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Judy Shephard has not left a stone unturned in her forensic quest to uncover every possible fact about the village where she has lived for most of her life. The pretty village of Boughton existed well before the Domesday Book and Judy starts us off in pagan times. We meet lords of the manor who shaped its development; we fear for rebel catholic dissenters; we suffer plagues of wild rabbits; find links to the gunpowder plot; and learn how an imprisoned king bathed in its secret grotto. We reflect on why the old church was abandoned and learn how an abbess, evicted by Henry VIII, retired to Boughton. We explore its follies; we hear about evicted cottagers, fires and epidemics and the sale of the estate. We visit the ancient fair with its revelry and murders and meet the village war heroes, rectors, farmers, publicans and millers. As we go inside its clubs, from every pastime from pigs to cricket. We salute the militia and home guard and enjoy the royal visits. And we chuckle at the memorable time a notorious Hollywood actor dropped in and kissed almost every blushing woman in Boughton.
Judy Shephard has not left a stone unturned in her forensic quest to uncover every possible fact about the village where she has lived for most of her life. The pretty village of Boughton existed well before the Domesday Book and Judy starts us off in pagan times. We meet lords of the manor who shaped its development; we fear for rebel catholic dissenters; we suffer plagues of wild rabbits; find links to the gunpowder plot; and learn how an imprisoned king bathed in its secret grotto. We reflect on why the old church was abandoned and learn how an abbess, evicted by Henry VIII, retired to Boughton. We explore its follies; we hear about evicted cottagers, fires and epidemics and the sale of the estate. We visit the ancient fair with its revelry and murders and meet the village war heroes, rectors, farmers, publicans and millers. As we go inside its clubs, from every pastime from pigs to cricket. We salute the militia and home guard and enjoy the royal visits. And we chuckle at the memorable time a notorious Hollywood actor dropped in and kissed almost every blushing woman in Boughton.