Marden History Group

Marden History Group An informal but cohesive team of researchers interested in records and archives pertaining to the village of Marden in Kent, England

Marden History Group is an informal but cohesive team of researchers with a strong passion and keen interest in records and archives pertaining to the village of Marden in Kent, England. Our motto, S P R I T - SEEK, PRESERVE, RESEARCH, INFORM and TRANSMIT neatly sums up our quest to document not only bygone history in all its forms and materials but history in the making - and this means even if i

t's only a day old. Our extensive collections are a fascinating and absorbing across-the-board array of materials spanning 800 years: wills, poor laws, journals and newspapers, assizes, maps, books, postcards, censuses, baptism records, death certificates, artefacts, photographs, letters, marriage certificates and much more - a significant proportion of which is available to view online if you join for a small fee here. http://www.mardenhistory.org.uk/home/?page_id=126

Our good fortune in obtaining a National Lottery grant in 2007 gave us the means to set up a permanent computerised centre in Marden Library in the High Street the next year. Countless members of the public have visited the centre that houses most of our materials and is open in tandem with the library. Visitor Times are:

Sunday Closed
Monday Closed
Tuesday 1.15 pm – 6.00 pm
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 1.15 pm – 6.00 pm
Friday 9.00 am – 1.30 pm
Saturday 10.00 am – 2.00 pm

The superb quality of our colourful and informative 4-monthly

in-house exhibitions on Marden’s various facets testifies not only to the scope, depth and detail of the materials, but to the professionalism of those who work tirelessly to assemble, invigorate and animate them: Law and Order, Hop Picking, First World War, Education, Tithes and Taxes, How the Village Grew, Evolution of Transport etc. These and our treasure trove, have proven to be of immense interest to people of all creeds, nationalities and ages and we advertise them with a view to encouraging visits, not only from those researching ancestors, relatives and long-lost friends from Marden, but just about anyone who wishes to come and see. Writers, historians, archaeologists, journalists and scientists will find many a morsel, as will the casual researcher.

‘Like’ this page to keep up-to-date about what we have and news about upcoming exhibitions at Marden History Group, and visit our website at mardenhistory.org.uk http://www.mardenhistory.org.uk/home/

Many thanks to all of you who have contributed time with helping visitors, researching, adding to our archives, writing ...
01/01/2026

Many thanks to all of you who have contributed time with helping visitors, researching, adding to our archives, writing & arranging talks. Plus anything I may have forgotten!

A talk: The Railway & Marden : Sunday November 23rd at 2.30pm at the Vestry HallOn 13th June1842, Queen Victoria made he...
13/11/2025

A talk: The Railway & Marden : Sunday November 23rd at 2.30pm at the Vestry Hall

On 13th June1842, Queen Victoria made her first ever journey by train, from Slough (then the nearest station to Windsor Castle) to Bishop’s Bridge in West London, the first terminus of the Great Western Railway before Paddington Station was built.

Just a few weeks later, on 31st August 1842, Marden was placed firmly on the railway map when the first train steamed in shortly after 11.00 a.m, as the South Eastern Railway opened another section of its line from London to Dover.

In 1994, the first High Speed trains from London to Paris, Brussels and beyond came blasting through Marden en route to the Channel Tunnel.

In this illustrated talk, Graham Tippen takes us from one to the other and forward to the present day of Marden and its railway.

Marden History Group will be firing the siren, located outside the library, on Remembrance Sunday 9 November at 11.45am....
06/11/2025

Marden History Group will be firing the siren, located outside the library, on Remembrance Sunday 9 November at 11.45am.
Mo Gillis-Coates will be playing the 'Last Post'. This follows the church open air service. All are most welcome to come.

***REMINDER: NEXT WEDNESDAY, 7.30pm at the Village Club***
16/10/2025

***REMINDER: NEXT WEDNESDAY, 7.30pm at the Village Club***

'The History of Hop growing in England, where have all our Hop Gardens gone' The origin and other uses of hops, when the...
07/10/2025

'The History of Hop growing in England, where have all our Hop Gardens gone'
The origin and other uses of hops, when they were first used in brewing, the difference between ale and beer; hops through the ages; the history of hop growing with some short videos, and some of the great traditions that developed over time, especially the wonderful days of hand picking by thousands of Londoners and how they lived on the farm. How hops were sold back in 1700's up to today and finally - where have all our hop gardens gone? I present it in an amusing but informative way with interaction with the audience and includes several videos of hop growing in days gone by. I bring along some old tools used in the hop industry, and a unique tool to the hop industry - a ‘Hop Dog’!

28/07/2025

Marden History Group needs a volunteer web admin/developer to help update and maintain our cPanel hosted website.

The site hosts over 60,000 historical records and runs on WordPress with a custom PHP/MySQL records backend (built with PHPmaker)
The records backend needs upgrading, and the WordPress site could do with a facelift.

We’re a small community group with limited funds but can offer a meaningful, flexible role for someone interested in local history and web development.

If you’re interested in helping us preserve local history and keep this valuable resource running, please contact us at: [email protected]

Address

Marden Library
Marden
TN129DP

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10:30am - 12:30pm
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 12:30pm
Thursday 10:30am - 12:30pm
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Friday 10:30am - 12:30pm
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am - 12:30pm

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