Maidstone History - Miscellaneous Entries
Since 1604 Maidstone has had the right to a town gaol. Its existing prison, to the north of the town centre, was completed in 1819.
Army barracks have been a feature of the town since 1797. The present Invicta Barracks is home to the Royal Engineers 36 Engineer Regiment, which includes two Gurkha field squadrons.
On 29th September 1975, The Hare and Hounds, a local pub serving the barracks, was damaged by a bomb during the IRA campaign against the English mainland. The former Officers’ Mess of the original barracks, which is now a listed building, is currently occupied by another pub, The White Rabbit.
West Kent General Hospital opened in the 1830s in Marsham Street. This was subsequently replaced by Maidstone General Hospital, which opened on the outskirts of the town in 1983. The latter lies just north of the former Oakwood Hospital (originally the Kent County Asylum), which closed in the mid-1990s.
The county council offices, to the north of the town centre, were built of Portland stone between 1910 and 1913.
A millennium project opened the Medway River Walk, the Medway Park and a new footbridge linking the former cattle market (which is now a multiplex cinema and nightclub) west of the river to the shopping area to the east.
