By Tim Lambert
1086 Maidstone has a population of about 250
1250 Maidstone has grown into a small market town
1261 Maidstone is given a charter
1500 Maidstone has a population of about 2,000
1549 Maidstone is given a new charter. A grammar school opens.
1563 Maidstone is struck by plague
1580 Manufacturing wool flourishes in Maidstone
1666 Maidstone is struck by plague for the last time.
1680 The wool industry in Maidstone is in decline
1648 During a royalist uprising parliamentary soldiers attack Maidstone
1700 Maidstone has a population of about 4,000
1739 The Medway is deepened upstream of Maidstone
1791 A body of men is formed to pave and clean the streets and light them with oil lamps
1801 Maidstone has a population of about 8,000
1822 Maidstone gains gas light
1858 A museum opens in Maidstone
1879 Brenchley Gardens are made a public park
1901 Maidstone has a population of about 33,000. The first electricity is generated in Maidstone.
1904 Electric trams run in the streets of Maidstone
1910 The first cinema in Maidstone opens
1955 Hazlitt Theatre opens
1976 The Chequers Centre opens
1983 Maidstone General Hospital opens
2005 Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre opened