Marden ( or ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

borough of Maidstone The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It is named after its largest settlement of Maidstone, the county town of Kent, which is also where the council is based. The borough also includes sur ...

approximately south of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. The civil parish is located on the flood plain of the

River Beult The River Beult ( ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England. Course The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding, it is joined by the ...

, and also includes Chainhurst and the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Wanshurst Green. The village is associated with

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

growing and from 1933 to 1991 hosted a nationally recognised fruit show.

History

Name

The dense woodland and

marshes In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...

of the Weald of Kent were littered with

acorns Acorns may refer to: * Plural of acorn, the nut of the oak tree * Acorns (company) Acorns is an American financial technology and financial services company. Based in Irvine, California, Acorns specializes in micro-investing and robo advice ...

and beech mast in autumn making ideal seasonal

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

ground for

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

. The grants by

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

kings for rights to these

pannage Pannage is the practice of releasing livestock- pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beechmast, chestnuts or other nuts. Historically, it was a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests ...

areas were known as ''dens'' which later came to refer to the herders' camps and ultimately the settlements that grew up there. ''Maer'' referred to barren areas of marsh alongside the forest. In time the dens developed into permanent settlements such a ''Maer'' ''den'', or clearing beside the marsh. By 1066 the settlement was recorded as ''Maere Denn''; in 1170, ''Maeredaen''; 1235, ''Mereden''; 1283, ''Merdenne'', and from about 1635 by its present name.

Parish pump

Marden Parish Council covered over a

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

opposite the village's Maidstone Road junction in 1899 and erected a pump. In 1907, it had to be locked, and then removed, because of contamination of the water by

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

, nitrates, chlorides and

organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...

. The parish pump is depicted on the village sign.

Forges

George Rootes, a relative of the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the English Midlands, Midlands and the distribu ...

founders, operated Rootes'

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

at West End, and the West End Tavern next door. A Mr Bourne ran Bourne's Forge in the High Street. After it was demolished, Sutton's shop was built on the site and later new housing, the present Sutton Forge.

French airliner crash

On 10 February 1930, a Farman F.63 Goliath crashed at Pagehurst emergency landing ground whilst attempting an emergency landing following structural failure of the starboard

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

. Two of the six people on board were killed.

Marden Fruit Show

In 1933, Marden Fruit Show Society was established by 35 top-fruit growers and their first show was held in October that year at Walton Hall on Pattenden Lane. The prize fruit was sent to London for display at

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

. Apart from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and bad

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

years, the Society has organised their shows annually ever since. In 1953

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

attended the show. Marden Fruit Show is now ''The National Fruit Show'' and has moved from Pattenden Lane to the

Kent Showground The Kent Showground, formerly (and still colloquially) known as the Kent County Showground is an area of land in Detling, Kent, England, north of the county town of Maidstone. Stretching along the north side of the A249 from the top of Detling Hil ...

at nearby

Detling Detling is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the slope of the North Downs, northeast of Maidstone, and on the Pilgrims' Way. History and features The ''Cock Horse Inn'' was use ...

. Entries of

apples An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

pears Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the sa ...

and

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

come from across Great Britain and mainland Europe.

Doodlebugs

On 3 July 1944, a German

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

shot down by

anti-aircraft fire Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

landed on an army camp in Pattenden Lane, killing 11 and injuring eight. A total of 11 of the flying bombs fell on Marden including another on Pattenden Lane that exploded in a pond.

Pluto

A World War II Pluto fuel pipeline was constructed through Marden parish. In 2016, a section of the pipe from Gatehouse Farm, incorporating a concrete joint to facilitate a change in alignment, was relocated and put on permanent display at Marden Library.

Rail collision

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.

Transport

Marden is 8 miles (13 km) from Maidstone and 14 miles (22 km) from

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

. It is on the B2079 linking the

A229 The A229 is a major road running north–south through Kent from Rochester to Hawkhurst via Maidstone. It is a former Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings. The road is well known for Blue Bell Hill, which connects Rochester to Ma ...

Maidstone with the A21 at

Flimwell Flimwell is a village in the civil parish of Ticehurst, in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located close to the border with Kent at the junction of the A21 road with the A268 and the B2087. The village is situated in an Are ...

. Marden railway station is on the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the ...

