Copyright Kent Past 2010
Kent Past
The History of Kent
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History of Kingston
Kingston comes from the Old English ‘cyning’ meaning a ‘king’ with ‘tūn’ as an ‘enclosure, a farmstead, a village’; therefore, the ‘king’s farm/settlement’.
Kingston parish church is a Grade: I listed building, dedicated to Saint Giles. The
Normans built it early in the 12th century, and extended the chancel 100 years later.
Further alterations followed in the 14th century with the rebuilding of the tower
in the 15th century. Around 1325, William le Belyetere cast and hung a bell in the
tower. An unknown London founder cast a treble bell in 1450, and Joseph Hatch added
a third in 1610. In 1800, Edward Hasted described St Giles church as consisting of
‘one isle and one chancel, having a square tower at the west end, in which are three
bells… This church, though small, is neat’. In the 1880’s, the Victorians carried
out repairs, which included re-