Marden, Kent

Marden

Marden, Kent
Marden
Marden shown within Kent
Population 3,724 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference TQ744446
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Tonbridge
Postcode district TN12 9xx
Dialling code 01622
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament

Marden (/ˈmɑːrdən/ or /mɑːrˈdɛn/)[2] is a village about 8 miles (13 km) south of Maidstone and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. 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) near Maidstone. It is in an apple-growing area, and has a population of approximately 4000 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 inc; 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. http://www.marden.kent.sch.uk/

Sport and leisure

Marden Cricket & Hockey Club (hockey also known as Marden Russets) are based at Days Sport Field.[4] There is also a youth football side.[5] There is a village club.[6] Founded in 1971 is the Marden Bowls Club. [7]

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.

Local Media

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

Also the only free independent newspaper to serve the borough of Maidstone, 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.

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). www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Marden Russets Hockey Club". Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  5. ↑ "Marden Minors F.C." Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  6. ↑ "Marden Village Club". Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  7. ↑ http://www.mardenbowlsclub.org.uk. Missing or empty |title= (help)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.