England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Boughton under Blean St Peter & St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Boughton under Blean lies in northern east Kent not too far from its coast with the Swale and Thames estuaries. Boughton under Blean is a substantial village lying about 3 miles southeast of the port and market town of Faversham. Boughton under Blean sits on the former route of the busy A2 (London to Canterbury) route, thankfully it bypasses to the south nowadays, just to the east of where the A299 leaves to head towards Thanet. The suffix "under Blean" refers to its position on the edge of the former Royal hunting forest of Blean, a large extra parochial area through which the A2 was cut en route to Canterbury. Boughton under Blean would have had a farming basis for its economy, largely arable but with those Kent staples of orchards and hop growing to supplement, the latter serving Faversham's brewing traditions. AS Boughton under Blean is just 4 miles from the coast a number of small streams drain northwards to reach it. Boughton under Blean is sited at around 30 metres above the sea although land rises through the former forest to around 100 metres. Boughton under Blean parish was of a typical size for east Kent parishes, it covered almost 2,500 acres and would have supported around 1,400 parishioners, a substantial village indeed. In Domesday times Boughton under Blean was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury and could offer 17 ploughs, some meadows & woodland and also a fishery & salthouse.

The Church

St Peter & St Paul's church sits some way from the village, fully a mile away to the southwest and across the busy dual-carriageway of the A2, it sits on the southern side of South Street but can be reached from the village by narrow lanes and many footpaths. The church exhibits the full range of architectural styles stretching from the Early English gothic of the early 13th century through to the Perpendicular style of late 15th. The earliest portion of the church in the Early English style are the chancel, northern chapel & south transept. Next in sequence and Decorated in style comes the southern chapel. The western tower & aisles are all of the Perpendicular era whilst the nave shows a mixture of features from many periods indicating a continuous process of build & rebuild across two to three centuries. A is common the Victorians made their restoration, in this case during the 1870s and much was amended and refreshed during that action. The churchyard is screened by a head-high flint wall but a lychgate at the western end grants access. Once inside the fringing trees there are few impediments to photography.