Boughton under Blean

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.29
longitude=0.92
official_name=Boughton under Blean
population = 1,865
shire_district= Swale
shire_county = Kent
region= South East England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= "For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton Aluph; Boughton Malherbe; and Boughton Monchelsea"

Boughton under Blean is a village and civil parish most frequently known simply as 'Boughton', and on maps as Boughton Street [] ; it is in the Swale district of Kent, England, with a population of 1,865 according to the 2001 census.

Before the opening of the A2 Boughton bypass in 1976, Boughton lay on the main route between London and Canterbury. As well as this, it is the first place one is able to see the spires of Canterbury Cathedral from 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."

External links

* [http://www.boughton-under-blean.org.uk Village web site]