Twydall is a suburb of Gillingham in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in south-east England. In 1998 responsibility for local government was transferred from

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

to the newly created

Unitary Authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...

, The origin of the name Twydall is thought to mean "Two Parts" or "Double Portion" from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''twidǣl'', but by 1240 it was written ''Twydele''.Placenames of Kent Judith Glover 1976, 1982, 1992 Meresborough Books . Two

Palmerston forts The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the ...

were built in the area, Grange Redoubt and Woodlands Redoubt: the design used came to be known as the

Twydall Profile The Twydall Profile was a style of fortification used in British and Imperial polygonal forts at the end of the 19th century. The sloping earthworks employed in the Twydall Profile were intended to be quick and inexpensive to construct and to be e ...

Surrounding area

Modern Twydall is situated between the A2 and the

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

, but previously it stretched down to the

estuary to Sharp's Green and Eastcourt Meadows which are now part of the

Riverside Country Park Riverside Country Park is a large coastal public park, situated alongside the River Medway estuary between Gillingham and Rainham. The park covers about 100 hectares - approximately . There are a variety of natural habitats within the park, inc ...

and crossed by the

Saxon Shore Way The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...

. Many of the road names in Twydall are names after villages within Kent. Districts in the surrounding area include Gillingham, Hempstead, and the Lower Rainham and Rainham Mark areas of Rainham. Lower Twydall is a distinct settlement to the north of Twydall. Twydall Green - geograph

Education

There are a number of schools serving the Twydall area, including: * Twydall Primary School * Featherby Infants and Nursery School * Featherby Junior School * St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School • Danecourt School Holy Trinity Church, Twydall - geograph

Religion

There are a number of churches serving the Twydall area, including: *1

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Rainham Christian Fellowship, Begonia Avenue *1

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Holy Trinity, Twydall Lane which is Grade II listedHistoric England https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1393500?section=official-list-entry *1

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Twydall Evangelical Church, Goudhurst Road *1 meetinghouse of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, Twydall Lane The Catholic Church, formerly on Beechings Way, closed some years ago and the congregation moved to St Thomas’ Church in Rainham

References

External links

Medway Council: Twydall Neighbourhhood Action Plan
{{Medway Places in Medway Gillingham, Kent