Maidstone

Sister cities

• Beauvais

History

Neolithic finds have revealed the earliest occupation of the area, and the Romans have left their mark in the road through the town and evidence of villas. The Normans set up a shire moot, and religious organisations established an abbey at Boxley, hospitals and a college for priests. Today's prosperous suburb of Penenden Heath was an historic site of legal proceedings (courts) and also a place of execution in medieval times. Maidstone played a key role during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The rebel priest, John Ball, had been imprisoned there and was freed by Kentish rebels under the command of Wat Tyler, 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, and the coat of arms was designed, bearing a golden lion and a representation of the river (in heraldic terms: Or, a fess wavy Azure between three roundels Gules, on a chief Gules a leopard passant gardant Or). The arms also include the head of a white horse (representing Invicta, the motto of the county of Kent), a golden lion and an iguanodon. The iguanodon relates to the discovery in the 19th century of the fossilised remains of that dinosaur, now in the Natural History Museum in London. Maidstone has had the right to a town gaol since 1604. During the English Civil War, the Battle of Maidstone took place in 1648, resulting in a victory for the Parliamentarians. 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, and today a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre memorialises Broughton as 'Mayor and Regicide'. Paper mills, stone…

Geography

The town is six miles downstream from where the River Medway, having flowed in a generally west–east direction, is joined by the Rivers Teise and Beult at Yalding and changes its course to a northerly one. It cuts through the ridge formed by the greensand, 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. The River Len joins the Medway at Maidstone. Though a short river, it provided the water to drive numerous watermills. The Loose Stream, which rises at Langley and joins at Tovil, once powered over 30 mills. Mill ponds on these rivers are a prominent feature of the landscape. Maidstone has continued to grow. In doing so it has incorporated hitherto separate settlements, 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, 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, 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. Kent experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is at East Malling, 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…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,962
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,058
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,056
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,756
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,389
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,318
• Eurasian Wren

  Troglodytes troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,349
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,263

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom
• M 3.7 — 2015-05-22
  3 km SSE of Ramsgate, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2009-03-03
  1 km ENE of Hawkinge, United Kingdom