Although the village of Marden is not recorded in the Domesday
Book, the Domesday Monachorum of 1085 lists a church standing
here, a daughter church of St. Mary’s in Maidstone (now All
Saints). This early church was probably of wooden construction
in common with other Saxon churches and was later replaced with
a more solid stone structure. Today’s building is made up of
Kent ragstone, sandstone and a little crowstone. The oldest part
of today’s building, the Chancel, dates from around 1200. The
entrance to the church building is via a very solid medieval
linenfold door with fine ancient benches on either side of the
outside Porch. To the left of the door, in the churchyard, stand
the old village stocks, which have been moved to their current
position for safety. These originally stood in the Village
Square. Inside, above the Porch is the Parvise or Parish Room;
there is a Newel Staircase leading to this chamber. In this
room, the priest would conduct parish business as well as
storing the various church docum