Richard Kingsnorth

Richard Kingsnorth was an ancestor of mine. He was born in the early 1600s. He became a Baptist minister after he heard some people names Francis Cornwell and Christopher Blackwood say how they had become Baptists. He set up a church in his house. But the King didn't like people being Baptists so he made a rule that only 5 guests were allowed inside the house at a time. If you did it you might go to prison for a long time! But Richard Kingsnorth kept doing it. Luckily he wasn't caught. He died in 1677.

when we visted Staplehurst, we walked up the hill to where Richard Kingsnorth's house still stands

Here it is!

This is the Anglican church where a lot of the Kingsnorths were married and buried.