Bearsted

Coordinates: 51°16′26″N 0°34′44″E / 51.2738°N 0.5789°E / 51.2738; 0.5789

Bearsted (/ˈbɛərstɛd/ BAIR-sted or traditionally /ˈbərstɛd/ BER-sted) is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre.

Geography

The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane and The Green which includes The Street. The village is on the north bank of the river Len, a tributary of the River Medway at the foot of the North Downs. A stream, the Lilk, flows south into the river Len through Bearsted.

Although part of the growing conurbation of Maidstone, the centre of Bearsted retains a traditional village look with 59 listed properties, many surrounding the village green, flanked by two pubs.

The parish of Bearsted has a population of 8010 (2001 figure) and is broadly divided into two areas of development. The traditional village of Bearsted with modern development around its conservation areas lies north of the A20 Ashford Road and the Madginford neighbourhood, largely constructed in the 1960s, lies south of the Ashford Road. The area includes a small supermarket and shopping centre, a park and ride facility and primary school. The parish also incorporates part of tudor Mote Park on its western boundary. Parts of Madginford were formerly part of the parish of Otham but to avoid division have been appropriated as part of Bearsted.