Economy

There is local employment at the substantial

industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

built north of the railway line on Pattenden Lane from 1950 which supplements traditional agricultural jobs, but many residents commute to work in London. In 1993, there was a substantial tyre dump fire at the Pattenden Lane industrial area that caused

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

of the

River Teise The River Teise ( , ) is a tributary of the River Medway in Kent, England. Course The source of the Teise is in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells. From there the river flows eastwards past Bayham Abbey and then through Lamberhurst. downstream ...

Amenities

St Michael and All Angels Church, depicted on the village sign, was built at the end of the 12th century. In 2007,

Ann Widdecombe Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician and television personality who has been Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokesperson since 2023. Originally a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliame ...

opened the Marden Heritage Centre's archive at Marden Library. The village school, Marden Primary Academy, joined the

Leigh Academies Trust Leigh Academies Trust is a multi-academy trust, formed of 31 schools based in the Kent, Medway and South East London areas. Its Head Office is on the same site as Strood Academy, housing its Executive Team and central teams including Finance, E ...

in 2020. Marden Village Club was founded in 1907 and offers refreshments, singers and

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

to its members. Across Howland Road from the Village Club is the entrance to Marden

Bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

Club's

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and clubhouse.

Memorial Hall

Marden Memorial Hall on Goudhurst Road is operated by a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

. The three function rooms host community and private events, and since 1974 have staged Marden Theatre Group productions. The Hall was converted from a former

Church School A Christian school is a religious school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Christian mission or philosophy. ...

in 1934 and named for the memory of Mr Edward Day. Between 1950 and 1977 the Memorial Hall accommodated Marden library.

Sport

Marden Cricket Club and Marden Russets Hockey Club are based at Day's Sport Field. Marden Minors football team play at Church Park.

Marden Meadows

The Marden Meadows

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

is to the east of the village. Kent Trust for Nature Conservation mows the three fields once a year for

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

and livestock graze the aftermath. The unimproved, natural grassland contains

Ophioglossum ''Ophioglossum'', the adder's-tongue ferns, is a genus of about 50 species of ferns in the family Ophioglossaceae. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek ὄφις (''óphis''), meaning "snake", and γλῶσσα (''glôssa''), meaning "tongue". ...

green winged orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid (synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe, Northern Africa and western Asia. Des ...

Saxifraga granulata ''Saxifraga granulata'', commonly called meadow saxifrage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to Europe and Morocco. Taxonomy ''Saxifraga granulata'' was first formally described by Linnaeus as part of hi ...

Leucanthemum vulgare ''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced ...

Rhinanthus minor ''Rhinanthus minor'', known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus ''Rhinanthus'' in the family (biology), family Orobanchaceae (the broomrapes). It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern No ...

, and within a pond

Hottonia palustris ''Hottonia palustris'', also water violet or featherfoil, is an aquatic plant in the family Primulaceae. Description The plant has a stem reaching up to in height. Its basal roots are buried in the underlying mud, while other silvery, shiny ro ...

and bladder-sedge.

People

Nicholas Amhurst Nicholas Amhurst (16 October 1697 – 27 April 1742) was an English people, English poet and political writer. Life Amhurst was born at Marden, Kent. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant Taylors' School, and at St Joh ...

(1697–1742), poet *

Nicholas Fenn Sir Nicholas Maxted Fenn (19 February 1936 – 18 September 2016) was a British diplomat. He was High Commissioner to India from 1991 to 1996. Fenn served as a RAF pilot in the 1950s before his diplomatic and civil service career. Fenn late ...

(1936–2016), British diplomat *

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

(1908–75), actor *

Sidney Highwood Captain Sidney William Highwood (30 December 1896–1975) was a British World War I flying ace and balloon buster credited with sixteen aerial victories. Biography Highwood was born in Marden, Kent, to William and Sarah Highwood, of Hertsfield ...

(1896–1975 ), RAF officer * William Morley Punshon (1824–81), preacher *

Franz Von Werra Franz Xaver Freiherr von Werra (13 July 1914 – 25 October 1941) was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over Britain and captured. He was the only Axis prisoner of war to escape from Canadian custody and re ...

, (1914–41), German fighter pilot

References

External links

Marden Parish Council
* {{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent