Maidstone
Maidstone photos (127 available)
Maidstone maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Maidstone books (12 available)
- 5 photos on Maidstone appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Maidstone
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Maidstone and Kent
Maidstone memories
Read and share memories of Maidstone and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Ashby's
I remember there being an Ashby's in Tonbridge Road down the road from the old trolley bus depot. My grandfather worked there as a cashier.
Contributed by Kim Hatton
Notes from the Frith files.
Ashby's was a grocery business started by Stephen Ashby in the 1920s. It was then run by his son Aubrey Ashby until the late 1950s when it was sold.
Contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
Great Great Grandfather
Actually previous to 1860's. My Great Grandfather was born Under-the-Cliffe, Maidstone in 1845. His name was Thomas Ackworth Parker and his parents were Thomas Edward Parker and Susanna Elizabeth Parker, formally Ackworth. I assume this is what is now known as the Undercliffe.
Contributed by Dorothy Kelsall
Mote Park. Our Backyard.
From the age of seven Mote Park was almost our backyard. We lived in Plains Avenue, just a few houses from the park keeper's lodge. We could also get to Mote Park by climbing over the fence at the bottom of our garden which led across allotments to Mote Park. I spent weeks wandering there and playing by the lake and later when I was working and had the time I would walk from my house to work at John Collier's menswear and back again in the evening. My partner and I have returned to Maidstone a lot recently and spent a great deal of time in Mote Park. So much has changed now though. The road in Plains Avenue used ...read more here
Contributed by Kim Hatton
Cream Puff
I remember the"Loco" that took you up the drive. Seeing my first elephant plus seeing and eating my first cream puff in the "Cafe". Mother and I had the last one and I remember seeing the cream ooze out of the pores. That is all I remember of the Zoo. I was born 1936, the war finished 1945. I presume the Zoo closed for the duration so when did I visit?
Contributed by Graham Vidler
Extracts From Maidstone & Kent books
What an unusual combination of goods the trader is selling in the third shop from the right: fishing tackle and fireworks! Today this large town by the River Medway looks very different. It teems with traffic, and it is the County Town of Kent. A prison that has housed some of Britain's most notorious criminals is nearby.
An extract from from"Kent Revisited Photographic Memories".
The wooden fortifications at Allington were soon replaced with stone; it is thought that the work was carried out by Gundulf, the Conqueror’s master builder, who was also responsible for the Tower of London. It was at Allington that the plotters against the marriage between Queen Mary and Philip of Spain first met. Their rebellion ended in disaster, and Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington went to the block.
An extract from from"English Castles".
Built on the site of a 9th-century royal manor house, Leeds Castle became a royal fortress on the accession of Edward I. It served as a royal residence for six medieval queens, and it was a favourite haunt of Henry VIII, Queen Eleanor of Castile and Catherine of Valois. The Leeds Castle Foundation was established in 1974 to preserve the place as a ‘living’ castle through income generated from visitors, conferencing and special events.
An extract from from"English Castles".
The impressive facade of the Hotel Metropole, with the Ship Hotel next door, faced the end
of the Jetty to greet the thousands of holidaymakers
who travelled down on the paddle steamers. In the
foreground is a ‘guess your weight’ machine, where
you only paid if the proprietor guessed your weight
correctly. He could do this by cleverly adjusting
the weights to his advantage. Six houses to the left
was the lodging house of Mrs Sophia Booth, where
J M W Turner stayed between 1827 and 1851. From
here he painted watercolours of golden sunsets over the
sea to the west and the misty dawns to the east.
Between 1939 and 1945 the Hotel Metropole and
surrounding properties were demolished as part of
the town’s Fort Road Improvement Scheme. The area
as it was before demolition can be seen in the aerial
photograph on pages 8-9.
Three acres of rundown cafes, souvenir shops and a
wooden arcade were cleared, and a new dual-carriageway
swept down the hill offering a clear panoramic view of the
sands and bay.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".
The list of `Fashionables` taking rooms in the Cliftonville Hotel would be published weekly in the local newspaper, again emphasising the separation of the social classes.
An extract from from"Margate Town and City Memories".