In the mid 19th century,
John Marius Wilson's
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Mersham in the following terms: Until the early 20th century Mersham was for its majority a farming and orchard-tending community with close ties to the local market town of Ashford. The small village dates back to Saxon times and is mentioned in the
Domesday Book. The village was owned by the
Archbishops of Canterbury for over 500 years. The Anglican church is dedicated to
St. John the Baptist and is in the highest category of
listed building, at Grade I. It stands on the site of a
Saxon church, and is part
Norman. It is thought that the village gives rise to the surname
Marshman.
The Knatchbulls The village has been the home of the Knatchbull family since the times of
Henry VIII. In 1638 Sir
Norton Knatchbull founded Ashford Grammar School, to which pupils were not admitted until they could read the Bible in English, he was also the
Member of Parliament for Romney. In the early 19th century
Edward Knatchbull served in the
Whig government and in 1830 another Sir Edward Knatchbull became M.P. for
Romney and was given responsibility under Sir
Robert Peel in his government of 1841. Both the funeral and committal services of
John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, were held at St John the Baptist Church, Mersham after his death in 2005. When his wife,
Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma died in 2017, her funeral was held in
St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, but her committal service was at St John the Baptist. Both were private royal funerals. ==Geography==