Marden, Kent
Encyclopedia
Marden is a village about 13 km (c 8 miles) south of Maidstone
and civil parish in the Maidstone
District of Kent
, England
. The parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult
(a tributary of the River Medway
) near Maidstone
. It is on the B2079 road linking the A229
Maidstone with the A21 at Flimwell
. It has its own railway station. It is in an apple-growing area, and has a population of approximately 4000 persons.
The village of Marden is eight miles (13 km) from the county town. The parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, and was built at the end of the 12th century.The parish includes the settlement of Chainhurst
. In February 2007, Ann Widdecombe
, the local MP, opened the Marden Heritage Centre in Marden Library. The Centre houses archives from Marden's 1000 year history.
Starting in 2010, Marden residents are reviving the ancient practice of bartering. The scheme follows the trend of small communities looking for ways of reducing food miles and valuing the skills and time of older people. The system is enable by the use of internet
technology to allow members of the scheme to exchange goods and services for Barter Credits. Similar schemes are in place in Lewes
and Totnes
which is a transition town.
whilst attempting an emergency landing following the structural failure of the starboard elevator. Two of the six people on board were killed.
On 4 January 1969, a passenger train from to overran a signal at danger in fog and crashed into the back of a parcels train. Four people were killed and 11 injured.
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and civil parish in the Maidstone
Maidstone (borough)
Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone which is also the County town of Kent...
District of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult
River Beult
The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway. It has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise. Town bridge lies 10¼ miles from Allington, it is the longest...
(a tributary of the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
) near Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
. It is on the B2079 road linking the A229
A229 road
The A229 is a major road running north-south through Kent.The road begins in the Medway town of Rochester at the foot of Star Hill forming a junction with the A2 road. It then climbs up through the built-up area of Chatham, passing Troy Town and Rochester Airport before descending the slope of the...
Maidstone with the A21 at Flimwell
Flimwell
The village of Flimwell is in the Rother District of East Sussex, in the civil parish of Ticehurst. It is located about two miles from the village of Ticehurst, close to the border with Kent...
. It has its own railway station. It is in an apple-growing area, and has a population of approximately 4000 persons.
The village of Marden is eight miles (13 km) from the county town. The parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, and was built at the end of the 12th century.The parish includes the settlement of Chainhurst
Chainhurst
Chainhurst is a minor village in the Marden parish council area of Maidstone district of Kent, England. It is primarily located along a one mile stretch of the Hunton Road, a minor road approximately 2 miles NNE of Marden, with the heart of the village centred upon a square created by Hunton Road...
. In February 2007, Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
, the local MP, opened the Marden Heritage Centre in Marden Library. The Centre houses archives from Marden's 1000 year history.
Starting in 2010, Marden residents are reviving the ancient practice of bartering. The scheme follows the trend of small communities looking for ways of reducing food miles and valuing the skills and time of older people. The system is enable by the use of internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
technology to allow members of the scheme to exchange goods and services for Barter Credits. Similar schemes are in place in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
and Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
which is a transition town.
Notable people
- Nicholas AmhurstNicholas AmhurstNicholas Amhurst was an English poet and political writer.Amhurst was born at Marden, Kent. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and at St John's College, Oxford. In 1719 he was expelled from the university, ostensibly for his irregularities of conduct, but in reality because of his whig...
(1697-1742), poet, was born in Marden. - Helen GrantHelen Grant (politician)Helen Grant is a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician. She is the current Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald in Kent. She was elected at the 2010 general election, replacing the constituency's previous incumbent, Ann Widdecombe, who had decided to step down as an MP...
(b 1961), MP for Maidstone and the Weald, lives in Marden - William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
(1908-75), actor, lived in Marden. - Sidney HighwoodSidney HighwoodCaptain Sidney William Highwood was a World War I flying ace who was a balloon buster. He was credited with aerial victories over nine enemy observation balloons, five German Fokker D.VIIs, and two Rumpler observation planes....
(1896-1975 ), RAF officer, was born in Marden. - William Morley PunshonWilliam Morley PunshonWilliam Morley Punshon was an English Nonconformist divine].He was born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, was educated in his native town, and, after spending a few years in business, at the Wesleyan College, Richmond. In 1845 he received his first appointment, at Marden, Kent, and soon became famous as a...
(1824-81), preacher, practiced at Marden 1845-49. - Stephen SouthonStephen SouthonStephen Southon was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1825 to 1826. An occasional wicket-keeper from Marden, Kent, he was mainly associated with Kent and made 4 known appearances in first-class matches....
, 19th Century cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, came from Marden.
Notable events
On 10 February 1930, a Farman F.63 Goliath crashed at Marden AirfieldMarden Airfield
Marden Airfield was an airfield in Marden, Kent, United Kingdom. It was operation from 1917 to 1935. Initially a Royal Flying Corps airfield during World War I it was used post-war as an Emergency Landing Strip, RAF Marden by the Royal Air Force. It was also known as Pagehurst Emergency Landing...
whilst attempting an emergency landing following the structural failure of the starboard elevator. Two of the six people on board were killed.
On 4 January 1969, a passenger train from to overran a signal at danger in fog and crashed into the back of a parcels train. Four people were killed and 11 injured.
External links
- Marden Barter Group
- Marden Parish Council
- Notes on Marden
- Parish church
- Marden History
- Marden Meadow (Kent Wildlife TrustKent Wildlife TrustKent Wildlife Trust covers the county of Kent, England, and is one of the largest of the 47 Wildlife Trust organisations in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney...
) - Marden Business Forum