Mereworth ( ) is a village and civil parish near the town of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. The

Wateringbury Stream The Wateringbury stream is a tributary of the River Medway in Kent, England. It rises at Swanton, West Peckham parish, flows south east towards Mereworth and then flows in a generally easterly direction to join the River Medway at Wateringbury. ...

flows through the village and powered a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

, the site of which now lies within the grounds of

Mereworth Castle Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely. History Originally the site of a fort ...

History

In the early 18th century the

Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

John Fane – later 7th Earl of Westmoreland – inherited the manor. He had the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion built. Designed by

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer who played an important part in the development of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As ...

then overlooked the village, so Fane had the village moved so that it couldn't be seen from the estate, about to the north west of its original location. He also demolished the church, providing the villagers with a new Palladian-style replacement, now dedicated to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

. Mereworth Church is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Notable people

* Dominick Browne (1901–2002), 2nd Baron Mereworth, lived at

until 1930. *

Geoffrey Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne Geoffrey Henry Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne, 1st Baron Mereworth, (born Browne-Guthrie; 6 January 1861 – 30 June 1927) was an Irish politician. Oranmore was the only son of Geoffrey Guthrie-Browne, 2nd Baron Oranmore and Browne, an ...

(1861–1927), 2nd Baron Mereworth, lived at Mereworth Castle. * Francis Fane (1580–1629), peer, lived at Mereworth Castle. * John Fane (1685–1762), nobleman, built the present Mereworth Castle. *

Richard Hosmer Richard Hosmer (3 January 1757 – 29 April 1820) was an English cricketer who played mainly for Kent sides.cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, was born in Mereworth. * Charles Lucas VC (1834–1914),

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, is buried in the churchyard of

St Lawrence's Church, Mereworth St Lawrence's Church is an Church of England, Anglican parish church at Mereworth, Kent, United Kingdom. It is in the deanery of West Malling, the Diocese of Rochester and Province of Canterbury. The church was built in the mid-1740s by John Fa ...

and was the first person to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links