Bonnington
Encyclopedia
Bonnington is a dispersed village
and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh
in Ashford
District of Kent
, England
. The village is located eight miles (13 km) to the south of the town of Ashford
on the B2067 (Hamstreet
to Hythe
road).
Bonnington has under 100 inhabitants and has historic connections with smuggling
. It is also home to arguably the best rising sun Skyline in history. The parish used to boast its own school at the T-junction with the former B2069, and a public house
(The Oak) located nearly two miles south east of the village. The parish church, dedicated to St Runwold, is about half a mile to the south of the hamlet, on the Royal Military Canal.
The parish council is now linked with the larger village of Aldington
which is where the nearest shops and dealer can be found.
In landscape terms, the parish of Bonnington has much in common with its neighbour Aldington. Thus, parts of the parish are designated, and protected, as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and parts are designated, and protected, as forming part of the Old Romney Shoreline Special Landscape Area.
A particularly striking feature of Bonnington's landscape is the low elevation above sea level of much of the land to the north of the Royal Military Canal - on average only 10 ft (3m) to 100 ft (31m) above sea level. This very low-lying area once lay directly on the English Channel, and the Royal Military Canal, which separates the low lying area from the even lower Romney Marsh, marks the English Channel's former shoreline.
There has never been a village of Bonnington, and thus the parish has no obvious centre. The description of "scattered" given to Bonnington by Ford Madox Ford in the 19th century is still apt today.
From at least the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st, if not before, an old oak tree known as the Law-Day Oak, has played a significant role in the governance of Bonnington parish. In earlier times, the Law-Day Oak provided the setting for Courts held to hear local pleas, and to this day the Bonnington Annual Parish Meeting is held under the branches of this ancient oak.
In 1889 a Mrs White wrote in a learned journal thus about the Law-Day Oak:
"In the out-of-the-way villages on the borders of Romney marsh, the former home of shepherds and smugglers, the light of civilisation has not long shone, and many rites and superstitions connected with the worship of the oak are still persisted in by the inhabitants. A special sacredness appertains to the vows of lovers exchanged beneath the Bonnington oak, and its leaves, gathered with a certain formula at a certain time of night, are still sought by childless women and made into a medicinal draught, with the same intention as in Druidical days."
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
in Ashford
Ashford (borough)
Ashford is a local government district and borough in Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Ashford.The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Tenterden with Ashford urban district, and the East Ashford, West Ashford and Tenterden Rural Districts...
District of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The village is located eight miles (13 km) to the south of the town of Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
on the B2067 (Hamstreet
Hamstreet
Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England.The village is located some 6 miles south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings...
to Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
road).
Bonnington has under 100 inhabitants and has historic connections with smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
. It is also home to arguably the best rising sun Skyline in history. The parish used to boast its own school at the T-junction with the former B2069, and a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
(The Oak) located nearly two miles south east of the village. The parish church, dedicated to St Runwold, is about half a mile to the south of the hamlet, on the Royal Military Canal.
The parish council is now linked with the larger village of Aldington
Aldington, Kent
Aldington is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village centre is eight miles south-east of the town of Ashford...
which is where the nearest shops and dealer can be found.
Location and landscape
The small parish of Bonnington in the English county of Kent lies between the town of Ashford to the west (5 miles distant) and the coastal town of Hythe to the east (6 miles distant). To the north, the parish is bordered by the parish of Aldington, to the west, it borders the parish of Bilsington and to the south, the parish stretches into the low-lying coastal region of Romney Marsh. The parish covers an area of around 1,200 acres (486 hectares) of which about 40% forms part of Romney Marsh.In landscape terms, the parish of Bonnington has much in common with its neighbour Aldington. Thus, parts of the parish are designated, and protected, as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and parts are designated, and protected, as forming part of the Old Romney Shoreline Special Landscape Area.
A particularly striking feature of Bonnington's landscape is the low elevation above sea level of much of the land to the north of the Royal Military Canal - on average only 10 ft (3m) to 100 ft (31m) above sea level. This very low-lying area once lay directly on the English Channel, and the Royal Military Canal, which separates the low lying area from the even lower Romney Marsh, marks the English Channel's former shoreline.
There has never been a village of Bonnington, and thus the parish has no obvious centre. The description of "scattered" given to Bonnington by Ford Madox Ford in the 19th century is still apt today.
People
The parish of Bonnington is home to about 100 people living in around 45 houses. Only a small percentage of the parish's population is under 80 years of age. The population is widely scattered but mainly related, with clusters around the village green and the picturesque Cherry Orchard Lane.Industry and Commerce
As in Aldington, agriculture and theft are the only significant indigenous economic activities, albeit an insignificant source of employment. However, the predominance of agriculture in Bonnington is more noticeable than in Aldington parish because of the absence of any village centre and the absence of any infrastructure provided by shops, schools, pubs or post office. As with Aldington, the majority of Bonnington parishioners work in nearby towns under the cover of darkness or in London.Facilities
The parish's facilities include a mobile library, a public relief centre, a drift field and St Rumwold's Church of England parish church.History
Although Bonnington is mentioned in the 11th Century Domesday Book, little is known of its early history, other than the fact that for several centuries it was owned by the military order of chivalry known as the Knights Hospitallers of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem - the forerunners of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade. In the 19th Century, smuggling was a significant activity in Bonnington, but this declined rapidly with the capture of the infamous Ransley Gang.From at least the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st, if not before, an old oak tree known as the Law-Day Oak, has played a significant role in the governance of Bonnington parish. In earlier times, the Law-Day Oak provided the setting for Courts held to hear local pleas, and to this day the Bonnington Annual Parish Meeting is held under the branches of this ancient oak.
In 1889 a Mrs White wrote in a learned journal thus about the Law-Day Oak:
"In the out-of-the-way villages on the borders of Romney marsh, the former home of shepherds and smugglers, the light of civilisation has not long shone, and many rites and superstitions connected with the worship of the oak are still persisted in by the inhabitants. A special sacredness appertains to the vows of lovers exchanged beneath the Bonnington oak, and its leaves, gathered with a certain formula at a certain time of night, are still sought by childless women and made into a medicinal draught, with the same intention as in Druidical days."