Maidstone is the county town A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its original meaning of where the county of Kent Kent's location between London and the continent has led to its being in the front line of several conflicts, including the Battle of Britain during World War II. East Kent was named Hell Fire Corner during the conflict. England has relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of the past 800 years; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–1, England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,. The River Medway The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for 70 miles from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural county of Kent Kent's location between London and the continent has led to its being in the front line of several conflicts, including the Battle of Britain during World War II. East Kent was named Hell Fire Corner during the conflict. England has relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of the past 800 years; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–1, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to beyond the Stone Age.

The town is within the borough Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, similarly chartered communities were known as royal burghs, although the status is of Maidstone. In 2001, the town had a population of 138,959.

Maidstone's economy has changed over the years from being involved in much heavy industry: now light industry predominates; and to more service industries.

Contents

Toponymy

Saxon charters (c975) show the first recorded instances of the town's name: de maeides stana and maegdan stane with the possible meaning of either stone of the maidens, or possibly stone of the people. The latter meaning may refer to the nearby megalith around which gatherings would take place. The name evolved through medestan/meddestane as reported in the Domesday Book The Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror. "While spending the Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, William had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire to find out what or how much each landholder had in land until, in 1610, the modern name appeared.[1] It has also 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 of the river.[citation needed]

History

Main article: History of Maidstone

Neolithic The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic period, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the " finds have revealed the earliest occupation of the area; and the Romans Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world have left their mark also: the road through the town and evidence of villas. The Normans The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock. Their identity emerged initially in the first half of the tenth century, and gradually evolved over succeeding centuries. The name & set up a shire moot, and religious organisations established an abbey at Boxley, as well as hospitals A hospital, in the modern sense of the word, is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often, but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Its historical meaning, until relatively recent times, was "a place of hospitality", for example the Chelsea Royal Hospital, and a college for priests. Today’s suburb of Penenden Heath became a place of execution in medieval times.

Archbishops Palace Maidstone Museum

Maidstone's charter as a town was first confirmed in 1549; although briefly revoked, a new charter in 1551 created the town as a borough. The town’s charter was ratified in 1619 under James I James VI & I was King of Scots as James VI from 1567 to 1625, and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603 to 1625, and the coat of arms, bearing a golden lion and a representation of the river, was designed (in heraldic terms: "or, a fes wavy azure between three roundels gules, on a chief gules a leopard passant gardant or"). 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 Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs. Many species of Iguanodon have been named, dating from the Kimmeridgian age of the Late Jurassic Period to the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period. The iguanodon relates to the local discovery in the 19th century of the fossilised remains of such a dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event caused the extinction of most dinosaur species, except for some birds. The fossil : The remains are now displayed in the Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road. The museum is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in London.

During the Civil War The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first (1642–46) and second (1648–49) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war (1649–51) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II a battle took place here in 1648, resulting in victory for the Parliamentarian "Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his Cavaliers who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings forces. Andrew Broughton, 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 was the second son of James VI of Scots and I of England. He was King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles, and today a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre memorialises Andrew as 'Mayor and Regicide' (a killer of kings).

Maidstone has had the right to a town gaol since 1604; the present prison lies north of the town centre and was completed in 1819. Army barracks have been a feature of the town since 1797, when the first was built. The present Invicta Barracks is home to the Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces. It is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer 36 Engineer Regiment, which includes two Gurkha Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka , are people from Nepal and northern India who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan (Rajputana). Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the field squadrons.

From an economic point of view, Maidstone’s history has developed around the river, and also the surrounding countryside. Paper mills, stone quarrying, brewing and the cloth industry have all flourished here.

Modern history

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 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 consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major public buildings in London such as St Paul's Cathedral 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. The new Maidstone General Hospital is located just to the north of the former Oakwood Hospital (originally the Kent County Asylum) which closed in the mid-1990s.

Many of today's residents are employed within the retail, administrative or service sectors within the town; there are many industrial estates around the town providing employment. Some of the workforce commutes to other towns, including to London.

High St. Re-development

Plans for the new High St. have been approved. Theee plans include filling in the subway, removing the London Plane despite the strong campaign led by Anthony Hill. Theese plans come at a large cost of £4.5 Million.

The approved plans were the final ideas of a design competition. Architectural firm Letts Wheeler have won the competition. Contractors Gallagher have been approved, all that is required now is the funding, of which £2 Million has been approved.

