Bearsted

Midway between the two major Kentish towns of Maidstone and Ashford lies the quaint village of Bearsted. In comparison to many other villages in the Maidstone district, Bearsted is relatively populous with just over 10,000 inhabitants. However, whereas some other villages in the region have adapted and made considerable allowances for the quickened pace of the twenty-first century, Bearsted has very much retained the traditional country village outlook and thus landscape. Although the A20 passes directly through the village and the M20 which leads the way to London is only 2km away, to think country pubs, village greens and county fetes would project a very accurate image of Bearsted. At opposite corners of the village green are the pubs, the White Horse Inn and the Royal Oak, which remain a focal point of the village landscape and lifestyle.

Bearsted is actually considered by many as an "ancient" village. The original site was along the bank of the River Len, which is a tributary of the more renowned River Medway. The position along the banks of the river and its proximity to larger towns were intergral factors in triggering the expansion of the stone quarrying industry in the sixteenth century. This trade brought many influential and wealthy families to the area; two of the most significant families establishing their name and reputation as masons were the Berties and Bartys. In fact, there exists today a private nursing home in the village, based in a property known as "Barty House", dedicated to Thomas Barty, the Master Mason of Winchester Cathedral. As previously mentioned, the village is very well connected to bigger towns and cities in the south eastern corner of England. Maidstone and Ashford are both accessible directly by rail from Bearsted's own train station.

Bearsted also boasts an array of famous villagers, past and present, who were born in or chose this little Kentish village as their home. Perhaps more controversially, John Dyke, who in 1830 become the last man to ever be hanged in Maidstone lived in the area. It also attracted its fair share of revered nineteenth century cricketers, notably Alfred Mynn, nicknamed the "Lion of Kent" and Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman. In terms of more recent interest, Ross Kemp, the television personality and Eastenders actor has also lived in the village. Yet, perhaps the most influential inhabitant, in terms of the village itself was Baroness Thomas, the creator of the Scarlet Pimpernel, who lived in Snowfield in Bearsted until her death in 1947. Nowadays the village's local scout group, the 1st Bearsted The Scarlet Pimpernels, are an obvious allusion to this famous inhabitant of Bearsted.

More recently the village has been the focal point of a major conservational and environmental issue within the region. During the early months of 2007 the Kent International Gateway Group divulged their plans for a new logistics route between Bearsted, local railway lines and the M20, with links further into and out of the south east. The plans have met considerable and fervent opposition since the area in question is currently forest and woodland area. This has not just been objected by environmentalists, but also Bearsted local residents in general. Such was the extent of the controversy, that the Maidstone Borough Council has been forced to bring the Kent International Gateway Group's plans under review. Also looking forward into Bearstead's future, it has become one of the growing number of Kent villages that has turned its hand to wine producing and cultivating vineyards. During the eighties focus was more on the orchards, but the business has boomed in recent times, as the village was producing close to 10,000 bottles of wine per year in 1998.