About Us

Teston (in the Parish of  Barming with Teston) is situated approx. 4 miles to the west of Maidstone, the County Town of Kent. It sits above the stunning Medway Valley, with a medieval bridge spanning the river, alongside which is the Teston Country Park.

The Church is dedicated to St Peter & St Paul and sits in the heart of the village in a no through road, next to the village green.

Teston Church is very much part of the village landscape. It is a place of worship, a place of celebration, solace, and memories. It provides social, fundraising events throughout the year including the Summer Fete, Flower Festival, and Christmas Fayre.

The Church is open every Tuesday for a coffee and tea social and the Children's Church meets twice a month (10am on 2nd & 4th Sundays in school term time) for its own worship sessions, activities, and crafts, for toddlers to teens.

The village is proud of its link with the Anti-Slave Trade Movement in the 18th century with a former Rector of Teston and Nettlestead, Rev James Ramsay playing a pivotal role.

Barham Court in Teston became a hub for the Anti-Slave Trade campaign and to this house came Bishop Beilby Porteous, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, John Newton and others.

Reverend James Ramsay died in 1789 before the Abolition came into effect. There is a plaque to the memory of James Ramsay on the outer East wall of the Church.

Full details of the role of Ramsay and Teston can be found in the book "The Mighty Pen" written by our former churchwarden and stalwart of Teston, the late Dawn Page.

In its present form, the Church is cruciform in design, is of galletted ragstone, with a spire and is a Grade II* listed building. The surrounding area shows evidence of British and Roman occupation, and artefacts found in the area are displayed in Maidstone Museum. The former Rectory is on the site of a Romano-British burial ground.

There are records relating to a medieval church at Teston, though the present building dates from 1710. It was extended in 1738 and again in 1846.

On the Churchyard wall, opposite to the East end of the Church, is a plaque in memory of Nestor, the servant of Rev James Ramsay. Situated nearby are two Grade II monuments - the one to Susannah Field is an early eighteenth-century stone chest tomb, and the other, dated 1735 to Henry Lomas, is a stone monument with a semi-circular head carved with two cherubs' heads, an hourglass and a book.

The Churchyard was extended in 1921. The Lych gate was built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee and nearby is a yew tree over 150 years old.