The Origin of Marple Township's Name

Writer's note: I am blogging for Marple Newtown Patch, and just coming off a four-year term as president of the . My blogs to date have been about . And yet I have now lived in longer than at any other address in my life.  So I want to start exploring Marple's history as well as Newtown's. What better way to start than to re-print Rich Paul's article on how Marple got its name. So, here, courtesy of Rich Paul, a long-time leader of the Marple Historical Society, is the story of how Marple Township received its name. 

Marple (present day spelling) first appears in England’s records in 1206 as Merphull. In 1287 it was known as Merpill and by 1431 Merpol. The name derives either from "maere hop hyll" meaning "the hill at the boundary" or "maere pill" meaning "the stream at the boundary." 

England’s most prominent houses was known as Marple Hall, named after the village and not a family, and built around 1600. The hall was owned by two families: the Bradshaw’s and, later, when there were no male heirs, it went to the female line and their name was Isherwood. It is thought that Marple Hall probably started off as a farmhouse which had stood on that spot for many, many years.  In the late 1500s Henry Bradshaw I moved in. His grandson, Henry Bradshaw III, demolished most of the original timber-framed farmhouse and built the hall in red stone. It took three years to build the main hall and the dates 1669 appeared on the great barn/stable and 1685 on the clock tower.

It is this Henry Bradshaw whose brother John was to prove to be Marple, England’s most famous son, as it was his signature that headed the others on King Charles’ 1st death warrant. John is buried at Westminster Abbey in London. The line died out with the last Isherwood, Christopher. He emigrated to the United States and was rather well known as a writer. His works included "Goodbye to Berlin" which was later made into the film "Cabaret." 

Francis Stanfield, one of the first purchasers of land in the new proprietorship of Pennsylvania, is given the credit for naming Marple Township in Delaware County, PA. His daughter, Grace, was born in Marple, England. However, it should be noted that recent evidence indicates that Thomas Massey may have been born in Marple, England, as well. 

There are only two Marple townships in the world and we have established some strong alliances with our counterpart in England through our fire companies, rotary clubs, and historical societies.

Thanks to Rich Paul for this article, and for all that he does in promoting the and Marple Township. For more information on our namesake city of Marple, Cheshire, England, follow these links:

An overview in Marple, England from Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marple,_Greater_Manchester

The town website for Marple, England:  http://www.marple-uk.com/Marple.htm