One of the most interesting items of "street furniture" in Hungerford is the "tumble stile" on the path leading from The Croft to the churchyard of the Parish Church of St Lawrence.

This is a very rare example of an old form of stile which could be made using the simplest of materials. The four cross bars are hinged by single bolts (possibly wooden pegs in earlier years), and weighted with simple wooden blocks. To cross the stile, the user has to press down the cross bars, and step over. On releasing the bars, the weights return them to the horizontal, making a pleasing triple clattering sound.

It is thought that there are only two other examples of this type of style still existing in the country. One is said to be at Linton near Cambridge, and the other is at Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent (on the path leading to the woodland garden).

During the mid 20th century, the wooden weights were installed upside down - resulting in water pooling in the heart of the weights. The restoration of c1980 corrected this error!

The tumble stile was restored again in Jan 2012.

The Tumble Stile, being replaced by
Geoff Eatwell and Colin Honeybone,
27 Jan 2012

The Tumble Stile

The Tumble Stile at Linton near Cambridge

A postman at the Tumble Stile, 1923

The Tumble Stile, 1980
with the weights upside down