Boughton Monchelsea Kent - (Miraculous vision)

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 is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Boltone, which means either "where willows grow" or "a farm". It has had many names from Bouton , Bocton , probably via Bocton de Montchensie to the current Boughton Monchelsea. The addition of the family name seems to be only in this area, such as Sutton Valence .

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.