Governance

Previously covered by the single county constituency Electoral areas called constituencies are also used in elections to the European Parliament of Maidstone (once held by Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. He served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister. A teenage convert to Anglicanism, he was nonetheless the country's first and thus far only Prime Minister who was born Jewish. He) until 1997 when boundary changes led to its break-up, the town is now divided between the constituencies of Maidstone and the Weald and Faversham and Mid Kent. The current Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of parliament tend to form parliamentary parties with members for Maidstone and the Weald is Conservative The Conservative and Unionist Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in its present form during the early 19th century, it has since been the principal centre-right party in the UK Helen Grant who replaced fellow Conservative and retiring incumbent Ann Widdecombe Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a British Conservative Party politician and, more recently, television presenter and novelist. She is the Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald and a Privy Counsellor. She is a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and a supporter of traditional family values[2] in the 2010 General Election The next United Kingdom general election is due to take place on or before 3 June 2010, barring exceptional circumstances. As a general election, it will see voting take place in all constituencies of the United Kingdom, to elect Members of Parliament to seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 2001, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent has been another Conservative, Hugh Robertson.

The town is within, and is the main town of, the local government district The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision. They are London boroughs, metropolitan districts, non-metropolitan districts, and unitary of Maidstone, which includes the surrounding rural areas. The town is divided into the twelve local government wards In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, a ward is an electoral district within a municipality used in local politics. Wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to the area. It is common in of Allington, Bridge, Downswood and Otham, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Park Wood, Shepway North, Shepway South, South, and North.[3] These wards have thirty of the fifty-five seats on the Maidstone Borough Council. As of November 2009, 28 of the seats were held by the Conservative party, 21 by the Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a centre to centre-left social liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties had formed the electoral SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years before then. The current leader of the, and three by independents. The Labour Party The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, and is regarded as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales since 1920. Labour first surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s. It formed minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and from 1929 until 1931 and took has no sitting Councillors.

Maidstone Borough Council is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and council housing The council house is a form of public or social housing, primarily referred to in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well built homes on secure tenancies at below market rents to primarily working class people. Council house development began in the late;[4] while Kent County Council is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning.

Geography

A former millpond on the River Len, Mill Street/Palace Avenue Maidstone. Lower Chrisbrook Mill mill pond and Upper Chrisbrook Mill, on the Loose Stream.

The town is situated at a point where the River Medway The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for 70 miles from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary has previously flowed in a generally west-east direction; now, having been joined by the Rivers Teise and Beult, its course changes to a northerly one. As it does so, it cuts through the ridge formed by the Greensand Greensand is an olive-green coloured sandstone rock which is commonly found in narrow bands, particularly associated with bands of chalk and clay worldwide; it has been deposited in marine environments at various times during Earth history, such as during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, so that the town occupies a site on two opposite hills; the more easterly one containing the town centre. Beyond that, and still higher, is Penenden Heath.

The River Len joined the River Medway at Maidstone; though a short river it provided the water to drive numerous watermills A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping . A watermill that generates electricity is usually called a hydroelectric plant. The Loose Stream, that rose at Langley and joined at Tovil powered over 30 mills. The resultant mill ponds on these rivers, are a prominent feature of the landscape.

Because of that situation, Maidstone had an industrial base, and became a nodal point for communications, both along the ridge and beside the river, and on the river itself. Roads radiate from here, connecting with Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London Fringe of West Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital. The town gives its name to the Sevenoaks district, of which it is the principal town, followed by Swanley and Ashford Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the River Great Stour, M20 motorway, South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county. Ashford is a relatively common English (the A20); the Medway towns Chatham is a large area within Medway, Kent, in South East England and Hastings Hastings is a town and Borough on the coast of East Sussex in England. It includes originally separate settlements, as well as the inevitable growth of the town through the building of new estates (A229); Tonbridge Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London. It belongs to the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling (population 107,560 in 2001) (A26) and Tenterden Tenterden is a small town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother (A274). All of these roads were served by the Turnpike trusts A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll (a fee) for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds. The building or facility in which a toll is collected may be called in the 18th/19th centuries.

The two railway routes, in spite of the fact that Maidstone is the county town, are not principal ones, due to an accident of history. There are two principal stations: Maidstone East, the more northerly of the two, connects with London and Ashford; whilst Maidstone West is on the Medway Valley Line.

Although the River Medway was historically responsible for the growth of the town, because of its capability to carry much of the area's goods, it is no longer a commercial stream. There is however a great deal of tourist traffic upon it.

As with most towns, Maidstone has continued to grow. In doing so it has incorporated hitherto separate settlements A settlement is a general term used in archaeology, geography, landscape history and other subjects for a permanent or temporary community in which people live, without being specific as to size, population or importance. A settlement can therefore range in size from a small number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with, villages and hamlets within its boundaries. These include Allington, Barming, Bearsted, Penenden Heath, Sandling, Tovil and Weavering Street. Housing estates include Grove Green, Harbourland, Ringlestone, Roseacre, Shepway 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.[5] The site of one of the breweries 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.

