In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Mereworth like this:
MEREWORTH, a village and a parish in Malling district, Kent. The village stands 2½ miles WN W of Wateringbury r. station, and 7 W by S of Maidstone; and has a post office under Maidstone. The parish includes a detached portion, called Old Hay, 7 miles S of the village; and comprises 2,743 acres. ...
Real property, £5,237. Pop., 835. Houses, 166. The property is divided among a few. The manor belonged to John de Mereworth, the crusader; passed to the Fitzalans, the Beauchamps, the Nevilles, the Fanes, and the Stapletons; and belongs now to Viscountess Falmouth. Mereworth Castle is Viscountess Falmouth's seat; was built, about the middle of last century, after the model of Palladio's Villa Capri; has, at the sides, detached kitchens and offices, in a style similar to itself; and stands amid very beautiful scenery. Yotes Court is the seat of Viscount Torrington. Hops and fruit are extensively grown. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £822. * Patron, Viscountess Falmouth. The church was built in 1746, in lieu of a previous one which stood on part of the Site of Mereworth Castle; is in the renaissance sty le, with a Corinthian portico and a lofty steeple; and contains some old monuments of the Nevilles and the Fanes, removed to it from the former church. Walpole described its steeple as "so tall that the poor church curtsies under it, like Mary Rich in a vast high-crowned hat. ''There is a national school.
Mereworth through time
Mereworth is now part of Tonbridge and Malling district. Click here for graphs and data of how Tonbridge and Malling has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Mereworth itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Mereworth, in Tonbridge and Malling and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6275
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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