Boughton Monchelsea
Encyclopedia
For other Boughtons in Kent see Boughton Aluph
; Boughton under Blean
and Boughton Malherbe
The village and civil parish
of Boughton Monchelsea is in the Maidstone
District of Kent
, England
. The civil parish lies on a ragstone ridge situated between the North Downs
and the Weald
of Kent and has commonly been called Quarry Hills. The village itself is located 3 miles (5 km) south of Maidstone.
given the manor after the Conquest: Montchensie who held the manor until 1287 and the Anglo Saxon Boc Tun (Beech Tree settlement). The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Boltone, then Bouton, Bocton, and probably via Bocton de Montchensie to the current Boughton Monchelsea. The suffix using the family name seems to have been added in this area of Kent, possibly to differentiate multiple Boctun's.
Some of the earliest history of Boughton Monchelsea is in the Iron Age
settlement at Quarry Wood Camp (Camp Field). There are traces of an outer rampart on Parsonage Farm (on the edge of Park Wood) constructed by the Belgae
about 40 AD possibly as a defence against the Roman invasion in 43 AD.
The foundations of a Roman bathhouse were discovered in 1841 near Brishing Court, also a Roman villa at Brishing and a cemetery at Lockham. The Quarries were worked extensively in Romans times and the villa and bathhouse could well have belonged to the quarry owner. Ragstone (a type of sandstone
) was worked here; stone for building of Westminster Abbey
, the present-day Houses of Parliament and the repair of Rochester Castle
came from here. The last quarry closed in 1960.
The village church, dedicated to St Peter, was built around 1100.
; a primary school, village hall, recreation ground, two public house
s, a post office and a chicken farm among its amenities.
The 16th-century Elizabethan
stone-built former manor house
, Boughton Monchelsea Place
, is situated in a private deer park
and remains a private dwelling although it is occasionally opened for commercial use as a venue for weddings and business conferences.
A similar property at nearby Wierton Place has in recent years operated as a polo
and country club
as well as an exclusive out-of-town nightclub
. Prior to that it was the official residence of judges when on circuit at Maidstone Crown Court
.
The Cock Inn, dating back to 1568, is situated at the junction of Heath Road and Brishing Lane. Featured in the film Kind Hearts and Coronets
starring Sir Alec Guiness and Dennis Price
, The Cock is a typical old English pub
featuring inglenooks
, exposed beams and low ceilings.
manufacturer GKD Sports Cars
is based in Boughton Monchelsea with its workshops in nearby Lenham
.
Boughton Aluph
Boughton Aluph is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England, and is about 5 miles north of Ashford on the A2251 road. There are two villages within the parish: Boughton Aluph itself, and Boughton Lees...
; Boughton under Blean
Boughton under Blean
For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton Aluph; Boughton Malherbe; and Boughton MonchelseaBoughton under Blean is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England...
and Boughton Malherbe
Boughton Malherbe
For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton under Blean; Boughton Malherbe; and Boughton MonchelseaBoughton Malherbe is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, England, situated between Maidstone and Ashford...
The village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Boughton Monchelsea is in the Maidstone
Maidstone (borough)
Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone which is also the County town of Kent...
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 civil parish lies on a ragstone ridge situated between the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
and the Weald
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
of Kent and has commonly been called Quarry Hills. The village itself is located 3 miles (5 km) south of Maidstone.
History
The village name comes from a corruption of the name of the Norman familyNorman family
The Norman family became prominent in British banking circles from about 1820 to 1950. The most prominent member of the family was Montagu Norman...
given the manor after the Conquest: Montchensie who held the manor until 1287 and the Anglo Saxon Boc Tun (Beech Tree settlement). The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Boltone, then Bouton, Bocton, and probably via Bocton de Montchensie to the current Boughton Monchelsea. The suffix using the family name seems to have been added in this area of Kent, possibly to differentiate multiple Boctun's.
Some of the earliest history of Boughton Monchelsea is in the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlement at Quarry Wood Camp (Camp Field). There are traces of an outer rampart on Parsonage Farm (on the edge of Park Wood) constructed by the Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
about 40 AD possibly as a defence against the Roman invasion in 43 AD.
The foundations of a Roman bathhouse were discovered in 1841 near Brishing Court, also a Roman villa at Brishing and a cemetery at Lockham. The Quarries were worked extensively in Romans times and the villa and bathhouse could well have belonged to the quarry owner. Ragstone (a type of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
) was worked here; stone for building of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, the present-day Houses of Parliament and the repair of Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
came from here. The last quarry closed in 1960.
The village church, dedicated to St Peter, was built around 1100.
Local Amenities
The village has a village greenBoughton Green
Boughton Green, part of the village of Boughton Monchelsea, is in Kent, England. it lies to the NE of the village centre....
; a primary school, village hall, recreation ground, two 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...
s, a post office and a chicken farm among its amenities.
The 16th-century Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
stone-built former manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, Boughton Monchelsea Place
Boughton Monchelsea Place
Boughton Monchelsea Place, previously Boughton Court, is a 16th century country house in Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, England. The first part of the house was built by Robert Rudston circa 1567–75 on the site of an earlier manor house. It has been modified a number of times during its history...
, is situated in a private deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
and remains a private dwelling although it is occasionally opened for commercial use as a venue for weddings and business conferences.
A similar property at nearby Wierton Place has in recent years operated as a polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
and country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
as well as an exclusive out-of-town nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. Prior to that it was the official residence of judges when on circuit at Maidstone Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
.
The Cock Inn, dating back to 1568, is situated at the junction of Heath Road and Brishing Lane. Featured in the film Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
starring Sir Alec Guiness and Dennis Price
Dennis Price
Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
, The Cock is a typical old English pub
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...
featuring inglenooks
Inglenook
An inglenook , or chimney corner, is a small recess that adjoins a fireplace.Inglenook may also refer to:*Inglenook, California, community in Mendocino County...
, exposed beams and low ceilings.
Notable residents
Graham Clarke, author, illustrator and humorist, lives in the village.Trivia
- Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and the present-day Houses of ParliamentPalace of WestminsterThe Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
are built from ragstone quarried in Boughton Monchelsea.
- Certain scenes for the first and second series of the televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sketch comedySketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
TittybangbangTittybangbangTittybangbang is a female-led television sketch comedy, performed by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, which ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their company Pett Productions.-History:Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark...
were filmed at the house.
Business
The kit carKit car
A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...
manufacturer GKD Sports Cars
GKD
The GKD EVOLUTION is a light-weight high performance convertible sports car manufactured byBritish company GKD Sports Cars, based in Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone with workshops at Lenham...
is based in Boughton Monchelsea with its workshops in nearby Lenham
Lenham
Lenham is a market village in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, halfway between Maidstone and Ashford. The picturesque square in the village has two public houses , a couple of restaurants, and a tea-room....
.