04 February 2012 Mereworth Woods and West Peckham
Mereworth pronounced Merryworth is a small village lying
just off the current A26 Maidstone to Tonbridge road. It lies between the
villages of Wateringbury and
West Peckham near the
crossing of Seven Mile lane with the A26.
The manor was owned by William Shosmith in the mid 1400's, who was a warden of
the Skinners Company of London, and his tomb has one of the earliest
representations of the guild. (The tomb was moved when the church relocated see
below). In the late 1400's the manor was owned by the Bergavenny (later
Abergavenny) family and the Neville family.
In the early 1700's the Honorable John Fane who was later to become the Earl of
Westmoreland inherited the manor of Mereworth. He decided that the manor was too
small, and had a mansion built to a design by Colen Campbell, in the Palladian
style. Mereworth Castle overlooked the old village, which was to the south east
of its current location. Because the mansion overlooked the village, John Fane
moved the village to where it couldn't be seen from the estate, about 1/2 mile
to the north west. He also demolished the old church and built a brand new one
again in the Palladian style in the new village.
In 1755 it is said that John Fane entertained Prince Charles Edward the Young
Pretender at Mereworth Castle, which is where he held the last Jacobite council.
The Baltic War in 1854 brought Charles Lucas the very first Victoria Cross.
Charles was later to be known as Rear Admiral Charles Lucas . He was onboard HMS
Hecla under bombardment from the batteries at Bomarsund in Finland, when a shell
hit the ship with its fuse still burning. He picked it up and threw it overboard
where it exploded, due to this brave deed HMS Hecla survived.
During the Second World War the steeple of the church was damaged due to its
proximity to West Malling airfield, the damaged steeple was then restored during
1946-47.
| Total Distance | Total Time | Average Speed mph | Max Elevation ft | Minimum Elevation ft |
| 6.31 | 1:54 | 2.9 | 521 | 180 |
Mereworth Church
We left home with snow on the ground and - 1 Degrees C but as soon as we drove over Detling Hill there was none but, loads forecast for tonight.
Parking outside the church the first thing we passed was a frozen water feature and very quickly into a grassy valley.
Into the woods at the end of the valley
Out of the woods, past a frozen pond Down a very long track Where we met a friendly but BIG Adder
Into yet More woodland and past another frozen pond
To arrive in West Peckham with its church & pub very close together
We resisted the temptation to go in the pub even though it was freezing, instead we had lunch on a conveniently located bench outside the church
and was joined by a blackbird that had most of our lunch
Bit of roadwork, though more woods and fields to pass Mereworth Castle which is now a private house
Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England.[1]
Originally the site of a fortified manor licensed in 1332, the present building is not actually a castle, but was built in the 1720s as an almost exact copy of Palladio's Villa Rotunda. It was designed in 1723 by Colen Campbell who had been commissioned by John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland. The interior features plasterwork by Giovanni Bagutti and fresco painting by Francesco Sleter. The house is situated in a landscaped park and valley with a number of surrounding pavilions and lodges which are also Grade I listed.
The house passed through descent to Barons Oranmore and Browne whose family seat it became. It was sold in 1930 and used as a prisoner of war camp during World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s it was owned by Michael Lambert Tree, a son of Ronald Tree and an heir to the Marshall Field mercantile fortune, and his wife, the former Lady Anne Cavendish, a daughter of the 10th Duke of Devonshire.
The Wateringbury Stream passes through the grounds of the castle. It powered a fulling mill at the eastern end of the castle grounds.
Mereworth Castle is owned by Mahdi Al-Tajir, the former United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Kingdom, who purchased it in 1976 for $1.2 million. It is not generally accessible to the public, but does open on rare occasions for guided tours.
Mereworth Castle today Mereworth Castle 1746
Stopped off on the way home for Sunday Night Dinner
Conclusion, Brilliant, most of it is in woodland and some of it is very boggy but well worth the effort