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Maidstone is the largest
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
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 ...
, England, of which it is the
county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. 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 ...
runs through the centre of the town, linking it with
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
and the
Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the
Garden of England 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 ...
. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
. The town, part of the
borough of Maidstone The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone, the county town of Kent. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Maid ...
, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards
light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...
and services.


Toponymy

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
charters dating back to ca. 975 show the first recorded instances of the town's name, ''de maeides stana'' and ''maegdan stane'', possibly meaning ''stone of the maidens'' or ''stone of the people''. The latter meaning may refer to the nearby
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
around which gatherings took place. The name evolved through ''medestan/meddestane'' in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
with possible variation ''Mayndenstan'', in 1396. The modern name appeared by 1610. It has been suggested that the name derives from stones set into the river to allow clothes to be rinsed in the cleaner water away from the banks.


History

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
finds have revealed the earliest occupation of the area, and the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
have left their mark in the road through the town and evidence of villas. The
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
set up a
shire moot A Shire court, or moot was an Anglo-Saxon legal institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system originated in Wes ...
, and religious organisations established an abbey at
Boxley Boxley is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It lies below the slope of the North Downs approximately northeast of the centre of Maidstone town. The civil parish has a population of 7,144 (2001 census), inc ...
, hospitals and a college for priests. Today's suburb of
Penenden Heath Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. As the name suggests it is nucleated around a former heath (now park land). History Before the expansion of Maidstone, the heath was often used as a venue for a site for sh ...
was a place of execution in medieval times. Maidstone played a key role during the
Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
of 1381. The rebel priest, John Ball, had been imprisoned there and was freed by Kentish rebels under the command of
Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...
, who is reputed to have been a resident of the town. Maidstone's charter as a town was granted in 1549; although briefly revoked, a new charter in 1551 created the town as a borough. The charter was ratified in 1619 under
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, and the coat of arms was designed, bearing a golden lion and a representation of the river (in
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
terms: ''Or, a fess wavy Azure between three roundels Gules, on a chief Gules a leopard passant gardant Or''). Recently to these arms were added the head of a white horse (representing Invicta, the motto of the county of Kent), a golden lion and an
iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, Eu ...
. The iguanodon relates to the discovery in the 19th century of the fossilised remains of that
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
, now in the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in London. Maidstone has had the right to a town gaol since 1604. During the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, the
Battle of Maidstone The Battle of Maidstone (1 June 1648) was fought in the Second English Civil War and was a victory for the attacking Parliamentarian troops over the defending Royalist forces. Background In May 1648, a significant part of the Royalist uprisi ...
took place in 1648, resulting in a victory for the Parliamentarians.
Andrew Broughton Andrew Broughton (1602/03–1687) was Clerk of the Court at the High Court of Justice for the trial King Charles I of England. Biography There are not many records of his early life. He was probably born in Seaton, Rutland as the younger son ...
, who was Mayor of Maidstone in 1649 (and also Clerk to the High Court of Justice) was responsible for declaring the death sentence on
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
, and today a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre memorialises Broughton as 'Mayor and
Regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
'. Paper mills, stone quarrying, brewing and the cloth industry have all flourished here. The paper maker James Whatman and his son invented
wove paper Wove paper is a type of paper first created centuries ago in the Orient, and subsequently introduced to England, Europe and the American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century. Hand-made wove paper was first produced by using a wooden mould that ...
(Whatman paper) at Turkey Mill from 1740, an important development in the history of printing. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of cavalry barracks in 1798.
Invicta Park Barracks Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in Maidstone, Kent. History Maidstone Barracks Permanent barracks were first established in Maidstone as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in 1797. Maidstone Barr ...
is now home to the 36 Engineer Regiment. Maidstone Prison is north of the town centre and was completed in 1819.


Modern history

Modern Maidstone incorporates a number of outlying villages and settlements (see
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
below). The county council offices to the north of the town centre were built of
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
between 1910 and 1913. On 29 September 1975 a local pub serving Invicta Park Barracks, ''The Hare and Hounds'', was damaged by a bomb during an
IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
campaign in England.BBC Kent History
retrieved 11 July 2007
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. It is just to the north of
Oakwood Hospital Oakwood Hospital in Barming Heath near Maidstone, England was a psychiatric hospital founded in 1833 as the Kent County Lunatic Asylum. Following transfer of services to Maidstone Hospital, Oakwood closed in 1994 and was then developed as a res ...
(originally the Kent County Asylum), which closed in the mid-1990s. Residents are employed in the retail, administrative or service sectors; there are industrial estates around the town providing employment. Some of the workforce commute to other towns, including to London.


