Place:Tunstall, Kent, England

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Tunstall is a village in the Borough of Swale in Kent, England. It is situated to the south of Sittingbourne, on the road towards Bredgar. In the 2011 UK census it had a population of 884.

In 1798, Edward Hasted (see reference below) records it was once called "Dunstall". This comes from the Saxon words 'dun', or 'dune', meaning a hill, and 'Stealle' meaning a place. It was recorded in the Domesday survey, mistakenly, as "Stealle". The parish covered nine hundred acres of land, of which about one hundred and forty were woodland.

In 1206, it was sold to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. His daughter Margaret (who was married at one time to Richard de Clare) inherited and she then passed it to her eldest son 'John de Burgo'. In 1280, his son John died and his daughter, Margerie (who was married to Stephen de Pencester) inherited the parish. When Stephen died in 1303, Margerie then married to Robert de Orreby, with whom she had a son John de Orreby (a clerk). In 1347 it was sold to Sir Walter Manny. His only daughter Anne (inheritted it after he died), the wife of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. His son, John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke later became the owner of the parish. It then passed to his cousin Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn. He then sold this manor to John Drue, rector of Harpley, and John Seymour, citizen of London. Who later sold it to Sir William Cromer (who was and Lord Mayor in 1413 and 1423). His son William Cromer (who was in 1444 High Sheriff of Kent). His son Sir James Cromer (was also a High Sheriff). When he died in 1613, it passed to Christian, his youngest daughter, who carried it in marriage to John Hales, esq. (the eldest son of Sir Edward Hales, knight and 2nd baronet, of Tenterden). Then Sir Edward Hales inheritted the manor and it passed through various members of his family.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Tunstall was originally an ancient parish in the Milton Hundred. Between 1894 and 1935 it was part of the Milton Rural District. In 1935 Milton Rural District was abolished and the area was transferred to Swale Rural District. Since 1974 the area is covered by the non-metropolitan Swale District.

Research Tips

• Kent County Council Archive, Local Studies and Museums Service. James Whatman Way, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LQ. This incorporates the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone and the East Kent Archives Centre near Dover.
• Canterbury Cathedral Archives see the Archives web pages on the Canterbury Catherdral site.
• For information on the area around the Medway Towns, have a look at Medway Council's CityArk site.
• Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales - Revised: Kent illustrates the parish boundaries of Kent when rural districts were still in existence and before Greater London came into being. The map publication year is 1931. An earlier map of 1900 may also be useful. The maps blow up to show all the parishes and many of the small villages and hamlets. Maps in this series are now downloadable for personal use.
• Census records for Kent are available on FamilySearch, Ancestry and FindMyPast. The first site is free; the other two are pay sites but have access to microfilmed images. Steve Archer produced a very useful round-up of the available sources, but this information may not be up to date.
• Registration Districts in Kent for the period 1837 to the present. By drilling down through the links you can follow any parish through the registration districts to which it was attached.
• England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911 The full database from Kent Archives Office, Maidstone, has been available online from FamilySearch since June 2016.
• Kent had five family history societies (now only four):

• Kent FHS (serves the whole county)
• Folkestone & District FHS (serves the southeast corner)
• North West Kent FHS (serves the western area of present-day Kent)
• Tunbridge Wells FHS (ceased operation 31 Dec 2016; see North West Kent)
• Woolwich & District FHS (serves eastern sections of Greater London which were in Kent until 1966)

• Volume 2 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1926) is available online through the auspices of British History Online. It includes accounts of the early history of Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals, and of several sites now within the conurbation of London.
• Volume 3 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1932) This includes the text of, and the index to, the Kent Domesday survey. It has been provided by the Kent Archaeological Society.
• In place of the other volumes of the Victoria County History, British History Online has transcriptions of the numerous volumes of The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent by Edward Hasted (originally published 1797)
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, is particularly helpful in locating parishes in large ancient towns and cities like Canterbury.
• Kent Probate Records Numerous links provided by Maureen Rawson
• GENUKI lists other possible sources, however, it does not serve Kent so well as it does some other counties.