Demography

Maidstone compared
Maidstone Maidstone district England
Population 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 A nationwide census, commonly 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

As of the 2001 UK census A nationwide census, commonly 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, Maidstone town wards had a total population of 75,070, and a population density of 28 residents per hectare The hectare is a unit of area, defined as 10,000 square metres, and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2. When the metric system was rationalised in 1960 with the introduction of the International. The town had 31,142 households; of which, 38% were married couples, 29% were individuals, 10% were cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a longterm or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married couples, and 9% were lone parent families. 14% of households had someone living alone at pensionable In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum age.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6]

Economy

Fremlin Walk The Mall Maidstone, formerly Chequers, Shopping Centre The Stag, by Edward Bainbridge Copnall, outside the Lockmeadow Centre

Industry

Today Aylesford (on the northwest side of Maidstone) has the largest paper recycling factory in Europe, manufacturing newsprint 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.

Southern Water and Mid Kent Water operate the Maidstone water system.

Shopping/Retail

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.[7] Much of this space is provided the two main shopping centres in the town, the 535,000 square feet (49,700 m2) The Mall Maidstone and the 32,500 square metres (350,000 sq ft) Fremlin Walk which opened in 2006.[8]

Other recent developments include the riverside Lockmeadow Centre, which includes a multiplex cinema, restaurants, nightclubs, bowling alley, and the town's market square. The leisure industry is a key contributor to the town's with the night-time economy worth £75m per annum.[7]

Employment

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.[6]

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.[6]

According to the 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).[6]

Army barracks

Army barracks have been a feature of the town since 1797, when the first was built. 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.[9] Another pub - The White Rabbit - now occupies the former Officers’ Mess of the original barracks, now a listed building.

Transport and communications

Residential developments along the river upstream of the Palace.

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. The A20 runs through the town and the M20 motorway runs to the north. Originally opened in 1960 as the Maidstone Bypass, A20(M) this was the first motorway standard road to be constructed south of London. Maidstone is a hub for major roads such as the M20 motorway, the A229, A249, A20 and A26. The M2 motorway is also a short distance to the north and the A21 is not too far away. The historic centre of the town is largely pedestrianised or of restricted access to private vehicles.

The River Medway had, until the coming of better roads and the railways, long been one of the principal means of transporting goods to and from Maidstone. 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, hops, 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, St. Peter's 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.

Bus transport in Maidstone is provided by Arriva Southern Counties and Nu-Venture transport companies. Bus services are centred on High Street, King Street and the Chequers Bus Station adjacent to the Mall shopping centre. New Enterprise Coaches, an Arriva subsidiary, will in January 2009 cease to operate the commuter coach services 781 and 784 from Maidstone and surrounding areas to London; these pass to Chalkwell Coaches of Sittingbourne. A larger commuter network of services was previously provided by Green Line but withdrawn in August 2005. Prior to this, commuter buses were provided by Invictaway, and, even earlier, by a number of smaller operators in the wake of coach de-regulation in 1980.

An Arriva Southern Counties bus in Maidstone Transport Centenary livery

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, later Boro'line Maidstone; and Bygone Buses.

When the railways were built in the 1840s, Maidstone was not well served. 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 6 miles (9.7 km) 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.

The 1874 Maidstone East line crossing the River Medway; also on the bridge is a footpath connecting Maidstone East with Maidstone Barracks.

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 ten 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.

In 1905, a railway was authorised under the 1896 Light Railways Act to link Maidstone with Sutton Valence and Headcorn, linking with the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The only part of the Headcorn & Maidstone Junction Light Railway ever built was a short branch serving the paper mills at Tovil.

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 (246 km) between Farnham, Surrey and Dover, passing about five miles (8 km) to the north and west.

Education

see List of schools in Kent

The town of Maidstone has fifteen secondary schools; twenty-three primary schools; and two special schools. Two of the secondary schools, Maplesden Noakes and Invicta Grammar School, have been awarded Business and Enterprise College status.

Alumni at Maidstone Grammar School 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. Also in Maidstone is a regional campus of the University for the Creative Arts (formerly Kent Institute of Art & Design) at which the British artist Tracey Emin, and the Graphic designers Toby Dison, Tony Rolfe, Andy Wall and Hassain Rauf began their artistic educations.

Maidstone has two independently/non-government funded Academies. Cornwallis Academy (formerly The Cornwallis Technology College) and New Line Learning Academy's (formerly Oldborough Manor School and Senacre Technology College) which were all State Schools. The New Line Learning Academies will soon form one Academy, with the Senacre site being closed down, and all activities moving to the Oldborough site, which will then be re-built. Cornwallis Academy will also be re-built, at a cost estimated to be over £62M.

