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Southborough is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies immediately to the north of the town of Tunbridge Wells and includes the district of High Brooms, with the A26 road passing through it. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 11,124. The town is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

After the Norman Conquest, the area came within the domain of Tonbridge Castle, one of 4 boroughs to do so. This was the South Borough.

Southborough separated from Tonbridge in 1871 when its own board of health was formed In 1894, it was recreated to become an urban district, with its own elected council to manage its affairs. It retained that title until 1974, when under local government reorganisation it became a civil parish. By historical accident, however, Southborough had a Town Council, which it has retained. Southborough Town Council consists of 18 members, from the three town wards: North (seven Councillors); West (six Councillors); and East/High Brooms (five Councillors). The posts of mayor and deputy mayor are elected annually. As with many other Parish Councils, its responsibilities are less than those of the local Borough Council. At the same time, Southborough is part of Tunbridge Wells borough: the two wards of that borough are Southborough and High Brooms (three councillors) and Southborough North (two). The town has its own grant of heraldry: this includes reference to the cricket ball industry and contains two sprigs of broom, alluding to High Brooms.

Iron was worked in the area since prehistoric times, since the underlying rock (the iron rich sandstone of the Hastings Beds which make up the Weald) provided the raw material. From the mid 16th century onwards there were a number of water powered furnaces on the two streams running through the town: one at Modest Corner; and three on the Southborough Bourne. The latter included the Vauxhall Furnace, operating from at least 1552, near Mote Farm in what is now Vauxhall Lane: and the Brook (Broakes) Mill opened in 1553. The rock was dug from "bell pits", and iron smelted here was worked at a forge nearby. The forges probably continued working until the 18th century when the making of iron became uneconomical and in 1771 the sites were taken over for gunpowder manufacturing hence the name Powder Mill Lane. The mill blew up shortly afterwards but was replaced and continued manufacturing gunpowder. By 1845 a cornmill had been erected on the site, which continued in operation until 1942 when it was demolished. There are now no traces of any industrial workings on the site. Apart from that heavy industrial employment, people in Southborough were mainly occupied in Agriculture, Textiles and Transport: trades such as Blacksmiths, Coachbuilders and Harness makers. With cricket being played on the common, it is perhaps logical that the town became renowned for the manufacture of cricket balls. The first recorded makers were Philip Wickham and Joseph Smith of Modest Corner and many other cricket ball makers set up business including Thomas Twort and John Martin in 1853. Southborough began to expand rapidly from 1879 when the Holden Estate was sold and laid out to accommodate 165 new dwellings. The High Brooms Brick and Tile Company started to build houses for its employees and the area expanded: it is now an industrial estate.

The Common of Southborough (now owned by the Town Council) has always been part of the Manorial Holding. It was originally around larger but between 1790 and 1810 portions were enclosed so that the total area now is Under the Commons Registration Act 1965, a number of persons registered their rights as Commoners. In 2003, the whole area of the Common – a conservation area – was the subject of an appraisal by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. The appraisal report seeks to retain the historical significance of the Common and its immediate area. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent, Heart South, Gold, KMFM West Kent and West Kent Radio, a community radio station. The town is served by the local newspapers, Kent and Sussex Courier and Kent Messenger.

Southborough has long been associated with sport. Cricket has been played on the common for over 200 years and the town was a centre for cricket ball manufacture until 1978. Southborough Cricket Club play on the common. Their ground was used a number of times by the Kent Women cricket team between 1957 and 1971 and B. M. Close's Ground, a ground to the east of the town, was used for one first class cricket match by Kent County Cricket Club in 1867. Southborough has four football clubs, the largest of these is Ridgewaye FC. Ridgewaye F. C. formed in 1995. It is the largest youth organisation in Southborough having 550 members in 2016. It has been an FA Community Standard Club since January 2013. The membership consists of boys and girls aged from six to eighteen years of age who play on Saturday and Sunday mornings at the Ridgewaye fields, off Yew Tree Road, Southborough from September to May. Southborough Dads FC currently play in the Soccer Sixes Tuesday night league and are currently second in the league. Southborough and District Wheelers is a long established cycling club which has thrived in recent years. It caters for cyclists of all abilities, organising both social and competitive rides.

The Royal Victoria Hall Theatre was built in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, It opened in 1900. It was the first Municipal Theatre in England. unsympathetic Building alterations during the 1970s have prevented the Royal Victoria Hall from being listed. In January 2015, it was announced that the theatre would close after the end of the run of the pantomime Peter Pan. Demolition could follow. A campaign to save the theatre collected thousands of signatures both online and by hand and having been collected and presented to Southborough Town Council failed. In 2017 the theatre was demolished, to be replaced with a new community hub, construction of which finished in 2021