Bearsted Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. 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
HMS Maidstone (1937) the land, entry to the jetty being guarded by sand-bagged army emplacements. "Maidstone" was also notable for a successful escape by seven Provisional IRA members on 17January 1972. The men swam close to through icy water and evaded army and police only to later hold a press conference. On 23 May 1978 "Maidstone" was broken up for scrap at the Thos W Ward scrapyard in Inverkeithing. HMS Maidstone (1937) HMS "Maidstone" was a submarine depot ship of the Royal Navy. She was built to support the increasing numbers of submarines, especially on distant stations, such as the Mediterranean and the