Maidstone is literally the "stone of the maidens", virtually all in all likelihood indicating the place in which it were known to gather. Its Anglo-Saxon form was Mægthan stan.

History of the town

Early history
Arms of Maidstone Borough Council Although Stone Age finds use at times been manufactured locally, these are a Romans who first gave Maidstone a few importance. Their road from either Watling Street at Rochester to Hastings across the Weald passed through the site, & 2 villas own been found. It were besides among a number 1 to extract stone (a sandstone known as Kentish Rag) from a metropolitan area.

This a portion of the Medway Valley was significant as well, per period of the Domesday Book. In the midst Ages tin text were 2 hospitals here built for the care of wayfarers, especially people on pilgrim's journey; & the “college� of laic priests.

Town Status

Maidstone’s town status was confirmed after, inside 1549, it was incorporated. It experienced originally been governed by a portreeve, Dozen brethren & Xxiv common man under the counsel of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Still, while a humans of Maidstone rebelled against a crown within trend lines of Thomas Wyatt in 1554, this charter was revoked, although the recently charter was established 5 years late, while Maidstone was created a borough.

A town's charter was eventually ratified inside 1619 under James I, & the coat of arms, bearing the golden lion and a representation of the flow of any stream, was intentional. Recently these arms were added to per head of the whitecap (representing Invicta, the slogan of the county of Kent), the golden lion & an iguanodon. the iguanodon relates to the discovery in the 19th century of the fossilized remains of such a dinosaur locally. These remains come nowadays displayed in the Natural History Museum in London.

Industries

A quarrying of skillful building stone about Maidstone has universally been crucial & continues possibly now. A few of the sandstone is likewise utilized in the glass industry.

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

Within Maidstone there were numbers of little breweries at the prevent of the 19th century. a flow of any stream existence utile for transportation & a water system for the beer production. Following one of a biggest, a Style & Winch brewery, was situated on the river bank in the centre of the town. A brewery inclose 1965 & a building demolished around 1976. There were 5 more breweries; in todays world simply the super little a single (Goachers) remains.

An additional by-product of the riverside location was paper mills, known locally as "the treacle mines". Paper was produced at pages like Turkey Mill & Hayle Mill, & what was to turn into a Reed class action experienced many paper & composition board milling plants inside Maidstone.

Until 1998 a sweetly mill of Trebor Basset, makers of liquorice allsorts, was located in central Maidstone and provided the important source of employment.

Communications

The river

Improvements got been mass produced astir 17Xl to the flow of any stream, therefore that hoy of 40 scads can become upriver to East Farleigh, Yalding and even Tonbridge. This intended that much of trade, including corn, fodder, fruit, stone & timber passed through the town, in which there were many pier.

A mediaeval stone bridge was replaced within 1879 to give better clearance: it was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. There are currently 2 bridges, the modern a single with been built in the 1980s.

Now a flow of any stream is of importance sole to pleasure-boat owners & a considerable total of humans go houseboats. For numerous years there has been an annual flow of any stream festival when you took the survive weekend around July, & a millennium plan inaugurated a Medway Flow of any stream Hike, the Medway Park & a freshly overcrossing linking the previous cows market (which is today a multiplex cinema & club) south of the flow of any stream to the looking metropolitan area in the north.

Roads

One of a 1st roads within Kent to become turnpiked was that from Rochester to Maidstone, in Great gross, returning occasionally indication of the town’s importance. In todays world a town is served per M20 motorway, although it is a hub of the pre-motorway network therein section of Kent. Major roads hyperlink it to a Medway Towns, the Isle of Sheppey, Ashford and Folkestone, Hastings, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and London.

Railways

Maidstone was non swell served whenever railways were number 1 existence built in the 1840s. It was reported at a period that habitant were bitterly opposed to a railway: the city manager suggesting that “Maidstone is ruined as a commercial town�. It was said that wharfingers & corn & coal merchandiser would exist as stiff hit.

inside a event, in 1842, the South Eastern Railway, in its haste to email a Channel ports of Folkestone & Dover, put its main line through Tonbridge & Ashford, occasionally captain hicks miles south. The station known as Maidstone Road was built within an isolated spot known as Paddock Wood, from in which coaches were process to the shire town.

2 years late the spur track was built to Maidstone. Within 1846 an additional spur track (a Medway Valley Line) connected Strood with the town. It was non until 1874 that a line from either London arrived; & some other Decade years prior to Ashford was attached by rail. There are ternion stations: Maidstone West and Maidstone Barracks on the Medway Valley Line (whose platforms are seeable of these from either a more); & Maidstone East on the Ashford line.

Education

Whilst Maidstone wwhen incorporated inside 1549 it was authorised to build the grammar school, which lives to this day as Maidstone Grammar School. Renowned alumni of the school include James Burke, television presenter, and Lord Beeching, responsible for the noted cuts to British railway routes. William Golding was a teacher there.

William Lambe, the flush clothmaker, endowed an additional school within 1574. Early in a 19th century the government inquiry found there were there is no fewer than Baker's dozen schools (occasionally of super unfortunate quality) teaching the poor people of the town.

Too inside Maidstone occurs as campus of the University College for the Creative Arts at which the acclaimed British creative person Tracy Emin begun her artistic education, among others.

Maidstone Prison

A prison lies northerly of the town centre. It was built within 1818 to replenish a bridewell & old slammer in the centre of the town. A 1st captive moved around at a prevent of 1818. Building act experienced been carried out by French prisoners-of-war.

A final executiaround took place on Penenden Heath to the NE of the town in December 1830. The newly gallows was built ahead of the county prison. In 28 April 1868 a last individual inside Britain to become publicly hanged was Frances Kidder, the 25-month-old woman world health organization got murdered her step-daughter; the execution took place outside Maidstone Prison.

Barracks

There own been deuce Army barracks inside Maidstone. 1 is at present closed. A present Invicta Barracks is personal to the Royal_Engineers 36 Engineer Regiment, which includes 2 Gurkha field squadrons.

Sport

A local football team Maidstone United FC, formed in 1897, will have the turbulent recent history. Their greatest accomplishment come around gaining promotion to a English Football League witharound 1989 when several years of profits within non-league football, though in 1992 it collapsed under the weight of debt & went into liquidation. It nowadays play in the Kent League and inside November 2004 were granted planning permissiin to build the arenthe on Whatman Way in Maidstone, when getting been forced to play their personal games in the evidence of a local [http://www.mormon.org LDS] church since selling their London Road ground in the Eighties.

Kent County Cricket Club play a week of 1st class cricket at a Mote Cricket Ground inside Mote Park each summertime.

Maidstone today

A original places of a town, in which the main streets come, is on the rising ground to the east of the Flow of any stream Medway. High Street & King Street process higher from either a flow of any stream crossing at Lockmeadow; Week Street & Gabriel's Hill bisect this route. Tremendously of the modern centre is traffic-absolutely free! or even has restrictions imposed.

A county council agents, northward of a town centre, beside the prison, were built 1910-1913 of Portland stone.

Maidstone General Hospital opened on the fringe of the town around 1983, replacing West Kent General Hospital, which got been opened 150 years earliest within Marsham Street.

Numbers of of today’s residents have Maidstone as a base to commute to London, or even even come listed in a retail, administrative or service sectors in a town.

Population

Maidstone has grown substantially since a run of the 19th century: 1801 8,000 1861 23,100 1921 37,300 1961 59,800 2001 138,948 - for the whole of Maidstone District of which 68,35Come male & 70,598 come female