St Michael and All Angels Church, Marden

St Michael and All Angels Church, Marden
Location within Kent
Coordinates: 51°10′28″N 0°29′38″E / 51.174423°N 0.493815°E / 51.174423; 0.493815
Location	Marden, Kent
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	http://www.mardenchurch.org.uk/
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	23 May 1967
Completed	Circa 1200, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 19th and 20th centuries
Administration
Deanery	The Weald
Archdeaconry	Maidstone
Diocese	Canterbury
Province	Canterbury

St Michael and All Angels Church is a parish church in Marden, Kent. It was begun circa 1200 and is a Grade I listed building.

The church was begun around 1200 and was altered or extended in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th centuries and was restored in 1868 and 1909. The church is constructed variously of coursed and random sandstone, rag-stone and puddingstone and has plain tiled and lead roofs.

The nave is adjoined by aisles on the north and south sides, the one to the south continuing across the south face of the west tower. The chancel has chapels on the north and south side. The tower was built in the 13th or early 14th century and comprises three stone-built stages with a fourth stage, containing the belfry added later in white painted weatherboarding with a pyramidal roof. Louvred openings occupy the centre of each side of the belfry. Small rectangular or pointed lancet windows pierce the stonework on each external face of the lower stages, except the south face which abuts the south aisle. A square stair turret with window slits adjoins the north-west corner of the tower.

Both aisles are early 14th century. The south aisle has a rag-stone plinth, but the north aisle is plinthless. The south aisle has two buttresses with three large three-lighted 14th-century style arched windows; two to the west of the porch and one to the east. The western bay, attached to the south side of the tower was reconstructed in the 19th or early 20th century. The north aisle has a diagonal buttress on the north-west corner and two on the north side positioned between the three three-lighted windows. Two are original 14th-century and the third is 19th-century in the same style with traceried decoration. The west end of the north aisle contains a 19th-century two-lighted window. The west end of the south aisle is blank apart from a small blocked lancet window.