Copyright Kent Past 2010
Kent Past
The History of Kent
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History of Tunstall
Tunstall comes from the Old English ‘tūn-
Tunstall parish church is a Grade: I listed building, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The Normans rebuilt the original Wooden Saxon chapel in stone around 1250, adding the nave 100 years later. They built the chancel in the 15th century and extended it in 1655. Various founders cast five bells between 1573 and 1702, which Thomas Mears recast into a ring of six in 1843. In 1798, Edward Hasted described the Tunstall church as consisting ‘of three isles and a chancel, to which has been added a small chapel on the north side of it. It has a tower steeple at the west end, in which there is a peal of five bells.’
In 1856, the architect R C Hussey carried out a substantial restoration including replacing the top section of the tower. Mears and Stainbank added two treble bells in 1923. In 1995, John Taylor recast the bells into a new pearl of eight, which the Right Reverend David Say dedicated on 21 January 1996…. more