| Boughton Monchelsea | |
|---|---|
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  Boughton Monchelsea Location withinKent | |
| Population | 3,313 (2011 Census)[1] |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Maidstone |
| Postcode district | ME17 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°13′45″N0°31′52″E / 51.229260°N 0.531170°E /51.229260; 0.531170 | |
Boughton Monchelsea is a village andcivil parish[2] in theborough of Maidstone inKent, England. The civil parish lies on aragstone ridge situated between theNorth Downs and theWeald of Kent and has commonly been called Quarry Hills. The village itself is located 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Maidstone.
The village name comes from a corruption of the name of theNorman family given the manor after theConquest:Montchensie who held the manor until 1287[3] and the Anglo Saxon Boc Tun (Beech Tree settlement). The village is mentioned in theDomesday 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 Boctuns.[4]
Some of the earliest history of Boughton Monchelsea is in theIron 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 theBelgae about 40 AD, possibly as a defence against theRoman 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 Roman times and the villa and bathhouse could well have belonged to the quarry owner. Ragstone (a type ofsandstone) was worked here; stone for the building ofWestminster Abbey, the present-dayHouses of Parliament and the repair ofRochester Castle came from here. The last quarry closed in 1960.
St Peter's Church is located in the village.
The village has avillage green, a primary school, a village hall, a recreation ground, onepublic house a post office and a community arts centre The Maidstone Art Centre which is situated at Marlpit Farm in Wierton Road among its amenities.
The 16th-centuryElizabethan stone-built formermanor house,Boughton Monchelsea Place,[5] is situated in a privatedeer 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 apolo andcountry club as well as an exclusive out-of-townnightclub. Prior to that it was the official residence of judges whenon circuit atMaidstone Crown Court.[3]
Other historic houses include the Grade II listed Tanyard,[6] Brishing Court and Lewis Court.
The Cock Inn, dating back to 1568, is situated at the junction of Heath Road and Brishing Lane. Featured in the classic 1949 filmKind Hearts and Coronets starringAlec Guinness andDennis Price, The Cock is a typical old Englishpub featuringinglenooks, exposed beams and low ceilings.
Thekit car manufacturerGKD Sports Cars is based in Boughton Monchelsea with its workshops in nearbyLenham.
Media related toBoughton Monchelsea at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Boughton Monchelsea | |
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