River Medway points along the North Downs, the Weald and Ashdown Forest. The major tributaries are: Minor tributaries include: Former minor tributaries include the Old Bourne River, which flowed through the Brook, Chatham (not to be confused with the main tributary River Bourne). The river and its tributaries flow through largely rural areas, Tonbridge, Maidstone and Medway being the exceptions. The Medway itself initially flows in a west-east direction south of the North Downs; at the confluence of the River Beult, however, it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at the Medway Gap, a steep and narrow valley near Rochester,
Maidstone (UK Parliament constituency) the candidate was acquitted, but one of the judges noted that ""there exists among the voters of this borough a number of the lower class who expect, and are known to respect, a payment or reward for their votes... The proved cases of bribery extend through all the wards."" The borough was abolished with effect from the general election of 1918, but the Maidstone name was transferred to the new county division in which the town stood, which consisted of Maidstone itself and the Maidstone and Hollingbourne rural districts. This contained no towns of any size, but the villages collectively