Governance


Members of Parliament

The town is divided between the constituencies of
Maidstone and the Weald Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Helen Grant of the Conservative Party. She succeeded fellow party member Ann Widdecombe, who had held the seat since it was ...
and Faversham and Mid Kent. Before 1997 Maidstone was in the
county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
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 ...
. The
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for Maidstone and the Weald is
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Helen Grant. Previous MPs include
Ann Widdecombe Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician, author and television personality. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010 and Member of the E ...
, Sir John Wells, Sir Alfred Bossom and
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
. Since 2015 the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent has been Conservative
Helen Whately Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (''née'' Lightwood; born 23 June 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treas ...
. Prior to the 2015 election, the MP was Conservative Sir Hugh Robertson.


Local government

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
is responsible for social services, education, maintenance of and new infrastructure, fire services and minerals. It is elected every four years: Maidstone elects nine representatives, and villages are in the four rural wards. The town is the main town of Maidstone borough, which includes the surrounding rural areas except to the north-west. The town is divided into the 12 local government
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
of Allington, Bridge, Downswood and Otham, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Park Wood, Shepway North, Shepway South, South, and North. These wards have 30 of the 55 seats on Borough Council. Maidstone Borough Council is responsible for services such as recreation, refuse collection, most planning decisions and
social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
.


Geography

The town is six miles downstream from where 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 ...
, having flowed in a generally west–east direction, is joined by the Rivers Teise and Beult at
Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...
and changes its course to a northerly one. It cuts through the ridge formed by the
greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and c ...
, so that the town occupies a site on two opposite hills, the easterly one containing the town centre. Beyond that, and higher, is
Penenden Heath Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. As the name suggests it is nucleated around a former heath (now park land). History Before the expansion of Maidstone, the heath was often used as a venue for a site for sh ...
. The
River Len The River Len is a river in Kent, England. It rises at a spring in ''Bluebell Woods'' to the southeast of the village centre of Lenham from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge. Its length is c. It enters the ...
joins the Medway at Maidstone. Though a short river, it provided the water to drive numerous
watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
. The
Loose Stream The Loose Stream sometimes called the River Loose or Langley Stream is a tributary of the River Medway notable for the number of watermills that it powered in its short length. It rises in Langley, flows through Boughton Monchelsea, Loose ...
, which rises at
Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
and joins at
Tovil Tovil is a civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone, in Kent in the South East of England. It is a mixture of residential and industrial zoning, with an increase in commercial usage towards the centre of Maidstone, and more arable use on the out ...
, once powered over 30 mills. Mill ponds on these rivers are a prominent feature of the landscape. Roads connecting to
Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...
and Ashford (the A20); the
Medway Towns Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
and
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
(
A229 A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
);
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...
(
A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...
) and
Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...
( A274). All these roads were served by the
Turnpike trusts Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, o ...
in the 18th/19th centuries. The two railway routes are not principal ones, in spite of Maidstone being the county town, due to an accident of history. There are two principal stations:
Maidstone East Maidstone East railway station is one of three stations in the central area of Maidstone, Kent, England, but currently the only one with a regular direct service to London. The station is on the Maidstone line, from , and is served by trains o ...
, the more northerly of the two, on the secondary line from London to Ashford, and Maidstone West on the Medway Valley Line. Maidstone has continued to grow. In doing so it has incorporated hitherto separate settlements, villages and hamlets within its boundaries. These include Allington,
Barming Barming is a civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It lies to the west of Maidstone and at the 2011 census had a population of 2,690. The eastern end of the parish is part of the built-up area of Maidstone, although the remaind ...
,
Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane a ...
, Penenden Heath, Sandling, Tovil and Weavering Street. Housing estates include
Grove Green Grove Green is a suburban housing development, partially forming a part of Weavering village, near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The population of the development is included in the civil parish of Boxley. The estate is also near the v ...
, Harbourland,
Ringlestone Ringlestone is a hamlet between Wormshill and Harrietsham in the Maidstone district of Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of Wormshill. Ringlestone or Rongostone (meaning "ring of stones") dates back to before the Norman conquest of E ...
, Roseacre, Shepway, Senacre and Vinters Park. Maidstone was at one time a centre of industry, brewing and paper making being among the most important. Nowadays smaller industrial units encircle the town. The site of
Fremlin's Brewery Fremlin's was a brewery in Maidstone, Kent, England. It was established by Ralph Fremlin in 1861, who eschewed the pub trade and focused on bottled beer, on religious grounds. The beer was known for the distinctive elephant logo on the bottles. Th ...
, once the largest in Kent, is now Fremlin Walk shopping centre. 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.


