Marden, Kent

Marden (/ˈmɑːrdən/ or /mɑːrˈdɛn/)[2] is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of the town of Maidstone. As well as the village the civil parish includes the settlement of Chainhurst and the hamlet of Wanshurst Green.

Marden

Marden, Kent
Marden
Location within Kent
Population3,724 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ744446
District
  • Maidstone
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTonbridge
Postcode districtTN12
Dialling code01622
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

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 8 miles (13 km) from Maidstone and 14 miles (22 km) 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 1000-year history.

To the east of the village is Marden Meadows, three meadows (8.8 acres (36,000 m2)) 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.[3]

Education

There is one school: Marden Primary School.[4]

Sport and leisure

Marden Cricket & Hockey Club (hockey also known as Marden Russets) are based at Days Sport Field.[5] There is also a youth football side.[6] There is a village club.[7] Founded in 1971 is the Marden Bowls Club.[8]

Notable people
  • Nicholas Amhurst (1697–1742), poet, was born 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, practised at Marden 1845–49.
  • Franz Von Werra, (1914–41), German fighter pilot, crash landed here in 1941.
  • Nicholas Fenn (1936–2016), British diplomat and 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.

Local Media

Newspapers available in Marden are the free Maidstone Extra owned by the KM Group and yourmaidstone by KOSMedia.

The only free independent newspaper to serve the borough of Maidstone is the Downs Mail.

The Local radio station is KMFM Maidstone. Marden is also served by the county-wide stations Heart Kent, Gold (radio) and BBC Radio Kent.

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gollark: ++remind 12w4d remove lyricly
gollark: There.

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. John Wells's phonetic blog
  3. "SSSI name:Marden Meadows" (PDF). sssi.naturalengland.org.uk. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  4. "Marden Primary School".
  5. "Marden Russets Hockey Club". Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  6. "Marden Minors F.C." Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  7. "Marden Village Club". Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  8. "Marden Bowls Club".
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