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Maidstone is a local government district and borough in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone. Maidstone is the County town of Kent, and County Hall is located here.
PositionThe Borough covers an area generally to the east and south of the town of Maidstone: as far north as the M2motorway; east down the M20 to Lenham; south to a line including Paddock Wood, Staplehurst and Headcorn; and west to the Medway Towns - Tonbridge road (A228). Generally speaking, it lies between the North Downs and the Weald, and covers the central part of the county. The motorway M20 crosses it from west to east, as does the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Geologically, the Greensand ridge lies to the south of the town. The very fine sand provides a good source for glass-making. The clay vale beyond, through which flow the three rivers which meet at Yalding; the chalk - the Medway, the Beult and the Teise; and the chalk North Downs all provide raw materials for paper- and cement-making; which are also local industries. Borough divisionsThe borough is divided into wards: some wards are within the town of Maidstone urban area; the reamionder cover rural districts. Town wardsThe Maidstone town wards are: Bridge; East; Fant; High Street; North; North Downs; Park Wood; Shepway North; Shepway South; and South. Rural wardsThe village wards are:
CommunicationsWaterThe River Medway was the earliest form of transport through the area. It was navigable for cargo-carrying craft as far upstream as Tonbridge, and it was only in the 19th century that the railways brought any change. More recently, various works have been carried out to control the frequent flooding in the clay vale upstream of Maidstone. RoadsMaidstone, as its importance warranted, has been the hub of roads for many centuries. It lies very close to the Pilgrims' Way; and two Roman roads met south of the town: one from Rochester to Hastings the other branching off to the East Kent coast and Dover. In the 18th Century came the turnpiked roads. One of the earliest in the county - that to Rochester and Chatham - was opened in 1728. In modern times, two motorways - the M2 and the M20 - pass north and south of Maidstone. RailwaysThe earliest line through Kent was built by the South Eastern Railway. It was not, however, built to pass through Maidstone: instead, a station was built at Paddock Wood, then named Maidstone Road, some six miles away. It was only in the period between 1844 (when that main line was connected by a branch line to Maidstone) and 1884 that Maidstone became a hub once more, although with local trains only, to Strood, Ashford and (via Swanley Junction to London.
External linkslink for the villages above (http://www.digitalmaidstone.co.uk/cgi-bin/buildpage.cgi?mysql=361)
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