SCHOOL FIELD TRIP RESOURCES - The Peasants’ Last Revoltfaversham.org/upload/docs/School resources sheet - Boughton Walk.pdf · SCHOOL FIELD TRIP RESOURCES - The Peasants’ Last

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SCHOOL FIELD TRIP RESOURCES - The Peasants’ Last Revolt

These teaching resources have beendesigned to draw upon Key Stage 2 ofthe National Curriculum. Teachers will

be able to build upon the ideassuggested here to feed into lessons backat school long after the walk has takenplace. Please note that these resources

are designed for schools to dip into,selecting elements from them as theteacher sees fit. Links with history,science and geography curriculum

(see Teachers’ Notes below).

THE PEASANTS’ LAST REVOLT WALKBOUGHTON-UNDER-BLEAN TO HERNHILL VILLAGE GREEN

We start our walk at The White Horse Inn inBoughton-under-Blean (Fig. 1) and follow theRoman Road up through the village. The mainroad, in keeping with the Kent tradition, takesits name from the Parish and is therefore calledBoughton Street. This Roman Road was themain link between London and Dover and wasknown to the Romans as ‘Watling Street’. TheStreet is home to many old historic buildings(Fig. 2). Can we try and point out threedifferent types of old buildings?

Thousands of pilgrims passed this way on theirroute to Becket’s Shrine in CanterburyCathedral. Perhaps we could imagine thatwalk in those days long ago.

The road rises and we continue until thejunction with Bounds Lane on our left. Here weturn onto the lane (Fig. 3) and walk up hill ontothe footpath and out of the village.

Fig.1

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SCHOOLS RESOURCE SHEETS - BOUGHTON:Layout 1 25/4/08 17:37 Page 1

A beautiful valley falls away in front of us and in thedistance we can see on top of the next rise MountEphraim House (Fig. 4). Ephraim is a ‘biblical’ wordfor ‘fruitful’. We can see how appropriate this is aswe walk on down into the orchards. Can we guesshow many fruit trees we can see? Whatdifferent sorts of fruit are grown here? Alsoon clear days we can see to the coastline and even toBorstal Hill at Whitstable. Let’s look into thehedgerow on our left as we go down into thevalley. Can we see any signs of wildlife orbirds? What kind of wild animals would livehere? Perhaps we will see footprints. If we stop andlisten perhaps we will hear birds calling. We mustremember to be careful. The hedgerow includes abarbed wire fence in places, so take care.

We leave the footpath and cross over the lane intothe gardens of Mount Ephraim House (Fig. 5). Thehedgerow on our left is made up of Holly trees. Let’ssee how many other trees we pass as we walkthough the gardens. The house is on ourright. When was it built? Can we guess? Thegardens are now open to the public during thesummer and concerts and plays are performed in theopen air. As we walk past the car parks and look toour right we can see into the formal gardens anddown to the lake (Fig. 6).

The path falls away intoanother valley with furtherorchards stretching out infront of us. On top of thehill we can see a church.This is St Michael’s atHernhill, which was rebuiltin around 1450. We willbe visiting the Church in alittle while. The path risesthrough the orchard tothe road (Fig. 7).



Fig.5 Fig.6

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Taking care we turn right and walk up the road intoHernhill passing the Church on our right hand side(Fig. 8). In front of the church is a small green. If westand with the Church on our right but look to ourleft we see the Red Lion Public House built in the14th century (Fig. 9). The old manor house stands infront of us and shows how our ancestors oftenpreferred to add to buildings rather than destroythem when they needed to enlarge them. Part istimber-framed, perhaps older than either the RedLion or the Church. Added to this in the 18th centurywas a brick wing with fake castellation (Fig. 10).Look at it closely: the quality of thebrickwork and pointing is superb.

The village is steeped in history. In 1838, surprisingly,some members of the church choir joined the raggle-taggle rebel ‘army’ of ‘Sir William Courtenay’, whichwas defeated at the Battle of Bossenden Wood inDunkirk (The peasants’ last revolt). Some lost theirlives and were supposedly buried here, as was theirleader - in a grave deliberately left unmarked. Let’sgo and walk through the Churchyard (Fig.11). Remember this is sacred ground and we must beon our best behavior. Perhaps we can find theunmarked grave of the rebel leader. Perhapsnot. Many of the graves are very old and the letteringhas worn away. Can we find the memorial to‘the peasants’ last revolt’? If it is open wecan go quietly into the Church. We can lookfor signs of its age. Can we find marks in theshape of crosses around the windows in thesouth aisle? The stonemasons made these whenthe church was first built. Part of the Church datesback to the 12th century. The original heavy doorleading into the Church is of oak and dates back over550 years. The small belfry door leads to the belltower and still has its original lock in full workingorder. The tower has eight bells, the largest of whichhas a diameter of 91 centimetres.

