The local history and social history collections at Maidstone Museum document the history and people of the area at the centre of the Garden of England, and include local industries, photography, printed ephemera and numismatics.
Early Maidstone
Stone tools and other evidence tell us that our ancestors were living in the Maidstone area over 400,000 years ago. Significant finds from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and later Roman and Saxon periods (within our archaeological collections) provide tantalising glimpses of what life must have been like for local people.
Written records do not exist much before the Medieval period when the Archbishop’s Palace overlooking the Medway became the focus of a small settlement. But in 1549, Maidstone was recognised as a town when it was granted a royal charter. Famous incidents in its history include the Wyatt Rebellion and Battle of Maidstone in the English Civil War (1648). By the 18th century, Maidstone was the official and legal centre of Kent. It was also a successful industrial town with major brewing and papermaking industries. In the 21st century, Maidstone is still expanding as a retail and entertainment centre.
Social history
Maidstone Museum holds in excess of 15,000 specimens or artefacts which come within the field of social history, and particularly strong domestic themes include housing, heating and lighting, cleaning and maintenance, food and drink, toys and games, textile crafts, music, broadcast and pre-recorded entertainment, writing equipment, and smoking. The museum also holds a fairly large collection of material of major local importance, documenting the everyday life of the borough, local events, and celebrities. Collections relating to local industries include brewing and hop picking (Fremlin, Style & Winch, Mason & Co); papermaking (Whatman); confectionary and food production (Sharps & Foster Clark); engineering (Tilling-Stevens); and agricultural equipment (Weeks).
