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Boughton Monchelsea
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(Miraculous vision)
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General Details
Boughton Monchelsea lies on a quiet road about 1 mile to the east
of Linton , it lies on a high ridge overlooking the Weald .
The village originally owned by the Godwin family was given to
the de Montchensie family who came from Mont Casini in Normandy
by William the Conqueror .
It has been suggested that the churches along the ridge, those of
Linton , Boughton Monchelsea , Chart Sutton and Sutton Valence
were built on the site of ancient Roman temples lying along the
ridge road.
The village is famous for its quarry, which has provided materials
since Roman times when some of the stone was used to build the
walls of London . It is believed that Henry V ordered 7000
stone cannon balls from the quarry for the wars in France .
The church is a very old building which dates back to the late
11th century, some of the Norman arch can still be seen in the
tower. The lychgate one of the oldest in the country was built
in 1470.
Boughton Place was built in the Elizabethan period, and was
owned by Robert Rudston who lost it to the crown for his
part in the Kentish Rebellion of 1450 .
The bit about Robert Rudston is incorrect. He acquired the estate
in 1551 thanks to his connections to (and several years in the
service of) Sir Robert Wyatt. He lost it for a while for his part
in the rebellion of 1554 against Queen Mary's marriage to Philip
of Spain, and nearly lost his head in the Tower of London, but his
influential friends at Court secured him a reprieve and he regained
his house and lands (after paying a very large fine).
Details supplied by Peter Freeman of the University of Leeds
It would seem that the village saw a miracle in the 1800's as
a headstone in the churchyard records that 'Sarah Tomkins who
having been blind for 12 years had her sight restored on Ocule
Sunday 19th March 1865'. Ocule Sunday is so named because Psalm
25 'Mine eyes are ever to the Lord' is applied to this Sunday.
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Services
 The area by the church has no services, but the green has a few shops.
The nearest main shopping area is about 3 miles north at Maidstone .
The nearest trains can also be found at Maidstone , with a two stations
to choose from.
The nearest busses are the Maidstone to Hawkhurst service and runs from
Linton about 2 miles to the west.
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Views
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The old village centre which lies about 1 mile to the south of the
main road, is very pretty, and has very nice views across the Weald.
