs at the castle over three weekends from 27 November, with choirs among the entertainment in its Christmas Lounge: see our Christmas market page. The pantomime, Cinderella, opens at the EM Forster Theatre on 11 December: see our pantomime page.

Still to be confirmed

  • Tonbridge Philharmonic Family Carols ticket price: on sale from November.
  • Parish church carol and Christmas Eve service times: expected in November or early December.

Sources