Climate

Kent experiences a
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official
Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
for which online records are available is at
East Malling East Malling is a village in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, in the part of the civil parish of East Malling and Larkfield lying south of the A20 road. In 2019 the ward had an estimated population of 5478. History The earliest reco ...
, about three miles west of Maidstone. East Malling's highest temperature of was recorded in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded is during January 1947 and 1972. East Malling also holds the record for the mildest January day in South East England, , also set in 2003. The lowest temperature recorded in recent years was on 20 December 2010. The
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).


Demography

In the
2001 UK census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, Maidstone town wards had a population of 75,070, a density of 28 residents per
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
. The town had 31,142 households, of which 38% were married couples, 29% were individuals, 10% were
cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
couples, and 9% were single-parent families. 14% of households had someone living alone of
pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
able age. The
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
was 96.6% white, 0.9%
mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
, 0.3% Chinese, 1.5% other Asian, 0.4% Black and 0.3% other. The place of birth 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. Religion was 73.9% Christian, 0.8% Muslim, 0.7% Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.14% Sikh and 0.11% Jewish. 15.8% had no religion, 0.6% had an alternative religion, and 7.7% did not state their religion.


Economy


Industry

Until 1998, the Sharps toffee factory (later part of Cadbury Trebor Basset), was in central Maidstone and provided a significant source of employment. Loudspeaker manufacturer
KEF Kef may refer to: Places * El Kef (also transliterated as ''Al-Kāf'' or ''Le Kef''), a city in northwestern Tunisia *Kef Governorate, Tunisia Others *''Aram Bajakian's Kef'', a 2011 album by guitarist Aram Bajakian * ISO 639:kef or Ewe languag ...
was founded in 1961 on the premises of the metal-working operation Kent Engineering & Foundry (hence KEF). 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 in surrounding business parks.
Southern Water Southern Water is the private utility company responsible for the public wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for the public water supply and distribution in approximately ...
and
Mid Kent Water South East Water is a United Kingdom, UK supplier of drinking water to 2.2 million consumers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire and is a private limited company registered in England and Wales. South East Water is at least 75% ow ...
operate the Maidstone water system. ''Maidstone Borough Corporation'' began construction of Maidstone power station at Fairmeadow in 1900 and supplied electricity from 1901, firstly for street lighting then other uses. Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the British Electricity Authority and then to the Central Electricity Generating Board. In 1966 the power station had a generating capacity of 13.125 MW and delivered 6,921 MWh of electricity. The CEGB later closed the station and it was demolished in 1973.


Shopping

The town is ranked in the top five shopping centres in the south east of England for shopping yields and, with more than one million square feet of retail floor space, in the top 50 in the UK. Much of this space is located in the two main shopping centres in the town, the
The Mall Maidstone The Mall Maidstone (originally known as The Stoneborough Centre, subsequently Chequers Shopping Centre and then The Mall Chequers) is a covered shopping centre in Maidstone, the county town of Kent. The centre has of floor space, ranking it as ...
(previously known as The Chequers Centre) and the Fremlin Walk which opened in 2005. Other recent developments include the riverside Lockmeadow Centre, with a
multiplex cinema A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...
, restaurants, nightclubs (now a trampoline park), and the town's market square. The leisure industry is a key contributor with the night-time economy worth £75m per annum.


Employment

In the 2001 UK census, 45.2% of residents aged 16–74 were employed full-time, 12.7% part-time, 7.6% self-employed and 2.5% unemployed, while 2.3% were students with jobs, 3.0% 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 in line with the national average. Employment, by industry, was 19% retail; 13% real estate; 11% manufacturing; 9% construction; 7% transport and
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
s; 10% health and
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
; 8%
public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
; 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 high percentage of workers in construction and public administration, and a low percentage in agriculture. According to the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...
estimates, the average gross income of households between April 2001 and March 2002 was £595 per week (£31,000 per year).