Perhaps we can now picnic on the green or walk backto Boughton. In any case let’s make sure we observethe country code and take all our rubbish back withus. The walk has introduced a great deal of thehistory of this part of Kent. We do hope you haveenjoyed it.



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TEACHERS’ NOTESFigs 1,2,3Boughton Street has many fine examples of halftimbered, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Thestreet is quite long but has good pavements. BoundsLane is the last of three footpaths going off on theleft after the White Horse Inn and is clearly signed.Bounds Lane is about 10 minutes into the walk.Links to history and the Canterbury Pilgrims.

N.B. The footpath leaves Bounds Lane turning to theleft and narrows considerably. The path is boundedon both sides by barbed wire fencing and care shouldbe taken. Discuss animal life – badgers, rabbits, hares,mice and birds – sparrows, magpies, jays, robins,crows, rooks and wood pigeons etc. Look at thefoliage and discuss what might be differentthroughout the four seasons. Links to life cyclesand the seasons in the science curriculum.

Fig 4 Ephraim House originates from 1696 but was rebuiltin 1878 (Victorian).

Figs 5 and 6The large Holly fence running from the entrance toEphraim House is a fine example of the use of treesat Boundary lines and to define the pathway. Whatother use could a large fence be built for? Perhaps asa wind break. The children could be asked to look outfor a windbreak during the rest of the walk. A fineexample is about halfway down the hill into theorchard protecting the much smaller fruit trees.Discussion topic – What are the purposes of hedges?(Field separation, land ownership, soil/cropprotection as windbreak, identification of pathways,wildlife and insect habitat). Geography links,science links.

Fig 7Within the Orchard there are apples, pear and cherrytrees and in the fields to the left soft fruits are grown.The poly tunnels across the fields in the main growstrawberries. Many hundreds of trees can be seenwithin this orchard alone.

Figs 8, 9, 10, and 11 St. Michaels Church and the Red Lion Public Housetogether with the old manor house rest on threesides of Hernhill village green. Dating back to the14th Century this collection of buildings givessuperb links to the history of Kent and ofHernhill itself.

One important historic aspect of this route is its linkto the peasants' last revolt, see below.

The Battle of Bossenden WoodThe battle of BossendenWood took place onMay 31st 1838 nearHernhill in Kent and hasbeen called the lastbattle on English soil.Eleven men died in thisbattle, between a smallarmy of labourers fromthe Hernhill, Dunkirk,Boughton area and adetachment of soldierssent from Canterbury toarrest the marchers unhinged leader, the self-styledSir William Courtenay, who was actually JohnNicholas Thom a Truro wine merchant with a historyof mental illness, who had disappeared whilst on atrip to Liverpool in 1832. A few months later hearrived in Canterbury, flamboyant in dress anddisposition. He gave his name as Count MosesRospchein Rothsthschild, and he put up at the RoseInn. He stood as an independent candidate in twoparliamentary elections in which he did creditably inthe first and badly in the second. He became adefendant in two court cases. In the first, a veryserious case, he was accused of perjury in asmuggling trial. In the second, a waiter at the RoseInn accused him of failing to repay a loan. Heappeared at Maidstone summer assizes, where hewas sentenced to ten years transportation on theperjury charge. Meanwhile back in Truro Mrs Thomheard, in reply to newspaper advertisements seekingnews of her husband, that a man answering hisdescription could be the man in the dock at




Maidstone. She travelled to Kent with a brother-in-law and together they identified the prisoner atMaidstone jail. But Sir William would have none of it,he denied knowing either of them. Through theirefforts, however, the sentence of transportation wasrescinded. Sir William was found to be of unsoundmind, and sent to Barming lunatic asylum. He wasreleased after about five years and went to stay withGeorge Francis, of Fairbrook farm, Boughton, anardent supporter of the knight during his Canterburydays. Sir William moved out of Fairbrook in January1838 into the nearby cottage of William Wills anotherfervent disciple, from there he continued to ridearound the countryside, lecturing labourers on theinequalities of life.

The magistrates now decided that the time had cometo arrest this rabble-rouser. The man deputed to dothe job was John Mears, village constable ofBoughton and a plumber by trade, who was a cousinof Thomas Mears. He set off as dawn was breakingwith his brother Nicholas to carry out what wouldseem to be a routine task at Bossenden Farm,Dunkirk, where his quarry was staying with friends.But Sir William by this time was living in a world of hisown (believing himself to be Jesus Christ, which some

of his supporters accepted) and shot Nicholas Mearsdead when he reached the gate. He then tried to dothe same to John Mears, but he, with anothercompanion, fled. The military were then called in, andthe sad story of the vintner from Truro ended thatafternoon in a bloodbath, with his body and thoseof his dead supporters laid out at the Red Lion,Dunkirk

In whatever light the battle in Bossenden Wood isviewed, as a major riot by disaffected labourers, as aforedoomed attempt at an uprising or as theinevitable consequence of weeks of Sir William'srhetoric on receptive minds, it is difficult tounderstand why so much blood was shed. Of therioters, only two had firearms - Sir William andWilliam Wills. The rest fought fanatically with sticksand staves against the armed soldiers. Nine of thedead were rioters; the other two were an armylieutenant, and a Faversham publican who washelping the military.

