Where to Stay in Maidstone, England

What is Maidstone known for?

Maidstone is the county town of Kent and its largest town, and the River Medway runs through the middle of it, linking the streets with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Kent is the Garden of England. Farming built the town's trade, and the agricultural county around it still shows at Kent Life, while the Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery holds the collections.

Allington Castle carries the oldest name.

What are the main landmarks in Maidstone?

Allington Castle anchors the medieval end. The Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum and the Maidstone Carriage Museum hold the collections, while Kent Life sets out the farming side of the county. Roman ground survives as well, at the Maidstone Roman villa, the Thurnham Roman villa and the Romano-British building W of Corbier Hall Wood.

Older houses complete the list. Stoneacre, Harts House, Romney House, Park House, Gore Court and Grove House survive around the town, with Mote Park keeping its cricket ground.

What is the history of Maidstone?

Settlement here runs deep. Evidence in the area dates back before the Stone Age, and the Maidstone Roman villa, the Thurnham Roman villa and the Romano-British building W of Corbier Hall Wood show what the Roman centuries left behind. Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey House belong to the medieval layer, along with All Saints Church, Maidstone and St Mary's and All Saints Church, Boxley.

The Medway carried the trade. River traffic moved much of the town's business when Maidstone stood as the centre of an agricultural county, with Rochester and the Thames Estuary along the same water and the produce of Kent coming in from the farms. Kent took the name Garden of England.

Harts House, Romney House, Grove House and Gore Court survive from the centuries when that trade paid for building. War and industry reshaped the later town. Since World War II the economy has moved from heavy industry toward light industry and services, and Maidstone has kept its place as the county town and the largest town in Kent.

The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum records the military side, while the Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery and the Maidstone Carriage Museum hold the civil collections. Kent Life keeps the farming record. Around the town, Holy Cross Church, Bearsted, St Martin of Tours Church, Detling, St Nicholas's Church, Otham and the Church of Saint Mary, East Farleigh tie the villages into the same long history.

Where is Maidstone?

The River Medway runs through the centre of Maidstone, linking the town with Rochester and the Thames Estuary and placing the county town in the middle of Kent. Farmland surrounds it. Bearsted, Otham, Boxley, Detling, Thurnham and East Farleigh ring the built-up area, and London lies 32 miles away, with the borough of Maidstone taking in the villages between.

What is the climate of Maidstone?

The Medway valley keeps Maidstone's weather even. Kent sits in the temperate band, and the low ground along the river holds warmth well enough that the orchards and farms of the Garden of England run through a long growing season. Frost comes late here.

Rain spreads across the year without a dry season, and the higher ground around Boxley and Detling catches more of it than the valley floor at Maidstone does.

How do you get to Maidstone?

Maidstone lies 32 miles east-south-east of London, which puts the capital within a short run for most arrivals by road. The Medway leads to Rochester. River traffic once carried the town's trade toward the Thames Estuary, and the Medway still runs the same course through Maidstone and on to Rochester.

Bearsted, Otham, Boxley, Detling and East Farleigh are all short drives from the centre, and Mote Park and the museums sit inside the walkable core.