From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maidstone
Maidstone shown within Kent
Population	75,070 (2001)
OS grid reference	TQ765555
- London	32 miles (51 km) NW
District	Maidstone
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAIDSTONE
Postcode district	ME14, ME15, ME16
Dialling code	01622
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Maidstone and the Weald
European Parliament	South East England
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Coordinates: 51°16′18″N 0°31′46″E / 51.2717, 0.5295

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) southeast of London. The River Medway runs through centre of the town.

Traditionally Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. Conservative Ann Widdecombe is MP for Maidstone & The Weald.

There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to the Stone Age. In 2001, the town had a population of 75,000.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Toponymy 1.2 Early history 1.3 The Civil War 1.4 Kent Volunteers 1.5 Two world wars 1.6 Modern history 2 Governance 3 Geography 4 Demography 5 Economy 6 Landmarks 6.1 Maidstone Prison 6.2 Army barracks 7 Transport and communications 7.1 River Medway 7.2 Roads 7.3 Buses 7.4 Commuter Coaches 7.5 Railways 7.6 Footpaths 7.7 Centenary of transport 8 Education 9 Religion 10 Culture 10.1 Radio 10.2 Television 10.3 Theatre 10.4 Sport 10.5 Twinning 11 External links 12 References

The town's name has been attributed to Old English meaning either stone of the maidens, or possibly stone of the people.^[1]

Other sources suggest a Saxon derivation from the name Maeidesstana, which appeared as Meddestane in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Another possible meaning is town of the Medway which might be derived from other versions of the name including Medwegestun, Meddestane and Maydestan.^[2]

Stone Age finds have been made locally, but it was the Romans who first gave Maidstone importance. Their road from Watling Street at Rochester to Hastings across the Weald passed through the site, and two villas have been discovered. They were also among the first to extract stone (the sandstone known as Kentish ragstone) from the area.

This part of the Medway Valley was important too, by the time of Domesday Book. Heathland to the north of the town (today the suburb of Penenden Heath) was the site of shire moots or regional assemblies and the location of a key trial in the years immediately following the Norman Conquest.

In the Middle Ages there were two hospitals here built for the care of wayfarers, especially those on pilgrimage; and a “college” of secular priests.

See also: English Civil War

The Battle of Maidstone took place on 1 June 1648.

About 2,000 Royalist forces were defending the town, governed by Sir Gamaliel Dudley, and his lieutenant, Sir John Mainy, and their junior-lieutenant, Sir Conor Forker, who had arranged earthworks and other defences. General Fairfax and a body of dragoons approached in the afternoon, following the Medway Valley from Farleigh Bridge, which had been only lightly guarded, and the first skirmishes took place on the outskirts of the town around 7 o'clock.

The Royalists put up a spirited resistance and managed to repulse Fairfax's pikeman. Reinforcements from the town arrived and heavy hand-to-hand fighting took place. Fairfax was astonished that his disciplined New Model Army soldiers where thrown into confusion. Fairfax himself, who had been observing the action from a carriage a short distance away, took to horse and lead his troops on a charge which, following further heavy close fighting, forced the Royalists to retreat. Fairfax pushed on, and the storming of the town began at 9 o'clock.

By midnight, the remaining Royalists had been driven into the churchyard, and surrendered.

300 Royalists had died in the battle, and 1,300 captured. Between 30 and 80 of Fairfax's men were believed killed.^[3]

In 1799, King George III and Prime Minister William Pitt visited Mote Park in the town to inspect around 3,000 assembled troops of the Kent Volunteers, a local militia trained to defend the county from a possible invasion by Napoleon I of France. A Doric-style temple was constructed to commemorate the occasion.^[4][5]

Detling, just to the North of the town and now the home of the Kent County Showground, was a Naval Air station during the First World War, and served the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Around 1939, a number of other airfields were developed near the town, including RAF West Malling and RAF Lashenden. Maidstone suffered damage from Luftwaffe bombers dumping their loads when unable to reach their primary targets. V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets also fell in the area. In one incident late in 1944, the town was hit by 50 small shells. These came from the South, although the nearest point on the French coast is 60 miles away.^{[citation needed]} The incident has not yet been satisfactorily explained.^{[citation needed]}

The headquarters of No 1 Group Royal Observer Corps was situated in Maidstone until the organisation was disbanded in 1995.

The modern town of Maidstone incorporates a number of previously outlying villages and settlements (see Geography below).

