St Dunstan's Church Carriers Road Cranbrook Town Cranbrook |
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Cranbrook is within the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Charing. The church is dedicated to St. Dunstan, confessor, and is very large and handsome. It consists of three isles and three chancels. The pillars on each side of the middle isle are beautifully slender and well proportioned. The west end has a gallery over it, ornamented with painting. The pews are uniform, and made of wainscot, and the pavement black and white marble. The high chancel is well ceiled, and decorated with paintings. The east window is full of fine stained glass, many of the figures of it being entire, and richly ornamented as to their drapery, &c. There are several shields of arms remaining in it, among which are those of Wilsford, Guldeford, quartered with Halden, within the order of the garter, and archbishop Bourchier, being those of the see of Canterbury, impaling first and fourth, Bouchier, second and third, gules, a fess between twelve billets, or. Archbishop Tenifon, in 1710, was a benefactor in repairing of the high chancel. Against the east wall of the fouth chancel is a very high and broad pyramid of white marble, on which there is a full account of the family of Roberts, inscribed by a most pompous scheme of pedigree, with the numerous coats of arms properly emblazoned. At the west end is a square tower steeple, in which are eight bells and a set of chimes. On the west side of the tower were formerly carved in the stone-work, though now decayed by time, the arms of Berham, Bettenham and Wilsford, in antient times owners of lands, as has been al ready mentioned, in this parish. In the fouth isle over the vault, in which the remains of the Bakers and their descendants lie, is a superb pyramid of white marble, on which are the names and the dates of their deaths, and at the top of it their arms. It was erected by John Baker Dowel, esq. of Over, son of John and Mary, in 1736. extract from Hasted's History of Kent published in 1798 | ||
Parish records | Before 1500 |
1500 to 1550 |
1550 to 1600 |
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1650 to 1700 |
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1750 to 1775 |
1775 to 1800 |
1800 to 1825 |
1825 to 1850 |
1850 to 1875 |
1875 to 1900 |
1900 to 1925 |
1925 to 1950 |
1950 to 1975 |
1975 to 2000 |
After 2000 |
N/K | |
991 | Christenings | 79 | 115 | 75 | 72 | 111 | 111 | 117 | 143 | 87 | 71 | 10 | ||||||||
308 | Marriages | 1 | 24 | 37 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 36 | 55 | 53 | 21 | 1 | |||||||
236 | Burials | 21 | 41 | 20 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 12 | |||||||
Books and other documents | |
Published | Title, author and references |
1798 | The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent - Volume VII by Edward Hasted ⇒ p. 109 |
1852 | Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex and Surrey by The Rev. Arthur Hussey, M.A. ⇒ p. 53 |
1874 | A History of The Weald of Kent with an outline of the History of the County to the present time, Volume II by Robert Furley, F.S.A. ⇒ p. 582; p. 593; p. 595 |
1896 | A Glimpse at Cranbrook - The Town of the Weald by W. Stanley Martin ⇒ p. 33 |
2008 | A History of Cranbrook from the earliest times to 1914 by Peter Allen ⇒ p. 10; p. 11; p. 27; p. 43; p. 45; p. 51; p. 72 |
Historical records | |||||
1749 | Appointment | by Rev Joseph Disney to be parish clerk | Samuel Jenner, parish clerk | St Dunstan's Church | |
14th Jun 1760 | ![]() | Cranbrook Church drawn by Francis Grose | © British Library Board - Shelfmark: Kotp XVI, Item number: 43-1 | ||
1896 | ![]() | Cranbrook Church photographed by E.J. Holmes | Glimpse at Cranbrook | ||
1896 | ![]() | Town Hall, Cranbrook photographed by E.J. Holmes | Glimpse at Cranbrook | ||
1903 | ![]() | Cranbrook photographed by Francis Frith | Private collection | ||
1904 | ![]() | St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook | Private collection | ||
c 1905 | ![]() | Cranbrook Church, Cranbrook photographed by Francis Frith | Private collection | ||
1906 | ![]() | St Dunstan's Church Window, Cranbrook | Private collection | ||
1912 | ![]() | South Porch, Cranbrook Church photographed by Baylay, Stone Street, Cranbrook | Private collection | ||
c 1920 | ![]() | St. Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook photographed by Valentine's series | Private collection | ||
1930 | ![]() | Interior of St. Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook photographed by E.A. Sweetman & Son Ltd, Tunbridge Wells | Private collection | ||
c 1930 | ![]() | The Baptistry, St. Dunstans Church, Cranbrook photographed by Valentine's series | Private collection | ||
1946 | ![]() | St. Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook photographed by Shoesmith and Etheridge, Hastings | Private collection | ||
2008 | ![]() | Baker's Jail, St. Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook | Allen's History of Cranbrook |
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