Mereworth is a village and civil parish near the town 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 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. The

Wateringbury Stream The Wateringbury stream is a tributary of the River Medway in Kent, England. It rises at Swanton, West Peckham parish, flows south east towards Mereworth and then flows in a generally easterly direction to join the River Medway at Wateringbury. ...

flows through the village and powered a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, the site of which now lies within the grounds of

Mereworth Castle Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Neo-Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely. History Originally the site of ...

. Mereworth is pronounced as "Merry-worth".

History

In the early 18th century the

Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

John Fane – later 7th Earl of Westmoreland – inherited the manor. He had the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion built. Designed by

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectural ...

then overlooked the village, so Fane had the village moved so that it couldn't be seen from the estate, about to the north west of its original location. He also demolished the church, providing the villagers with a new Palladian-style replacement, now dedicated to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

. Mereworth Church is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Notable people

* Dominick Browne (1901-2002), 2nd Baron Mereworth, lived at

until 1930. *

Geoffrey Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne Geoffrey Henry Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne, 1st Baron Mereworth, (born Browne-Guthrie; 6 January 1861 – 30 June 1927) was an Irish politician. Oranmore was the only son of Geoffrey Guthrie-Browne, 2nd Baron Oranmore and Browne, an ...

(1861-1927), 2nd Baron Mereworth, lived at Mereworth Castle. * Francis Fane (1580-1629), peer, lived at Mereworth Castle. * John Fane (1685-1762), nobleman, built the present Mereworth Castle. * Richard Hosmer (1757-1820),

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, was born in Mereworth. *

Charles Lucas Sir Charles Lucas, 1613 to 28 August 1648, was a professional soldier from Essex, who served as a Cavalier, Royalist cavalry leader during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Taken prisoner at the end of the First English Civil War in March 1646, ...

VC (1834-1914),

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

, is buried in the churchyard of

St Lawrence's Church, Mereworth St Lawrence's Church is an Church of England, Anglican parish church at Mereworth, Kent, United Kingdom. It is in the deanery of West Malling, the Diocese of Rochester and Province of Canterbury. The church was built in the mid-1740s by John Fa ...

and was the first person to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links