Education

The town is served by 15 secondary schools, 23 primary schools, and two special schools. Non-selective secondary schools include
Cornwallis Academy Cornwallis Academy (formerly The Cornwallis School) is a mixed-sex secondary school and sixth form located in Linton (near Maidstone) in the English county of Kent. History The school converted to academy status on 3 September 2007 and was ...
,
The Maplesden Noakes School The Maplesden Noakes School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Maidstone, Kent, England. Since September 2005, the school has had a planned admission number of 180. The school's intake is regular ...
,
New Line Learning Academy New Line Learning Academy is a coeducational secondary school with academy status under The Future Schools Trust banner, which includes the nearby Cornwallis Academy, Tiger Primary School, and Tiger Cubs Day Nursery. It is located in Loose (n ...
,
St Augustine Academy St Augustine Academy is a coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas ...
, St. Simon Stock School and
Valley Park School Valley Park School is an Academy (English school), academy school in Maidstone, Kent, England. The school caters for girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 18. Valley Park became a specialist school, specialist Arts College in July 2007. It ...
. Grammar schools serving the town include
Maidstone Grammar School Maidstone Grammar School (MGS) is a grammar school in Maidstone, England. The school was founded in 1549 after Protector Somerset sold Corpus Christi Hall on behalf of King Edward VI to the people of Maidstone for £200. The Royal Charter fo ...
, Invicta Grammar School, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and
Oakwood Park Grammar School Oakwood Park Grammar School is a boys grammar school with academy status located in Maidstone, United Kingdom. The school is co-educational in the sixth form (years 12 and 13). The school takes boys at the age of 11 and over by examination (11 ...
. Alumni of the oldest school, Maidstone Grammar School (founded 1549), include James Burke (science historian), James Burke, television presenter, and Lord Beeching, of the Beeching cuts, British railway cuts of the 1960s. William Golding, author of ''Lord of the Flies'' was once a teacher at the school. The University for the Creative Arts (formerly Kent Institute of Art & Design) at which Turner Prize nominated artist Tracey Emin, fashion designer Karen Millen and television personality and artist Tony Hart studied, has a campus at the The Maidstone Studios, Maidstone TV Studios. In the 2001 census, 15.7% of residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification or equivalent, below the national average of 19.9%. 27.5% had no academic qualifications, compared to the national figure of 28.9%.


Religion

In 2001, religions were 73.9% Christian, 0.8% Muslim, 0.7% Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.14% Sikh and 0.11% Jewish. 15.8% had no religion, 0.6% had an alternative religion, while 7.7% did not state their religion. All Saints Church, Maidstone, All Saints' church in the town centre was the collegiate church of the College of All Saints, Maidstone, College of All Saints built in 1395 next to the Archbishop's Palace, Maidstone, Archbishop's Palace. It contains a monument to Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading, Sir Jacob Astley, the Royalist English Civil War, Civil War soldier and a memorial to Lawrence Washington, great-uncle of George Washington's great-great-grandfather, that includes the Coat of arms of George Washington, stars and stripes in the family coat of armsHarris, Brian (2006) ''Harris's Guide to Churches and Cathedrals'' The college, the church, the palace and the palace's Tithe Barn, Maidstone, tithe barn are all Grade I listed buildings. Jubilee Church is an independent Maidstone-based Christian church which forms partnerships not only in Kent, but in Canada and Ukraine. In Ukraine it has events with Ockert Potgieter of the Light of the World Church.


Culture


Twinning

* Maidstone is twinned with Beauvais in Picardy, France. A Twinning Association Committee meets every month. It organises annual trips to the Jeanne Hachette Festival in Beauvais. An annual sporting weekend is also held, with Maidstone and Beauvais taking it in turns to host the event.


Radio

There are several radio stations based in the town, or which broadcast to it. KMFM Maidstone, formerly CTR 105.6, is the local commercial station. It used to broadcast from studios on mill street, however now broadcasts from the studios of sister station KMFM Medway in Strood. Maidstone Radio, which broadcast from the Maidstone Community Support Centre, has recently started broadcasting in December 2019 and is listed as a community radio station. The station currently airs online and on smart speaker devices. Hospital Radio Maidstone, which broadcasts from Maidstone Hospital, started broadcasting in 1963. Heart Kent, Invicta FM (now Heart South), use to broadcast from Canterbury but had a second studio in Earl Street.


