Marden, Kent

Marden
Kent
Location
Grid reference:	TQ744446
Location:	51°10’28"N, -0°29’39"E
Data
Population:	3,724  (2011)
Post town:	Tonbridge
Postcode:	TN12
Dialling code:	01622
Local Government
Council:	Maidstone
Parliamentary constituency:	Maidstone and the Weald

Marden is a village and parish in Kent about eight miles south of Maidstone. As well as the village the civil parish includes the settlement of Chainhurst and the hamlet of Wanshurst Green. The parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult (a tributary of the River Medway). It is in an apple-growing area, and has a population of approximately 4,000 people.

Transport

Marden is eight miles from Maidstone and 14 miles from Tonbridge. It is on the B2079 linking the A229 Maidstone with the A21 at Flimwell. It has its own railway station on the South Eastern Main Line.

Local amenities

The village has a parish church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, and was built at the end of the 12th century. In February 2007, Ann Widdecombe, the local MP, opened the Marden Heritage Centre in Marden Library. The Centre houses archives from Marden's 1,000-year history.

To the East of the village is Marden Meadows, three meadows (nine acres) which are cut annually for hay and then grazed. Since 1981, these have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. They are managed by the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation (Kent Wildlife Trust). The meadows contain several scarce species including Ophioglossum (adder's-tongue), green winged orchid (Orchis morio), meadow saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata), Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) and within a pond in one of the meadows, two scarce plants, water violet (Hottonia palustris) and bladder-sedge (Carex vesicaria) are also found.

Sport and leisure

Marden Cricket & Hockey Club are based at Days Sport Field. There is also a youth football side. There is a village club. Founded in 1971 is the Marden Bowls Club.

Notable people

• Nicholas Amhurst (1697-1742), poet, was born in Marden.
• Helen Grant (b 1961), MP for Maidstone and the Weald, lives in Marden
• William Hartnell (1908–75), actor, lived in Marden.
• Sidney Highwood (1896-1975 ), RAF officer, was born in Marden.
• William Morley Punshon (1824–81), preacher, practiced at Marden 1845-49.
• Stephen Southon, 19th-century cricketer, came from Marden.
• Franz Von Werra, 1914-41 German fighter pilot crash landed here in 1941
• Christopher Stanlake 2001-present Owner of the biggest Lego collection in the village since he moved to the village in 2007.
• Nicholas Fenn (1936–2016) British diplomat. High Commissioner to India. RAF pilot in the 1950s.

Notable events

On 10 February 1930, a Farman F.63 Goliath crashed at Marden Airfield whilst attempting an emergency landing following the structural failure of the starboard elevator. All of the six people on board were killed.

On 4 January 1969, a passenger train from Charing Cross to Ramsgate overran a signal at danger in fog and crashed into the back of a parcels train. Four people were killed and 11 injured.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Marden, Kent)

• Marden Parish Council
• Notes on Marden
• Parish church
• Marden History
• Marden Meadow (Kent Wildlife Trust)
• Marden Business Forum