Maidstone 

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Historical notes about the Town of Maidstone

Maidstone

From the "Three Towns" the Medway Valley winds south to Maidstone, to which hats must be doffed as the county town. But the doffing need not be on formal grounds alone, for though Maidstone is busy and prosperous (it has quite a number of industries, with patent evidence thereof) it has carefully reserved many of the memorials of its long and interesting past. The citizens have obviously been enlightened as well as public-spirited, for the old palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury, parts of which date back to the end of the fifteenth century, has been fitted up as a science and art school, and the town museum, containing a notable selection of county antiquities, is houses in the delightful Elizabethan mansion which was once Chillingston Manor House. There are also some interesting and substantial remains of the famous mediaeval college, whilst the Church of All Saints is a notable building in more ways than one. It is one of the largest parish churches in the country, and a fine example of the Perpendicular style. The founder of the college was the builder of the chancel, and the fabric contains several features to remind one of the fact that it was the chapel of the brethren.

Maidstone figured prominently in our history in 1648 - when Fairfax stormed the town in a fierce and desperate struggle - and many of her sons have written their names on the scroll of fame; one at least on the scroll of notoriety, for is it not written of Thomas Trapham, surgeon to Fairfax and Cromwell, that he was "a bitter enemy to Charles the First, to whose body, after his decollation, he put his hand to open, and embalm: when that was done, he sewed his head to his body; and that being done also, he brutishly and insolently said to the company, that he had ‘sewed on the head of a goose.'"

The charming environs of Maidstone have gained further renown through the fame of Leeds Castle, whose history is not merely aristocratic but for many centuries royal also. The earliest portion dates back to the original fortress has been much altered and greatly enlarged. But it remains what it has ever been one of the "show places" of Kent.

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Historic images from around the Town of Maidstone

This small selection of historic images of Maidstone are from our British National Image Library. You may click on the thumbnail pictures to view larger versions and read what information we have regarding the image.

Detail of Decorative House in Maidstone

1930's Maidstone

River Medway at Maidstone 3

1930's River Medway

Allington Entrance

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Public Events in and around Maidstone

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Hotels, Apartments and B&B's in Maidstone

The visitor accommodation options for Maidstone listed below are supplied by LATE ROOMS and BOOKING.COM from a selection of over 16,000 hotels located throughout the UK.

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 Kent House Bed and Breakfast 

 

 Village Hotel & Leisure Club - Maidstone 

 

 Wealden Hall 

 

 Detling Coachhouse Bb 

 

 Grange Moor Hotel 

 

 Great Danes Hotel 

 

 Innkeeper's Lodge Maidstone 

 

 King Street Hotel