TR 03 SW RUCKINGE THE CORNER (south side) 6/102 Monument to Ransley family, about 10 metres south-east of Church of St. Mary Magdalene GV II Monument to James and William Ransley, d.1800. Wood and iron. Simple wooden plank supported by spear-finialled iron posts at either end and by central iron split-post. The board may have been originally painted with an inscription. James and William Ransley were members of the Aldington gang, led by Cephas Quested and George Ransley, and were hanged 1800 for smuggling offences, the local influence of the Ransleys (born in nearby Ransley Cottage) such that they were accorded honourable burial in the churchyard. The Aldington gang inspired the G.P.R. James novel The Smugglers and Russel Thorndike's series of Dr. Syn adventures. (See Waugh Smuggling in Kent and Sussex). Listing NGR: TR0260733627