The county council offices, to the north of the town centre and beside the prison, were built of Portland stone between 1910 and 1913.

Maidstone General Hospital opened on the outskirts of the town in 1983, replacing West Kent General Hospital, which opened 150 years earlier in Marsham Street.

Many of today’s residents use Maidstone as a base to commute to London, or are employed within the retail, administrative or service sectors within the town.

Maidstone’s town status was confirmed when, in 1549, it was incorporated. It had originally been governed by a portreeve, 12 brethren and 24 commoners under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, when the people of Maidstone rebelled against the crown in support of Thomas Wyatt in 1551, this charter was revoked, although a new charter was established five years later, when Maidstone was created a borough.

The town’s charter was ratified in 1619 under James I, and the coat of arms, bearing a golden lion and a representation of the river, was designed. Recently these arms were added to by the head of a white horse (representing Invicta, the motto of the county of Kent), a golden lion and an iguanodon. The iguanodon relates to the discovery in the 19th century of the fossilised remains of such a dinosaur locally. These remains are now displayed in the Natural History Museum in London.

Maidstone is in the parliamentary constituency of Maidstone and The Weald, previously known as Maidstone until the revision of its boundaries in 1997. Since 1987, the constituency's Member of Parliament has been Ann Widdecombe of the Conservative Party.^[6] The town is within the local government district of Maidstone, which includes the surrounding rural areas. The town is divided into the twelve local government wards of Allington, Bridge, Downswood and Otham, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Park Wood, Shepway North, Shepway South, South, and North.^[7] These wards have thirty of the fifty-five seats on the Maidstone Borough Council. As of November 2007, 19 of those seats were held by the Liberal Democrats, 6 by the Conservative Party, 4 by the Labour Party, and 1 by an independant.^[8] Maidstone Borough Council is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and council housing;^[9] while Kent County Council is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning and road maintenance.

The growth of the central town of Maidstone has incorporated previously outlying villages and settlements on its boundaries including Allington, Penenden Heath and Tovil.

The original site of the town centre, where the main streets are, is situated on rising ground to the east of the River Medway. The pedestrianised areas of the High Street and King Street run up from the river crossing at Lockmeadow; Week Street and Gabriel’s Hill bisect this route.

Maidstone compared

	Maidstone	Maidstone district	England
Population	75,070	138,948	49,138,831
Foreign born	5.9%	5.2%	9.2%
White	97%	97%	91%
Asian	1.5%	1.1%	4.6%
Black	0.4%	0.2%	2.3%
Christian	74%	76%	72%
Muslim	0.8%	0.5%	3.1%
Hindu	0.7%	0.5%	1.1%
Source: 2001 UK census

As of the 2001 UK census, Maidstone town wards had a total population of 75,070, and a population density of 28 residents per hectare. The town had 31,142 households; of which, 38% were married couples, 29% were individuals, 10% were cohabiting couples, and 9% were lone parent families. 14% of households had someone living alone at pensionable age.^[10]

The ethnicity of the town was given as 96.6% white, 0.9% mixed race, 0.3% Chinese, 1.5% other Asian, 0.4% Black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of the town's residents was 94.1% United Kingdom (91.4% England), 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 0.6% Germany, 1.3% other European countries, 1.7% Asia, 0.9% Africa and 0.8% elsewhere.^[10]

Religion was recorded as 73.9% Christian, 0.8% Muslim, 0.7% Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.14% Sikh and 0.11% Jewish. 15.8% were recorded as having no religion, 0.6% had an alternative religion, and 7.7% did not state their religion.^[10]

The early economy of Maidstone was built around its position as a central market town to the agricultural industry of the surrounding Kent countryside. Its position on the River Medway (which was in turn fed by a series of tributaries) allowed goods to be transported in and out of the town quickly for trade.

The existence of trade attracted craftsmen and other artisans adding to a supporting manufacturing economy.^[11]

The quarrying of building stone around Maidstone has always been important and continues even today. Some of the sandstone is also used in the glass industry.

In the 17th century the Wealden cloth industry reached as far north as the town; for here were deposits of Fuller's earth used for degreasing the wool and, perhaps more importantly, the means of transporting the finished products — the river.

In Maidstone there were many small breweries at the end of the 19th century, the river being useful for transport and water for the beer production. One of the biggest, the Style & Winch brewery, was on the river bank in the centre of the town. It shut in 1965 and the building was demolished in 1976. There were five other breweries; today only a small one — Goachers — remains. Parts of the former-Fremlins brewery are now incorporated in the Fremlin Walk shopping arcade.

