Tovil

Tovil
Tovil
	The Royal Paper Mill on Tovil Hill
	Tovil Location within Kent
Population	3,542 (2011 Census)
• London	33 miles (53 km) NW
District	Maidstone;
Shire county	Kent;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAIDSTONE
Postcode district	ME15
Dialling code	01622
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Maidstone and the Weald;
	List of places UK England Kent 51°15′51″N 0°30′35″E / 51.2642°N 0.5096°E

Tovil is a civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone, in Kent in the South East of England. It is a mixture of residential and industrial zoning, with an increase in commercial usage towards the centre of Maidstone, and more arable use on the outskirts.

History

Tovil is mentioned in the Cecil Papers with the leasing of a tenement at Tovil to Thomas Peene, commencing at Michaelmas, 1628. ^[2]

Tovil has a history of paper mills on the Loose Stream near the River Medway, which ceased operation in the 1980s. These included Great Ivy Mill, Hayle Mill, Upper Tovil Mill, Lower Tovil Mill and Bridge Mill. These and other mills located along the Loose Stream which flows through Tovil were formerly used for fulling, corn and in one case gunpowder. The Tovil Bridge connects Tovil to Barming over the Loose Stream and the Medway.

The church of St Stephen was built in around 1840. The architect was John Whichcord Snr. It was built of ragstone ashlar in the Early English style^[3] but demolished in about 1990.

Alabaster Passmore had an important printing works in Tovil and there were other small industries and a railway siding.

Modern Tovil

Many of the industrial units have since been replaced by housing. One notable local business is loudspeaker manufacturer KEF, which is based on Eccleston Road in Tovil. Goachers microbrewery is also based there.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters is based in Tovil on Straw Mill Hill.

Governance

Tovil is in the South ward of Maidstone Borough Council, represented as of 2020 by three Liberal Democrat councillors. It is in the Maidstone South division of Kent County Council, represented as of 2020 by one Conservative councillor. The local MP is the Conservative, Helen Grant.

References

^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ "Cecil Papers: 1615-1619". British History Online.
^ "Church of St Stephen, Church Road (north side)". Images of England. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017.

This Kent location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 September 2016.

[2] "Cecil Papers: 1615-1619". British History Online.

[3] "Church of St Stephen, Church Road (north side)". Images of England. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017.

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