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a little more about Maidstone
 Maidstone was originally a Saxon village, noted as a large village in the Domesday book, was the property of the Archbishop of Canterbury from the 10th century. It became a market town in the 13th centrury, receiving its charter in 1261. By virtue of its geography it was a key location for transporting fruit and vegetables by water to London. Growing comparatively rapidly to a population reaching almost 2000 into the 14th century, Maidstone was then devastated by the black death of 1348-49. During the 16th and 17th centuries Maidstone grew increasingly important when its markets and industries flourished led by the manufacture of wool, the local wool trade eventually being replaced by the locality's new industries - brewing and paper making, which boomed through the 19th century. This growth pattern ensured the development of other local commerce including the manufacture of farm implements and machinery and food processing, jam making and bottling mineral water. The first electricity was generated in Maidstone in 1901 running trams 3 years later.
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