Paper mills, known locally as “the treacle mines”, also grew near the river. Paper was produced at places such as Turkey Mill and Hayle Mill, and what was to become the Reed group had several paper and cardboard milling plants in Maidstone. Today Aylesford (on the northwest side of Maidstone) has the largest paper recycling factory in Europe, manufacturing paper for the newspaper industry.

Until 1998 the Sharps toffee factory of (later part of Cadbury Trebor Basset), makers of liquorice allsorts, was in central Maidstone and provided a significant source of employment.

Loudspeaker manufacturer KEF was founded in 1961 in Maidstone on the premises of a metal working operation called Kent Engineering & Foundry (hence KEF). Today, KEF still occupies the same river-bank site. In the late 1990s KEF manufactured a loudspeaker called “the Maidstone”.

The town centre has the largest office centre in the county and the area is a base for the paper and packaging industry. Many high-technology firms have set up on surrounding business parks.

The town is ranked in the top five shopping centres in the south east of England for shopping yields and has more than one million square feet of retail floor space, including the new Fremlin Walk.

The Fremlin Walk shopping arcade opened, on the site of a former brewery in the centre of the town. It has an area of 32,500 square metres.^[12] Other recent developments include the riverside Lockmeadow Centre, which includes a multiplex cinema, restaurants, nightclub, bowling alley, and market square

As of the 2001 UK census, 45.2% of the town's residents aged 16–74 were employed full-time, 12.7% employed part-time, 7.6% self-employed and 2.5% unemployed, while 2.3% were students with jobs, 3.0% students without jobs, 12.9% retired, 6.6% looking after home or family, 3.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons. These figures were roughly inline with the national average.^[10]

Employment by industry was 19% retail; 13% real estate; 11% manufacturing; 9% construction; 7% transport and communications; 10% health and social work; 8% public administration; 7% education; 5% finance; 4% hotels and restaurants; 1% agriculture; 1% energy and water supply; and 5% other. Compared to national figures, Maidstone had a relatively high percentage of workers in construction and public administration, and a relatively low percentage in agriculture.^[10]

According to Office for National Statistics estimates, the average gross income of households in Maidstone between April 2001 and March 2002 was £595 per week (£31,000 per year).^[10]

The prison lies to the north of the town centre. Designed by Daniel Asher Alexander (the architect of Dartmoor Prison) It was completed in 1819 to replace the bridewell and old gaol in the centre of the town.^[13] Building work was carried out by French prisoners-of-war. The first inmates moved in at the end of 1818.

On 28 April 1868, the last woman to be publicly hanged in Britain was Frances Kidder, a 25-year-old woman who had murdered her stepdaughter; the execution took place outside Maidstone Prison.

There have been two Army barracks in Maidstone. The first was built in 1797 as a reaction to the threat of Napoleon (see above)and the barracks became the home of the West Kent Regiment. By 1813 the barracks along the Sandling Road were used to train the cavalry’s young horses and 20 years later they became the Army Riding School. It was also a staging post for the colonies and in the 1860s 600 men could be stationed here.

The present Invicta Barracks is home to the Royal Engineers 36 Engineer Regiment, which includes two Gurkha field squadrons.

On 29 September 1975 a local pub serving the barracks - The Hare and Hounds - was damaged by a bomb during the IRA campaign against the English mainland.^[14]

Another pub - The White Rabbit - now occupies the listed building that used to be the Officers’ Mess of the original barracks.

Improvements had been made in about 1730 to the River Medway, so that barges of 40 tons could get upriver to East Farleigh, Yalding and even Tonbridge. This meant that a good deal of trade, including corn, fodder, fruit, stone and timber passed through the town, where there were several wharfs.

The medieval stone bridge was replaced in 1879 to give better clearance: it was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. A second bridge was built in 1977.

Today the river is of importance mainly to pleasure-boat owners and the considerable number of people living on houseboats. For many years there has been a river festival during the last weekend in July, and a millennium project inaugurated the Medway River Walk, the Medway Park and a new footbridge linking the former cattle market (which is now a multiplex cinema and nightclub) west of the river to the shopping area to the east.

