New book explores Tunstall's history

Tunstall’s history evokes echoes of past glories for it is a place of vanished mansions like Woodstock, Gore Court and Ufton Court.This small agricultural community has been the home of figures of national importance such as Sir Edward Hales and Sir James Cromer. During the twentieth century, as Sittingbourne expanded and grew closer to the village, a strong separate community remained, centred on the land and the church.

'Tunstall: The History of a Kentish Parish' Written by Helen Allinson and Brian Turner who researched the history of the village for many years, this is the first such book about the village to be published since Arthur Midwinter’s seminal work of 1937.

The book will be officially launched with a talk by Helen Allinson for the Friends of Tunstall Church on Wednesday, 2nd December.  

Published by Synjon Books, the book costs £10.95, it runs to 368 pages, is well illustrated throughout and is fully indexed. It is on sale at the Heritage Museum in East Street which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.30 - 4pm and on Saturdays from 11am – 3pm. It is also available at the Heritage Hub in the Forum.

Helen Allinson is an experienced local historian and author whose previous publications include histories of the parishes of Borden, Bredgar and Hollingbourne, ‘Life in the Workhouse’, ‘The Journals of a Victorian Lady’ and ‘Farewell to Kent’.