St. Mary Mead was the fictional village created by popular crime fiction author Dame Agatha Christie. Sherlock Holmes, pipe-puffing hero of crime fiction, confers with his colleague Dr. Watson; together these characters popularized the genre. ... Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (September 15, 1890 – January 12, 1976), was an English crime fiction writer. ...

The quaint, sleepy village was home to the renowned detective spinster Miss Jane Marple. The village was first mentioned in a Miss Marple book in 1930, when it was the setting for the first Marple novel, The Murder at the Vicarage. However, Agatha Chirstie first described a village of that name prior to the introduction of Jane Marple, in the Hercule Poirot novel The Mystery of the Blue Train, in which it was home to that book's protagonist Katherine Grey. Joan Hickson as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in many Agatha Christie novels. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Murder at the Vicarage (published in 1930) is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple. ... David Suchet as Poirot Hercule Poirot (pronounced ) is a fictional character, the protagonist of many of Agatha Christies detective novels, a good number of which have been adapted into films, television series, radio dramas, and stage shows. ... The Mystery of the Blue Train (published in 1928) is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, featuring her detective Hercule Poirot. ...

Miss Marple's St Mary Mead is described in The Murder at The Vicarage as being in the fictional county of Downshire but in the later novel The Body in the Library Downshire has become Radfordshire. The St Mary Mead of Katherine Grey however was in Kent. A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... The Body in the Library (published in 1942) is an Agatha Christie mystery novel featuring the elderly detective Miss Marple. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ...

St Mary Mead is supposed to be in the south east of England within commuting distance of London just outside the town of Much Benham and is close to Market Basing (which appears as a name of a town in many of Agatha Christie's novels and short stories) and the fashionable seaside resort of Danemouth. Other towns said to be close by include Brackhampton, Medenham Wells and Millchester.

Before the Second World War, the village itself was not particularly large. The only road of significance passing through the village was High Street. Here were the well-established purveyances of Mr Petherick, the solicitors; Mrs Jamieson, the hairdressers; Mr Thomas's basket-weavers; The Blue Boar Pub; and Mr Baker's grocery shop. The little-trafficked railway station which was presumably closed by the time of events in the book 4.50 From Paddington was also located at the very end of High Street. Then, slightly further up Lansham Road, was the fine Victorian structure of Gossington Hall. Until the 1950s, this was home to the charming Colonel Arthur Bantry and his wife Dolly (Miss Marple's best friends in the village). However, after Colonel Bantry's death, Mrs Bantry sold the estate, but continued to live on in the grounds in the East Lodge. The Hall was later after one or two changes of ownership purchased by the film star Marina Gregg. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... 4. ...

At the other end of Lansham Road, a small lane broke away from the main street. Nestled in this lane were three Queen Anne or Georgian houses, which belonged to three spinsters. The first house belonged to the long-nosed Caroline Weatherby, who died some time before 1960. The second cottage belonged to Amanda Hartnell, a proud, decent woman with a deep voice. She continued to live in the village up to the end of the '60s. The last cottage, Danemead, belonged to Jane Marple, the famous spinster, who solved countless prolific cases between 1930 and 1976. The Post Office, and the dress-makers belonging to Mrs. Politt, are located in front of the Lane.

The centre of the village was the Vicarage, the very grand Victorian structure at the end of the Lane. The Vicarage was home to Reverend Leonard Clement and his pretty young wife, Griselda, until 1957, when Reverend Clement died. Mrs Clement continued to live on in the Vicarage.

Beyond the Vicarage were two more houses. The first was the residence of the village GP, Doctor Haydock. He continued to live on in the village beyond 1960. The other cottage was much larger than Doctor Haydock's. It belonged to Mrs Martha Price-Ridley, a rich and dictatorial widow, and the most vicious gossip in the town. There was also a large estate, 'Old Hall', belonging to the odious local magistrate, Colonel Lucius Protheroe. He was murdered in 1930 in Rev. Clement's study. After the war the mansion was turned in a block of flats, to the great disapproval of the villagers. Finally, just beyond the home of the dreaded Price-Ridley (as she is known by other villagers) was a small stream, leading to the fields of Farmer Giles.

However, the Second World War took its toll on the village, and soon after the war Farmer Giles' fields were bought and tarmaced over; and a new housing estate was built over it. It was referred to as 'The Development', by the villagers who survived the war. It was inhabited by such residents as the irritating Heather Badcock, and the helpful Cherry Baker. The Development was not popular and was despised by the villagers.

St. Mary Mead is really any country village one can visit today, where the quintessentially English atmosphere of a true piece of England can be seen. A village is a human residential settlement commonly found in rural areas. ...