Allington is an almost entirely modern village situated alongside the sides of the A20 road west of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It is part of the built-up area of Maidstone.

History

The name Allington, which is shared by a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

near

Lenham Lenham is a market village and civil parish in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, east of Maidstone. The picturesque square in the village has two public houses (one of which is a hotel), a couple of restaurants, and a tea ...

, is derived from the Old English ''tun'' farmstead; it comes via eleventh-century ''Elentun'' and was connected with a man called Ælla.

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal con ...

was originally built in the 11th century. In 1281 the present stone castle was built, which was converted to a mansion in the 15th century. In 1492 the castle came into the possession of the

Wyatt family The Wyatt family included several of the major English architects during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a significant 18th century inventor, John Wyatt (1700–1766), the eldest son of John Wyatt (1675–1742). The family This is a summary t ...

. By the mid-19th century it was derelict, but was restored in 1905; in 1951 it was taken over by the Carmelite order. Today it is owned by Sir

Robert Worcester Sir Robert Milton Worcester, (born 21 December 1933) is an American-born British Opinion poll, pollster who is the founder of Ipsos MORI, MORI (Market & Opinion Research International Ltd.) and a member and contributor to many voluntary organ ...

as a private residence and is not open to the public. The few dwellings around the castle had a population of 49 in 1841. There was a church dedicated to St Laurence which closed in 1969. In the modern village is a modern parish church dedicated to St Nicholas, the second to be built on the site. Furnishings from St Laurence's are used here.

Amenities

It has two primary schools, Allington Primary and Palace Wood. The Mid Kent Shopping Centre opened in 1969Plaque on the south elevation of the shopping centre and includes a Waitrose supermarket and smaller shops. Down the hill from St Laurence's Church is the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

, Allington Lock and Allington Sluice. There is a footpath over the lock. Below the lock, the Medway becomes tidal. On the other bank is the Malta Inn, and

Kent Life Kent Life (formerly the Museum of Kent Life) is an English open-air museum located at Sandling, next to Allington Locks, on the east bank of the River Medway. History Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake bequeathed the Cobtree Manor Estate to Maidsto ...

museum. A footpath runs from here to

Teston Teston /ˈtiːstən/ The Place Names of Kent,Judith Glover,1976,Batsford. or /ˈtiːsən/ BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names — is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It is located on the A26 road out of Maidston ...

. A ''Park and Sail'' service (claimed to be the only one in England)Kentish Lady ''(retrieved 9 January 2011)''
/ref> operates on the weekends leading up to Christmas. Using the car park and boarding by the Malta Inn, the MV Kentish Lady carries shoppers to Maidstone and back. The nearby 20/20 industrial park, named after the adjacent M20/ A20 junction, includes

Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility The Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility is an integrated waste management centre in Allington, Kent. It is the site of the Allington Energy from Waste (EfW) Incinerator. The incinerator is owned by FCC Environment as Kent Enviropower. The ...

References

External links

*
Allington Lock and Slipway

Allington Library
* {{Authority control Villages in Kent

History

Amenities

See also

References

External links