Boughton Malherbe, Kent

Historical Description

Boughton-Malherbe, a parish in Kent, on the verge of the Weald, 2 miles from Lenham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 10 ESE of Maidstone. Post town, Lenham, under Maidstone. Acreage, 2710; population, 431. The manor belonged in the time of Henry III. to the Malherbe family, passed to the Wottons, of whom was Sir Henry Wotton, whose life was written by Isaac Walton, passed again to Sir Horace Mann, the correspondent of Walpole, and belongs now to the Wykeham-Cornwallis family. The manor-house bears the name of Boughton Place, was built by Sir Edward Wotton in the time of Henry VIII., and visited by Queen Elizabeth, and is now a farmhouse, retaining some of the ancient rooms. The materials of it are said to have been Colbridge Castle, the baronial fortalice of the Peyferers, some traces of which still exist near the church. Chilston Park is a seat in the neighbourhood. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £238 with residence. The church is Decorated English, in good condition.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

The register dates from the year 1671.

Findmypast have the following online for Boughton Malherbe, St Nicholas: baptisms 1665-1858, marriages 1671-1919, burials 1671-1922

Churches

Church of England

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Boughton Malherbe from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Boughton-Malherb (St. Nicholas))

Maps

Online maps of Boughton Malherbe are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:

• Kent & Sussex Courier
• Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
• Dover Express
• Kentish Gazette
• Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
• Kentish Chronicle
• Maidstone Telegraph

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.