Mereworth is a village and civil parish near the town of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest 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 centre of the town, linking it wi ...

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 ...

, 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 a ...

. 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 certai ...

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 architectura ...

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. 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 Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

, lived at Mereworth Castle. * John Fane (1685-1762), nobleman, built the present Mereworth Castle. *

Richard Hosmer Richard Hosmer (3 January 1757 – 29 April 1820) was an English cricketer who played mainly for Kent sides.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 st ...

er, was born in Mereworth. * Charles Lucas VC (1834-1914), Rear-Admiral, is buried in the churchyard of St Lawrence's Church, Mereworth 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