Boughton under Blean
Encyclopedia
For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton Aluph
; Boughton Malherbe
; and Boughton Monchelsea
Boughton under Blean is a village and civil parish
between Faversham
and Canterbury
in southeast England
. "Boughton under Blean" technically refers only to the hamlet at the top of Boughton Hill; the main village at the foot of the hill is named Boughton Street
but the whole is referred to as "Boughton under Blean" or more commonly as just "Boughton".
It had a population of 1,865 according to the 2001 census. The parish contains the hamlet of Crouch
.
Boughton bypass in 1976, Boughton lay on the main route between London and Canterbury. As well as this, having passed through the village and climbed Boughton Hill, it is the first place from which one is able to see the towers of Canterbury Cathedral
if one is travelling from the direction of London
. Due to this it is mentioned in Chaucer
's Canterbury Tales
, in 'The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue'.
Boughton under Blean is also mentioned in the context of Chaucer in Frank Herbert
's Children of Dune
: "For a time he
amused himself by reviewing Chaucer's route from London to Canterbury, listing the places from Southwark
: two miles to the watering-place of St. Thomas, five miles to Deptford
, six miles to Greenwich
, thirty miles to Rochester, forty miles to Sittingbourne
, fifty-five miles to Boughton under Blean, fifty-eight miles to Harbledown
, and sixty miles to Canterbury. It gave him a sense of timeless buoyancy to know that few in his universe would recall Chaucer or know any London except the village on Gansireed."
, probably in late 1640. The family remained Roman Catholic until well into the 18th century. Nash Court was attacked by Protestant crowd during the 1715 Jacobean uprising
and Hawkins's valuable library destroyed.
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 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...
; and Boughton Monchelsea
Boughton Monchelsea
For other Boughtons in Kent see Boughton Aluph; Boughton under Blean and Boughton MalherbeThe 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...
Boughton under Blean is a 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...
between Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
and Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
in southeast 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...
. "Boughton under Blean" technically refers only to the hamlet at the top of Boughton Hill; the main village at the foot of the hill is named Boughton Street
Boughton Street
Boughton Street is a village in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. It is located on the erstwhile main road between Faversham and Canterbury , which now bypasses the village. The 13th century parish church of St Peter and Paul stands about a mile away from the main village.In times past,...
but the whole is referred to as "Boughton under Blean" or more commonly as just "Boughton".
It had a population of 1,865 according to the 2001 census. The parish contains the hamlet of Crouch
Crouch, Swale
Crouch is a hamlet in the civil parish of Boughton under Blean in the Swale District, in the county of Kent, England. Nearby settlements include the town of Faversham and the villages of Selling, Gushmere, South Street and Neames Forstal.- External links :...
.
Chaucer
Before the opening of the A2A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
Boughton bypass in 1976, Boughton lay on the main route between London and Canterbury. As well as this, having passed through the village and climbed Boughton Hill, it is the first place from which one is able to see the towers of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
if one is travelling from the direction of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Due to this it is mentioned in Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
's Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
, in 'The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue'.
Boughton under Blean is also mentioned in the context of Chaucer in Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
: "For a time he
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
amused himself by reviewing Chaucer's route from London to Canterbury, listing the places from Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
: two miles to the watering-place of St. Thomas, five miles to Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, six miles to Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, thirty miles to Rochester, forty miles to Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...
, fifty-five miles to Boughton under Blean, fifty-eight miles to Harbledown
Harbledown
Harbledown is a village to the west of Canterbury, Kent in England, now contiguous with the city, although still a separate village. It forms part of the civil parish of Harbledown and Rough Common. The High Street is a conservation area with many fascinating colloquial buildings either side of a...
, and sixty miles to Canterbury. It gave him a sense of timeless buoyancy to know that few in his universe would recall Chaucer or know any London except the village on Gansireed."
Sir Thomas Hawkins
The poet and translator Sir Thomas Hawkins was baptised on 20 July 1575 at Boughton under Blean. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Hawkins (1548/9–1617) of Nash Court, Boughton, and his wife, Ann (1552–1616), daughter of Cyriac Pettyt of Colkyns, also in Boughton. His 1625 translation The Odes of Horace the Best of Lyrick Poets was republished in 1631, 1635 and 1638, and plagiarized in 1652. He died in the parish of St Sepulchre's, LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, probably in late 1640. The family remained Roman Catholic until well into the 18th century. Nash Court was attacked by Protestant crowd during the 1715 Jacobean uprising
Jacobite Rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715, often referred to as The 'Fifteen, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart.-Background:...
and Hawkins's valuable library destroyed.