One of the first roads in Kent to be turnpiked was that from Rochester to Maidstone, in 1728, giving some indication of the town’s importance. Today the town is served by the M20 motorway, although it is the hub of the pre-motorway network in this part of Kent. Major roads link it to the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne, the Isle of Sheppey, Ashford and Folkestone, Hastings, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and London.

The historic centre of the town is largely pedestrianised or of restricted access to private vehicles.

Bus transport in Maidstone is provided by:

• Arriva Southern Counties
• Nu-Venture

Bus services are centred on High Street, King Street and The Mall Maidstone, (formerly The Mall Chequers / Chequers Centre / The Stoneborough Centre)

New Enterprise Coaches, an Arriva subsidiary, operates the commuter services 781 and 784 from Maidstone and surrounding areas to London using express coaches. A larger network of services was previously provided by Green Line but withdrawn in August 2005.

Maidstone was not well served when railways were built in the 1840s. It was reported at the time that inhabitants were bitterly opposed to the railway: the mayor suggesting that “Maidstone will be ruined as a commercial town”. It was said that wharfingers and corn and coal merchants would be hardest hit.

In the event, in 1842, the South Eastern Railway, in its haste to reach the Channel ports of Folkestone and Dover, put its main line through Tonbridge and Ashford, some six miles to the south. A station named Maidstone Road was built in an isolated spot called Paddock Wood, from where coaches were run to the county town.

Two years later a branch line was built to Maidstone. In 1846 another branch line (the Medway Valley Line) connected Strood with the town. It was not until 1874 that the line from London arrived; and another 10 years before Ashford was connected by rail. There are three stations: Maidstone West and Maidstone Barracks on the Medway Valley Line (whose platforms are visible one from the other); and Maidstone East on the Ashford line.

Two long-distance footpaths are easily accessible from Maidstone. The Medway Valley Walk between Tonbridge and Gillingham passes through the town, following the banks of the river.

The North Downs Way, which incorporates the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury, runs for 153 miles between Farnham, Surrey and Dover, passing about five miles to the north and west.

In 2004 the centenary of Maidstone Corporation Transport was marked with several events, looking back at several historic operators of transport in Maidstone, and featuring a preserved trolleybus.

Former bus operators in Maidstone include:

• Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd (M&D)
• Maidstone Borough Council Transport and then Boro'line Maidstone
• Bygone Buses

When Maidstone was incorporated in 1549 it was authorised to build a grammar school, which survives to this day as Maidstone Grammar School. Alumni include James Burke, television presenter, and Lord Beeching, responsible for cutting British railway routes. William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies was a teacher there.

William Lambe, a wealthy clothmaker, endowed another school in 1574. Early in the 19th century a government inquiry found there were no fewer than 13 schools (some of very poor quality) teaching the poor of the town.

Other secondary schools include Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Invicta Grammar and Valley Park (which are federated and share the same executive headteacher), Oakwood Park Grammar (Boys), Valley Park Community, Maplesden Noakes, The Astor of Hever Community School, and St. Simon Stock School.

Also in Maidstone is the University College for the Creative Arts at Maidstone at which the British artist Tracey Emin began her artistic education.

As of the 2001 census, 15.7% of the town's residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, below the national average of 19.9%. 27.5% had no academic qualifications, compared to the national figure of 28.9%.

The Archbishop's Palace situated on Mill Street on the banks of the River Medway was a 14th century home to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In the early Middle Ages the town was the home of the Guild of Corpus Christi. Members of the guild employed a chaplain who said prayers for their souls when they died and looked after its members in old age and in times of sickness.

There are a number of churches and other religious congregational buildings within the town of varying denominations.

Maidstone has long held links to local radio. Invicta Sound (now Invicta fm) used to broadcast from studio's in Earl Street. Hospital Radio Maidstone is one of the longest serving hospital radio stations in the UK.

Today ctr 105.6 FM (abbreviated from County Town Radio) is a local independent radio station broadcasting to the Maidstone and Mid Kent area of the United Kingdom, from studios in Mill Street. It is now a part of the Kent Messenger Group who acquired the station in October 2006.

A new version of former pirate radio station Radio Caroline, broadcasts (via Sky and the internet) from The Maidstone Studios, in the Vinters Park area of the town.

The town is home to the Maidstone Studios, an independent television production base that was once home to the former ITV company TVS in Vinters Park.

