St. Mary Mead St. Mary Mead St. Mary Mead was the fictional village created by popular crime fiction author Dame Agatha Christie. The quaint, sleepy village was home to the renowned detective spinster Miss Marple. However, Christie first described a village of that name prior to Marple's introduction, in the 1928 Hercule Poirot novel "The Mystery of the Blue Train". In that novel, St. Mary Mead is home to the book's protagonist Katherine Grey. 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". Miss Marple's
Marple, Greater Manchester are operated by Stagecoach Manchester and High Peak. Education in Marple is run by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. There are two primary schools, the secondary Marple Hall School which occupies the site of the ancestral home of the Bradshaw-Isherwood family. Marple Sixth Form College (formerly "Ridge Danyers College") offers courses to young people and adults. There is also an independent school and nursery, Brabyns Preparatory School. Marple Rugby Club has three adult teams, and a "Marple Minis Rugby" outfit with teams from age 7 to 17. Marple Cricket Club was formed in 1900 and has been based at Bowden Lane