History of Tonge

In 1798, Edward Hasted records that it was once called ‘Thwang’, a Saxon name.

Vortigern, King of Saxon Britain, rewarded two Saxon chiefs Hengist and Horsa after his victory over the Scots and Picts. Hengist requested, as a pledge of the king’s affection, only as much land as on ox-hide could surround. This being granted, he cut the whole hide into small thongs (long, thin strips, generally of sturdy fiber or leather, typically used for binding), and inclosed within them a space of ground, this was large enough to contain a castle, which he accordingly built on it, and named it Thwang-ceastre (Thong-castle). The castle later became a ruin in the later years of the Saxon age.

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The earthworks known as Tonge Castle stands about 25 feet above sea level, on the north side of a small valley leading north-east towards the Thames marshes. The main defences consist of a deep and wide ditch, now dry, on the north-east and north-west sides. The south and west sides are at present protected by a mill pond.

The pond and ditch enclose a roughly rectangular area. The interior has been much disturbed and it is difficult to trace the original plan. The entrance seems to have been on the north-east, as at present. This leads to an area only slightly raised above the level of the pond. From this a narrow bank leads to a flat top, protected on the east by a scarp and ditch, and on the west by a tight hedgebank and the main ditch. On the south side there is now a steep scarp, a terrace 40 feet wide, and another scarp down to the water’s edge, but this may not represent the original form of the works.

Further excavation uncovered part of a rectangular building. The walls were 14 inches thick, built of flint with some blocks of shaped stone, and covered on the inside with plaster. Another wall 2 feet thick was found in a second trench some distance to the east.

With the exception of two iron nails and a large lump of burnt clay, the only objects found were potsherds. All the pottery except one fragment of La Tene can be paralleled by that from Rayleigh Castle, Essex, which dates from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries, but the rims from Tonge are for the most part wider and flatter. Fragments representing a total of over forty different vessels were found. These include seven bases and twenty-three rims.

Tonge parish church is a Grade: 1 listed building, dedicated to Saint Giles. The Normans built the church between the 12th and 14th centuries. There is a record of a bell at the end of the 16th century, to which John Wilnar added another in 1626, with Chapman and Mears completed the ring of three in 1784. The Victorians carried out restoration work in 1893.

It is an enigmatic church that presents far more questions than answers. The west wall includes bands of Caen stone that obviously once formed part of a major Norman doorway. Inside, the box pews act as a dark base for the lovely Norman arcades of plain and carved arches.

The church is separated by a fine late Rood Screen which has lost its loft but which otherwise is well preserved. Its southern end has a different patterning on the base, possibly as the back to a former altar. The east window is possibly by Warrington, whilst the south chancel window is an early work of Kempe.

Outside there are blocked arches everywhere and a very tall scar of a former roofline against the east wall of the tower. Whatever was there was a noble structure indeed, possibly a private chapel associated with the nearby castle, which may account for its early demolition. The cat slide roofs of the church and the tall thirteenth century tower are two memorable features of the exterior.