Television

Local news is provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian. The Maidstone Studios, formerly called TVS Television Centre, is the UK's largest independent television studio complex. It is based at Vinters Park on New Cut Road. The studio complex first opened in late 1982, providing broadcasting and production output for Television South (TVS). The site was also used as a regional office and a news gathering hub, broadcasting the South East daily edition of ''Coast to Coast''. TVS continued to use Maidstone until the end of their franchise, which they lost in 1991. The studio complex is now home to two studios. Studio One, with 12,000 sqft space, is the flagship studio and has seen many national TV programmes such as ''Supermarket Sweep (British game show), Supermarket Sweep'', ''Take Me Out (British game show), Take Me Out'' and ''Catchphrase (British game show), Catchphrase''.


Theatre

Theatres include the Hazlitt Theatre; RiverStage; The Exchange Studio (previously the ‘‘Corn Exchange’’); and the Hermitage Millennium Amphitheatre.


Literature

Maidstone is mentioned several times in Ian Fleming's 1955 James Bond novel, ''Moonraker (novel), Moonraker''. Villain Hugo Drax passes through King Street and Gabriels Hill and later stops at the Thomas Wyatt Hotel. Writer Jack London recounts his visit to Maidstone in his 1903 book ''The People of the Abyss''. Whilst living in the slums of London in the summer of 1902, he heads to Maidstone in search of hop-picking work up the London Road. He finds lodgings with a "Sea Wife" living in the poor quarter of Maidstone, and persuades her and her husband to let him stay in their front room.


Museums


Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery

Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery is located in the town centre, near to the Fremlin Walk shopping centre. Operated by Maidstone Borough Council, the museum is open seven days a week, with free admission. The Museum & Art Gallery has a large collection of over 600,000 objects, including collections about ancient Egyptians; archaeology; costume; ethnography; biology; fine art, fine and decorative art; geology; Japanese art, Japanese decorative arts and prints; and local history. It also hosts temporary exhibitions. The core of the museum is located within the former Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house completed in 1577. New wings were added to the building in the 19th century. A striking gold-coloured extension was added in 2012 which has extended the display space by 40% but the modern design has divided opinion.


Kent Life

Kent Life, formerly the Museum of Kent Life, is an open-air rural life museum at Sandling, near Allington, Kent, Allington Locks, on the east bank of 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 ...
. The museum includes a collection of historic buildings including a chapel, village hall and old houses. It also includes displays on agriculture, including a farm yard and farm animals.


Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages

The Tithe Barn, Maidstone, Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages is located in a Grade I Listed building, Listed tithe barn near the Archbishop's Palace, Maidstone, Archbishop's Palace. The museum was established by Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, a former mayor of Maidstone, who amassed a large collection of horse-drawn vehicles.


Martian crater

Following the NASA tradition of naming craters on Mars after small towns, the List of craters on Mars: H-N#M, Maidstone crater was added to the list of Martian geographical features in 1976.


Sport


Football

Maidstone United F.C., Maidstone United was formed in 1897. The club gained promotion to the Football League in 1989, from non-league football. The club could not bring its London Road Ground up to Football League standards so it ground-shared at Dartford FC, Dartford's Watling Street stadium and played its games there. It went bankrupt in 1992. A new club was formed and made its way from the Kent County League Division 4 to the Isthmian League Premier Division, Isthmian (Ryman) Premier Division, in 2014 being in the Ryman Premier Division. The club moved into the new Gallagher Stadium at James Whatman Way in summer 2012. Maidstone United currently play in the National League, the highest non-league division and the fifth tier of English football.


Hockey

Maidstone Hockey Club is one of the oldest field hockey, hockey clubs in the country, founded in 1878. For the 2011–12 season, the Ladies' 1st XI play in the National League East Conference, having won the East Premier League the previous season, and the Men's 1st XI play in the South Hockey League 1st XI Premier League Division 2. The Men's and Women's 1st squad were both represented in the Indoor England Hockey League Division 2, with the Men having previously won the Division 2 title in 2008–09. The club has seven men's and four women's sides playing in national, regional and county leagues.


Rugby union

Maidstone FC, Maidstone Rugby Football Club is one of the older Rugby football, rugby clubs in England, having been founded in 1880. The club runs 6 senior men's sides and a junior section. In the 2014–15 season they were unbeaten and won the National RFU Intermediate Cup at Twickenham Stadium.