Theatres in Maidstone include:

• The Hazlitt Theatre
• RiverStage
• The Exchange (also known as ‘‘The Corn exchange’’)
• Hermitage Millennium Amphitheatre

Football team Maidstone United, formed in 1897, has had mixed fortunes in recent years. The peak of the club's achievement was gaining promotion to the Football League in 1989 after many years of success in non-league football. Maidstone's league success was shortlived however, as in 1992 the club, saddled with debt, went into liquidation. The club sold their London Road ground in the 1980s which led to home games taking place in the grounds of a local church, and later at Sittingbourne F.C.’s stadium. In January 2007, work started on a new stadium at Whatman Way in Maidstone.^[15] The club is now playing in the Isthmian League.

Maidstone Hockey Club' is one of the oldest field hockey clubs in the country, founded in 1878.^[16] Currently, the Ladies 1st XI are in the National South Division, while the Men's 1st XI are in the South 1st XI league. In total, the club has 7 men's sides and 4 women's sides playing at all levels of National, regional and County leagues.

Maidstone Rugby Football Club is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the country, founded in 1880.^[17] The club run 6 senior men's sides and a Junior section.

Kent County Cricket Club played occasional matches on pitches at Mote Park for some 150 years until 2005. Mote Park itself is Maidstone's largest park and includes a number of recreational and sport facilities.

The Lashings World XI exhibition cricket team is based in Maidstone and has included a number of high-profile professional cricketers. ^[18]

Maidstone Sailing Club are a small club that sail on Mote Park lake.^[19]

Maidstone also has a rowing club,^[20] a martial arts school, a tennis club,^[21] an athletics club,^[22] an American football team,^[23] and a basketball club.^[24].

On 8 July 2007, Stage One of the 2007 Tour de France passed through Maidstone town centre.

Maidstone is twinned with Beauvais in Picardy, France. This used to be announced on signs at the entry to the town centre, but these have now been removed.

• maidstoneonline.com -Local information and resources for Kent's County town
• Independent website VisitMaidstone
• Maidstone council website
• Maidstone council's arts development website
• Shepherd Neame history
• Heart of Kent — Tourist Guide to Maidstone
• UK Attraction — Tourist Attractions in Maidstone

v • d • e Towns and villages in the Maidstone district of Kent, England
Allington • Barming • Bearsted • Bedmonton • Benover • Bexon • Bicknor • Boughton Green • Boughton Malherbe • Boughton Monchelsea • Boxley • Bredhurst • Broomfield • Caring • Chainhurst • Chart Sutton • Chegworth • Collier Street • Coxheath • Detling • Downswood • East Barming • East Farleigh • East Sutton • Fairbourne • Frinsted • Grove Green • Harrietsham • Hawkenbury • Headcorn • Hollingbourne • Horden • Hucking • Hunton • Kingswood • Kit's Coty • Ladingford • Langley • Leeds • Lenham • Linton • Loose • Lordswood • Marden • Marley • Milebush • Nettlestead • Nettlestead Green • Otham • Otterden • Park Wood • Platts Heath • Penenden Heath • Pollhill • Ringlestone (hamlet) • Ringlestone (suburb) • Sandling • Sandway • Shepway • Sutton Valence • Staplehurst • Stockbury • Teston • Thurnham • Tovil • Ulcombe • Walderslade • Weavering • West Farleigh • Wormshill • Yalding
List of places in Kent

v • d • e Ceremonial county of Kent
Kent Portal
Unitary authorities	Borough of Medway
Boroughs or districts	Borough of Ashford • Borough of Dartford • Borough of Gravesham • Borough of Maidstone • Borough of Tonbridge and Malling • Borough of Tunbridge Wells • City of Canterbury • District of Dover • District of Sevenoaks • District of Shepway • District of Swale • District of Thanet
Cities and towns	Ashford • Broadstairs • Canterbury • Chatham • Dartford • Deal • Dover • Edenbridge • Faversham • Folkestone • Fordwich • Gillingham • Gravesend • Herne Bay • Hythe • Lydd • Maidstone • Margate • Minster-in-Sheppey • New Romney • Northfleet • Paddock Wood • Queenborough • Rainham • Ramsgate • Rochester • Royal Tunbridge Wells • Sandwich • Sevenoaks • Sheerness • Sittingbourne • Snodland • Southborough • Strood • Swanley • Tenterden • Tonbridge • West Malling • Westerham • Westgate-on-Sea • Whitstable • See also: List of civil parishes in Kent
Rivers	Rivers
Topics	History • Geography • Parliamentary constituencies • People • Places • Transport