Shaun Williamson, TV actor, attended the local Catholic Seconday School, St. Simon Stock School. The school serves Catholic families throughout the whole of mid-Kent.

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%.

Religion

All Saints Church

The town’s religious base was recorded [6] 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.

There are a number of churches and other religious congregational buildings within the town of varying denominations.[10]

Culture

Twinning

Radio and television

Maidstone has long held links to local radio. There are three radio stations: Invicta Sound (now Heart Kent) used to broadcast from studios in Earl Street; and Hospital Radio Maidstone is one of the longest serving hospital radio stations in the UK.

KMFM Maidstone, formerly CTR 105.6, is the local commercial station for the town - having once broadcasted from studios in Mill Street, it now broadcasts from the studios of sister station KMFM Medway. It is part of the KM 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.

Theatre

The Exchange

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

Sport

Maidstone United football team was formed in 1897, and 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. However, the club could not bring their own London Road Ground up to Football League standards so they ground-shared at Dartford's Watling Street stadium and played their games there. The club could not keep up with the financial pressures of the Football League and folded in 1992. A new club was formed and made its way from the Kent County League Division 4 to the Isthmian (Ryman) Premier Division. The club currently plays at Sittingbourne F.C.'s Bourne Park stadium. In January 2007, work started on a new home for Maidstone F.C. at James Whatman Way in the town. Little activity has happened since however. In 2008 the club finalised an application to the Football Foundation for funding to allow the club to relocate back to the town. As of mid-2009 no progress had been made, and Maidstone United are ground-sharing with Ashford Town for the 2009/10 season at least.

Maidstone United celebrate winning the Kent League title in 2006

Maidstone Hockey Club is one of the oldest field hockey clubs in the country, founded in 1878.[11] For the 2009/10 season, the Ladies' 1st XI play in the East Womens Premier League,[12] and the Men's 1st XI play in the South Hockey League 1st XI Premier League Division 1. The Men's 1st squad are also represented in the Indoor England Hockey League Division 1 England Hockey League, having won the Division 2 title in 2008/09.[13][14] 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.[15] The club runs 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 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.[16]

Maidstone Sailing Club are a small club that sail on Mote Park lake. Maidstone also has a 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, are also based in the town. They play in the BBF AA South division.

Notable people

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maidstone

References

  1. ^ Origin of place name
  2. ^ "Widdecombe to stand down as MP". Guardian.co.uk. 2007-10-08. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6979102,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
  3. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. http://www.election-maps.co.uk/formFrame.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
  4. ^ "Maidstone Borough Council". Maidstone Borough Council. http://www.maidstone.gov.uk. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  5. ^ Locateinmaidstone.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Neighbourhood Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do;jsessionid=ac1f930bce6a711447e60ba4446bb56c21648d42c51.e38PbNqOa3qRe38OaNeKahqMai1ynknvrkLOlQzNp65In0?bhcp=1. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
  7. ^ a b http://www.alexandrapatrick.co.uk/userfiles/file/Maidstone.pdf
  8. ^ The ABB Group ‘‘Fremlin Walk’’ Electrical Contractor
  9. ^ BBC Kent History retrieved 11 July 2007
  10. ^ List of churches in Maidstone
  11. ^ Maidstone Hockey Club
  12. ^ Englandhockey.co.uk
  13. ^ Englandhockey.co.uk
  14. ^ Englandhockey.co.uk
  15. ^ Maidstone Rugby Club
  16. ^ Lashings CC
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 Swale, Borough of Tonbridge and Malling, Borough of Tunbridge Wells, City of Canterbury, District of Dover, District of Sevenoaks, District of Shepway, District of Thanet
Major settlements Ashford, Broadstairs, Canterbury, Chatham, Cranbrook, Dartford, Deal, Dover, Edenbridge, Faversham, Folkestone, Fordwich, Gillingham, Gravesend, Herne Bay, Hythe, Lydd, Maidstone, Margate, Minster, New Romney, Northfleet, Paddock Wood, Queenborough, Rainham, Ramsgate, Rochester, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Sandwich, Sevenoaks, Sheerness, Sittingbourne, Snodland, Southborough, Strood, Swanley, Swanscombe, Tenterden, Tonbridge, Walmer, West Malling, Westerham, Westgate-on-Sea, Whitstable See also: List of civil parishes in Kent
Rivers See: Rivers of Kent
Topics History, Geography, Museums, Parliamentary constituencies, People, Places, Transport

Categories: Kent articles missing image alternate text | Maidstone | County towns in England | Market towns in Kent | Towns in Kent

 

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