Cricket

Kent County Cricket Club used Mote Park (cricket ground), Mote Park as a regular out-ground for some 150 years until 2005. Mote Park is the town'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.


Other sports

Maidstone Sailing Club sails on Mote Park lake. Maidstone also has a Rowing (sport), rowing club, a martial arts school, a tennis club, an athletics club, an American football team and a basketball club. A baseball team, the Kent Mariners, is based in the town, playing in the British Baseball Federation, BBF AA South division.


Notable people

*Dan Abnett (born 1965), author *William Alexander (painter), William Alexander (1767–1816), painter *Edward Balston (1817–1891), head master of Eton College *Angela Barnes (born 1976), actress and comedian, grew up in Maidstone. *Robert Blatchford (1851–1943), socialist campaigner, journalist and author *Daniel Blythe (born 1969), author *Julius Brenchley (1816–1873), explorer *Georgina Campbell (born 1992), actress *Mike Chaplin, Michael Chaplin (born 1943), artist and author *Thomas Culpeper (c. 1514 – 1541), purported lover of Queen Catherine Howard *Mackenzie Crook (born 1971), actor *Bill Cockcroft (living), former Chief Scout Commissioner of England *David Edwards (journalist), David Edwards (born 1962), journalist *Jesse Ellis (1846–1916), engineer and pioneer of steam wagons *Ernest Elmore (1901–1957), novelist *Robert Fisk (1946–2020), journalist and author *Guy Fletcher (born 1960), musician *Samantha Giles (born 1971), actress *Albert Goodwin (artist), Albert Goodwin (1845–1932), artist *Tamsin Greig (born 1966), actress *Alexander Henry Green (1832–1896), geologist *William Grocyn (c. 1446 – 1519), theologian *Christopher Newman Hall (1816–1902), priest and anti-slavery campaigner *Jon Harley (born 1979), association footballer *Tony Hart (1925–2009), artist and TV presenter *William Hazlitt (1778–1830), essayist and critic *Edmund Walker Head (1805–1868), colonial administrator *Noel Howlett (1902–1984), actor *John Jenkins (composer), John Jenkins (1592–1678), composer *Bill Lewis (born 1953), artist, poet and mythographer *Doug Loft (born 1986), footballer *Malcolm MacDonald (1901–1981), diplomat and politician *Carol McGiffin (born 1960), broadcaster *John Monckton (town clerk), John Monckton (1832–1902), lawyer, Town Clerk of London 1873–1902 *Nicky Moore (born 1947), rock and blues musician *Frederic J. Mouat (1816–1897), surgeon *Diana Noel, 2nd Baroness Barham (1762–1823), philanthropist and abolitionist *Natalie O'Connor (born 1982), British international trampoline athlete *John Orrell (1934–2003), theatre historian and professor *Anthony Pawson (1952–2013), microbiologist *Joe Pigott (born 1993), footballer *Mike Ratledge (born 1943), musician *Alessia Russo (born 1999), Footballer *William Shipley (1715–1803), founder of the Royal Society of Arts *James Smith (VC), James Smith (1871–1946), recipient of the Victoria Cross *Ralph Steadman (born 1936), illustrator *Simon Stock (13th c.), monk and saint *Tallulah (DJ), Tallulah, (1948 – 28 March 2008), DJ *George Tolhurst (1927–1977), composer *Andy Townsend (born 1963), footballer *Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake (1881–1964), twelve times mayor of Maidstone and owner of Maidstone Zoo *Scott Wagstaff (born 1990), footballer *Shaun Williamson (born 1965), actor *Peter Wolfe (musician), Peter Wolfe (born 1968), musician *William Woollett (1735–1785), engraver *Nan Youngman (1906–1995), painter *John Watkins (architect), John Watkins (1834–1902), Mormon pioneer and Utah architect *Thomas Wyatt (poet), Thomas Wyatt (1503–1542), poet and politician *Graham Chapman (1941–1989), actor *Abroad in Japan, Chris Broad (born 1990), YouTuber, filmmaker and podcast host


See also

*Borough of Maidstone *History of Maidstone


References


External links


Maidstone Council website
{{Authority control Maidstone, Towns in Kent County towns in England Market towns in Kent Unparished areas in Kent Borough of Maidstone