    maidstone is the county town of kent, england,  south-east of london. the river medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with rochester and the thames estuary. historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of kent, known as the garden of england. there is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to beyond the stone age. the town is in the borough of maidstone. in 2011, the town had a population of 113,137, about 73 per cent of the population of the borough. maidstone's economy has changed over the years from being involved in heavy industry, to more light industry and service industries. ==toponymy== saxon charters (c975) show the first recorded instances of the town's name, de maeides stana and maegdan stane, possibly meaning stone of the maidens or stone of the people. the latter meaning may refer to the nearby megalith around which gatherings took place. the name evolved through medestan/meddestane in the domesday book with possible variation mayndenstan, in 1396.plea rolls of the court of common pleas; national archives; cp40/541, year 1396; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/aalt6/r2/cp40no541a/acp40no541afronts/img_0715.htm; last entry on the image the modern name appeared by 1610.{{cite web|url=http://www.hereshistorykent.org.uk/displayarticle.cfm?placeid=288&categoryid=3&placename=maidstone |title=origin of place name |publ
County_towns_in_England Maidstone_(borough) Market_towns_in_Kent Post_towns_in_the_ME_postcode_area Towns_in_Kent