๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect Alfred Charles Bossom is associated with Maidstone. In 1931 he was elected Member of Parliament for Maidstone in Kent.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services.
Industry Until 1998, the Sharps toffee factory (later part of Cadbury Trebor Basset), was in central Maidstone and provided a significant source of employment.
Loudspeaker manufacturer KEF was founded in 1961 on the premises of the metal-working operation Kent Engineering & Foundry (hence KEF). KEF still occupies the same river-bank site. In the late 1990s KEF manufactured a loudspeaker called "the Maidstone".
The town centre has the largest office centre in the county and the area is a base for the paper and packaging industry. Many high-technology firms have set up in surrounding business parks.
Southern Water and Mid Kent Water operate the Maidstone water system.
Maidstone Borough Corporation began construction of Maidstone power station at Fairmeadow in 1900 and supplied electricity from 1901, firstly for street lighting then other uses. Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the British Electricity Authority and then to the Central Electricity Generating Board. In 1966 the power station had a generating capacity of 13.125 MW and delivered 6,921 MWh of electricity. The CEGB later closed the station and it was demolished in 1973.
Retail The town is ranked in the top five shopping centres in the south east of England for shopping yields and, with more than one million square feet of retail floor space, in the top 50 in the UK. Much of this space is located in the two main shopping centres in the town, the 535,000 square feet (49,700ย m2) The Mall Maidstone (previously known as The Chequers Centre) and the 32,500 square metres (350,000ย sqย ft) Fremlin Walk which opened in 2005.
Other recent developments include the riverside Lockmeadow Centre, with a multiplex cinema, restaurants, nightclubs (now a trampoline park), and the town's market square. The leisure industry is a key contributor with the night-time economy worth ยฃ75m per annum.
Employment In the 2001 UK census, 45.2% of residents aged 16โ74 were employed full-time, 12.7% part-time, 7.6% self-employed and 2.5% unemployed, while 2.3% were students with jobs, 3.0% without jobs, 12.9% retired, 6.6% looking after home or family, 3.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons. These figures were roughly in line with the national average.
Employment, by industry, was 19% retail; 13% real estate; 11% manufacturing; 9% construction; 7% transport and communications; 10% health and social work; 8% public administration; 7% education; 5% finance; 4% hotels and restaurants; 1% agriculture; 1% energy and water supply; and 5% other. Compared to national figures, Maidstone had a high percentage of workers in construction and public administration, and a low percentage in agriculture.
According to the Office for National Statistics estimates, the average gross income of households between April 2001 and March 2002 was ยฃ595 per week (ยฃ31,000 per year).
Maidstone has a population of over 113,100 people. Maidstone also forms the centre of the wider Maidstone metropolitan area which has a population of over 171,800 people. It is estimated there are around 5,755 businesses in Maidstone.
To set up a UBI Lab for Maidstone see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Maidstone has links with:
๐ซ๐ท Beauvais, France๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect Alfred Charles Bossom is associated with Maidstone. In 1931 he was elected Member of Parliament for Maidstone in Kent.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect/Painter William Howard Seth-Smith is associated with Maidstone. He was President of the Architectural Association from 1900 to 1902.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect Arthur William Blomfield is associated with Maidstone. In 1861 he was President of the Architectural Association and was knighted in 1889.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect Brian Hadwin Peake is associated with Maidstone.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Architect James Ransome is associated with Maidstone. From 1902 to 1907 he was Consulting Architect to the Government of India.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Sevenoaks 51.278
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Canterbury 51.28
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Fleet 51.283
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Farnborough 51.29
๐ท๐บ Stary Oskol 51.302
๐ต๐ฑ Bolesลawiec 51.263
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Basingstoke 51.262
๐ซ๐ท Chรขtellerault 0.544
๐ซ๐ท Mortagne-au-Perche 0.547
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ St Leonards-on-Sea 0.548
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Gillingham 0.55
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Braintree 0.555
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Medway 0.561
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Chatham 0.52
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Rochester 0.505
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Basildon 0.49
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Chelmsford 0.474
Locations Near: Maidstone 0.52508,51.2738
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Chatham 0.52,51.37 d: 10.7
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Gillingham 0.55,51.385 d: 12.5
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Rochester 0.505,51.388 d: 12.7
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Medway 0.561,51.412 d: 15.6
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Sittingbourne 0.74,51.34 d: 16.7
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Gravesend 0.369,51.442 d: 21.6
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Tonbridge 0.276,51.199 d: 19.2
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Thurrock 0.375,51.507 d: 27.9
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Grays 0.325,51.475 d: 26.3
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Tunbridge Wells 0.264,51.133 d: 24
Antipodal to: Maidstone -179.475,-51.274
๐น๐ด Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16643.5
๐ฆ๐ธ Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15826.9
๐ผ๐ธ Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15794.6
๐ต๐ซ Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15431.3
๐บ๐ธ Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 11769.5
๐บ๐ธ Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 11699.7
๐บ๐ธ Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 11688.3
๐บ๐ธ Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 11673.1