Marden 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

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. Marden village is approximately due north of the city of

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, and is contiguous with the hamlets of Walker's Green and Paradise Green. The parish also includes the hamlet of Burmarsh to the south of the village. According to the historian

Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow ...

, King

Æthelberht II of East Anglia Æthelberht (Old English: ''Æðelbrihte'', ''Æþelberhte''), also called Saint Ethelbert the King ( – 20 May 794) was an 8th-century saint and a king of Kingdom of East Anglia, East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon kingdom which tod ...

was murdered in the village in 794 on the order of

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, has been designated a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

since 26 January 1967. The earliest part of the present building dates back to the 13th century, but the church has its origins in the 8th century . It is situated on the banks of the

River Lugg The River Lugg () rises near Llangynllo in Powys, Wales. From its source, it flows through the border town of Presteigne and then into Herefordshire, England. It meets its main tributary, the River Arrow, to the south of Leominster, then ...

. The Marches Way

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...

passes through the village and, heading south, then crosses Sutton Walls Hill Fort. In 2009, a company growing, packing, importing and exporting

soft fruit ''Soft Fruit'' is a 1999 comedy drama film about a dying mother and her children who come together to fulfill her last wishes. It is an Australian American co-production produced by New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion and directed by Christina A ...

and

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

was based in the village, and employed more than 2,400 people, predominantly Romanians and Bulgarians, to work on its farms in Herefordshire and Kent. The cattle breeder, Richard de Quincey, lived in Marden from 1922 until his death in 1965.

References

External links

Marden's "Vision of Britain" page
Villages in Herefordshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub