ALL SAINTS, KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, SURREY

In 838 the Saxon King Egbert held a Great Council in Kingston, possibly in a church preceding our present All Saints. This important meeting was attended by the King, his noblemen, the Archbishop Ceolnoth of Canterbury and other senior clergymen. At this Council Egbert and the Church agreed to support each other and work together. At this time Kingston was a small group of scattered settlements. Although All Saints had not yet been built, the community was likely served by a wooden minster church. Documents from the time describe the council as taking place at ‘illa famosa loco quae appeletur Cyningestun in regionnae sudregiae.’ This means that it was ‘that famous place called Cyningestun in the region of Surrey.’ The name suggests a royal estate, including a timber hall and a church, which would probably have sat on the current site of All Saints. https://www.allsaintskingston.co.uk/heritage