The period 1860-62 brought workers to build the railway up the Darent Valley. Labourers lived in temporary camps along the line of rail, and on the north side of Sevenoaks. They were the largest influx of outsiders to the town since troops had been garrisoned here during the Napoleonic Wars.
After 1862, when Bat & Ball station opened, new residents came to live in Sevenoaks. New industries such as brickmaking, quarrying, light engineering, gas works, printing and publishing brought new employees from outside. And building homes for commuters became a major local industry especially after the second railway opened at Tubs Hill in 1868 with faster trains to London. The population doubled by 1901.
New-comers who became long term residents had a major influence on how the town developed. They brought new ideas, organisational talent and money.
They included people such as: