Marden, Wiltshire
Historical Description
Marden or Merton, a village and a parish in Wiltshire. The village stands on the river Avon, 2 miles SW of Wood-borough station on the G.W.R., and 6 ESE of Devizes, and has a post office, of the name of Marden, under Devizes; money order and telegraph office, Woodborough. The parish comprises 1286 acres; population, 188. Two remarkable tumuli formerly were in the neighbourhood, 24.0 feet in circuit and 40 high, and are supposed by some writers to mark the scene of Etheldred's defeat by the Danes in 871; but whether they were sepulchral barrows or the earthwork of an ancient British temple is an open question. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £120. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church is ancient, has two Norman arches and an embattled tower, and is finely ornate both without and within; the tower was rebuilt in 1885 and the nave restored in 1894. There is a Baptist chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Wiltshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Marden All Saints | |
| Hundred | Swanborough | |
| Poor Law union | Devizes |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Marden 1693-1812, Wiltshire is available to browse online.
The register dates from the year 1695.
Findmypast, in association with the Wiltshire Record Office, have the following parish records online for Marden:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1527-1917 | 1754-1812 | 1625-1933 | 1623-1986 |
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The church of All Saints is a building of stone and brick, in the Norman and Perpendicular styles consisting of chancel and nave, south porch, and an embattled western tower with turret and pinnacles, and containing 5 bells: the south doorway and chancel arch are fine examples of Norman work, and are ornamented with the beaded chevron and other mouldings: the 15th century tower, which had been lowered seven feet in 1617, was rebuilt in 1885 at a cost of nearly £700, and restored to its original proportions: the church was thoroughly restored in 1894-5.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Marden from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Marden (All Saints))
Maps
Online maps of Marden are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Wiltshire papers online: