Bonnington - (Saint Rumwold the child saint)

General Details

Bonnington in Kent lies on the B2067 just between Bilsington and Lympne . The church dedicated to St Rumwold is said to be one of the oldest on the Romney Marsh . St Rumwold was a child saint, born in Northampton in the 600's AD the King of Mercia's son, it is said he distinguished himself by preaching his first sermon at Brackley on his second day of life, and dying on his third day.

The land in this area used to be common ground, but it was settled and farming became the local trade.

Bonnington used to be the site of the Leet Court before the times of Elizabeth I.

In 1804 Napoleon was getting ready to invade England, the government decided to try to stop a French invasion via the Romney Marshes and they built the Royal Military Canal as part of the nations defenses.

It was re-fortified in the 1940's by installing gun emplacements and pill boxes to try to delay a German invasion via the Marshes, the canal runs alongside Bonnington near to the church .

The Aldington Gang of smugglers in the 1820's came from Aldington about 1 mile inland, and the area was one of the main routes for the goods to come in to Aldington from the Marshes. It is likely that St Rumwolds church was used to store the contraband.

Views

Bonnington in Kent is glimsed as you pass by on the B2067, it is a small quiet village.

If you turn towards Newchurch at the village crossroads and travel about 1 mile you come to St Rumwolds church and the Royal Military Canal which is quite deserted and has gorgeous views across the Romney Marsh .

Services

Bonnington in Kent has no local services except for the church which lies about 1 mile from the village on the edge of the Romney Marsh .

The main shopping centre is at Ashford about 7 miles north west which has all the services including trains and Eurostar .

Map

Bonnington is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages
(click on symbol to see the village page)