Author Description

When John Leland, King Henry VIII's antiquary, visited Maidstone in the sixteenth century, he commented that the town was 'full of inns', but if he could have returned three centuries later he would have seen many more. This book provides an illustrated background of some of the breweries, the old established hostelries and the later public houses and beerhouses of Victorian Maidstone. A list of the recorded drinking houses of 1882 is included at the back of the book for reference. The information relating to Maidstone's public houses, as recorded by earlier generations, is sometimes confusing or contradictory. Join Irene Hales as she takes us on a visual journey through these ancient streets.