Marden developed as a settlement after herdsmen brought their stock to feed in" dens" or clearings in the forest of Anderida. It was established by 1066 as part of the King's Manor of Milton. It changed hands many times over the centuries. In 1283 a Market was set up by order of Edward I and existed until1930. The beginning of the cloth trade in Marden can be traced to 1336 and became an important trade. Three clothiers from the area invented a new process of dyeing in 1640. The population grew slowly. A Pest house was used to house victims of The Great Plague in 1666 and a workhouse was erected in 1790. A Parish pump, erected in 1899 had to be locked up in 1907 due to contamination. The first sewers were laid in 1933. The railway came to Marden in 1842. During the building of the line, a mammoth fossil was found in a cutting. Gas street-lighting was installed in 1902, to be replaced by electricity in 1971.