Bearsted

Bearsted
Bearsted  Bearsted shown within Kent
OS grid reference	TQ765555
District	Maidstone
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAIDSTONE
Postcode district	ME14
Dialling code	01622
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Faversham and Mid Kent
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Bearsted ( /ˈbɛərstɛd/ bare-sted or traditionally /ˈbɪərstɛd/ beer-sted) is an ancient village and civil parish in mid-Kent, three miles (4.7 km) to the east of Maidstone. The original village site was on the north bank of the River Len, a tributary of the River Medway, and at the foot of the North Downs.

Despite being part of a growing urban conurbation on the outskirts of Maidstone, the centre of Bearsted retains a traditional village look with 18th and 19th Century (and older) properties surrounding a village green, flanked by two pubs.

The parish of Bearsted has a population of around 10,000 and is broadly divided into two areas of development, the traditional village of Bearsted, lies north of the A20 Ashford Road and the newer Maidstone suburb of Madginford that lies south of the Ashford Road. Madginford is an area of housing constructed in large part during the 1960s. The area includes a small supermarket and shopping centre, a park and ride facility and primary school. The parish also incorporates part of Mote Park on its western boundary. Parts of Madginford were formerly part of the parish of Otham.

Church

Holy Cross Church is located on Church Lane to the south of the green. It is a Grade I listed building. On three corners of the tower are stone beasts. Many books on Kent describe the animals on the tower as bears, and say these represent the name of the village.

Amenities

The village is home to a tennis club along with a bowls club and both a Scout Group (1st Bearsted The Scarlet Pimpernels) and a Guide unit. Other establishments include a Rifle Club([1]) and a private members' club (The Bearsted and Thurnham Club).

Communications. The village lies between Maidstone and Ashford and has road and rail links with both:

• Road: the A20 road passes through the village; and junction 7 on the M20 motorway is a mile (2 km) to the west.
• Rail: Bearsted railway station was opened with the rail line on 1 July 1884: it was originally named Bearsted and Thurnham (the latter a village to the north).
• Footpaths: both the ancient Pilgrims' Way and the modern North Downs Way run along the North Downs north of Bearsted.

Kent International Gateway

Main article: Kent International Gateway

In early 2007, the Kent International Gateway Group announced plans to build a large rail-freight and logistics depot in the corridor between Bearsted and the rail line and M20 motorway, an area which is currently made up of fields and woodland. The controversial plans raised significant objections from local residents and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The planning application was rejected by the local planning authority, Maidstone Borough Council, and a public inquiry was held into Axa's appeal of this decision between 13 October 2009 and 23 December 2009. Following the public inquiry and review of the resulting Inspector's report, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, rejected the appeal and refused planning permission for the development on 5 August 2010.

Notable people

• Robert Clifford (1752-1811), cricketer, lived in Bearsted.
• William Clifford (chr. 1811-1841), cricketer, was christened in Bearsted church.
• Geoffrey Dummer (1909-2002), electronics engineer, resided in Bearsted at the time of his death.
• Nigel Donn (b 1962), football player, resides in Bearsted.
• Sir Thomas Fludd (1545-1607), of Milgate House, Treasurer for Queen Elizabeth I’s forces in the Netherlands for which he was knighted.
• Robert Fludd (1574-1637), philosopher, was born in Bearsted.
• Alfred Percy ("Tich") Freeman (1888–1965), Kent leg spin bowler and the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season. He lived at a house called Dunbowlin.
• Richard Hearne (1908-79), actor, resided in Bearsted.
• Thomas Mun (c. 1645-1692), politician, is buried in Bearsted churchyard.
• Alfred Mynn (1807-61), cricketer.^{[citation needed]}
• Baroness Orczy (1865–1947), creator of the Scarlet Pimpernel.^{[citation needed]}
• Edward Thomas (1878–1917) poet.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Notes on Bearsted
• Bearsted and Thurnham Society