Thomas Mears, William Price and William Wills weredeported, leaving Sheerness on November 13thaboard the Pyramus bound for Hobart. It seems noneof them ever returned.


A1. Park in the White Horse Inn car park in Boughton, andthen turn left into The Street and walk uphill. A2. Continue along The Street, passing St. Barnabas’ Churchon your left, and then turn left into Bounds Lane. Walk upthe slope until you reach the end of the wall on your left,and then turn left off the lane; almost immediately, take theright-hand fork in the grass track. You now have your firstviews across the valley to Mount Ephraim, standing highover the orchards below. Follow this track all the way untilyou reach the road at the end. On your right are extensiveorchards, and handsome farm buildings, including a formeroast house.A3. When you reach the T-junction with Staplestreet Roadat the end of the track, turn left and then immediately rightand pass through the gate opposite into Mount Ephraim.Follow the surfaced track towards the car parks. On yourright is a fine view down towards part of the gardens, withan ornamental bridge leading into the planted woodlandgrove. A handsome fountain stands in front of the cottagesto your left.B1. Continue along the track which passes Mount Ephraim’scar parks, walking downhill with orchards to your right: lookcarefully in summer and autumn and you’ll notice that theseare not only apple orchards. There are pears and cherriesgrowing here as well. When you reach the road, turn rightfollowing the road up hill towards the delightful village ofHernhill: you’ll have seen its church towerand some of the houses as you’ve been walking alongsidethe orchards.B2. Hernhill is a picturesque village, clustered around avillage green in the centre of which stands a handsome,spreading oak. On your right as you approach the green isthe church of St Michael, unusual in this area because it isentirely of one era – many other local churches were addedto over the centuries. Take a look inside if you can – thecarved wood screen between the nave and the choir isextremely fine – whilst the view from the churchyard, overthe valley you’ve just travelled through, is a delight. Whilstyou’re in the churchyard, look out for the memorial to thosewho died in the Courtenay Riots. Across the green from thechurch is the Red Lion, a 14th century Wealden hall house.Inside, the rafters of the original hall are still visible on theupper floor and are a splendid example of the craftsmanshipof the period.

Once you have explored the churchyard you can either meetyour mini-bus here (B2), or retrace your steps back to theWhite Horse Inn.Distance: Walk (one direction) is 1 ½ miles. You can eitherretrace your steps, or your mini-bus can meet you at B2 onthe map (furthest point of the walk). If you choose to retraceyour steps, however, the total distance is 3 miles.Toilets: School groups can use the public toilets next tothe Post Office in The Street, Boughton. When the WhiteHorse Inn (Boughton) and Red Lion (Hernhill) are open, feelfree to ask the publican if your group can use their toiletfacilities.Car park: School groups can use the car park at the WhiteHorse Inn in Boughton. There is also parking around theVillage Green in Hernhill for those schools that wish to picktheir group up at the furthest point of the walk (B2 on themap).Picnic spot: Picnics can be taken on the Village Green inHernhill (at B2 on map).

Step by step directions

The Countryside Code Respect – Protect – EnjoyIf you follow the Countryside Code wherever you go, you will enjoy walking in Kent and help protect the countryside nowand for future generations.Be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs. Leave gates and property as you find them. Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home. Keep dogs under close control. Consider other people.

For further information please visit www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk or Tel: 08451 003298Remember to always follow the Highway Code.

Design: Amber Designs [email protected] Resource Sheet Author: Dr Julia Bailey LL.B, PGCE, FRSAGreen Tourism Consultancy: Tribal Voice Communications www.tribal-voice.co.uk

Photographs courtesy of: Amber Designs, Dan Tuson, KCC, Visit Kent, Kent Wildlife Trust, Rob Canis, RSPBThe publisher cannot be held accountable for any inaccuracies contained within this resource sheet © FEP 2008

Endorsed by Explore Kentwww.kent.gov.uk/explorekent

A Faversham Enterprise Partnership project

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Documents

SCHOOL FIELD TRIP RESOURCES - The Peasants’ Last Revoltfaversham.org/upload/docs/School resources sheet - Boughton Walk.pdf · SCHOOL FIELD TRIP RESOURCES - The Peasants’ Last