Shepway, Maidstone
Encyclopedia
Shepway is a suburb to the south-east of Maidstone
in Kent
, England
. It lies to the south of Mote Park
, to the east of Loose Road (A229
) and Sutton Road (A274
) and west of Willington Street. The land was formerly farmland and orchards. The suburb takes its name from Shepway Court a country house located where the road of that name is today.
Construction of the suburb started in the 1930s with the building of South Park Road, the western ends of Plains Avenue and Marion Crescent and Cranborne Avenue (originally named Shepway Avenue) and parts of Brockenhurst, Ringwood and Lyndhurst Roads. The majority of the suburb was constructed as a council estate by Maidstone Borough Council
in stages after World War II
. Phases of infill construction continued up to the present. The original grid of roads laid out for the council estate after World War II bear names of traditional English counties (for example Northumberland Road, Cambridge Crescent, Hampshire Drive, Rutland Way and Nottingham Avenue). The estate was originally planned with large areas of open land for recreation, although later building has encroached on some of this space.
During the 1950s and 1960s the lead partner at the estate's medical centre was Dr Alan Barnsley, better known as the award winning novelist and poet Gabriel Fielding
.
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies to the south of Mote Park
Mote Park
Mote Park is a 180 hectare multi-use public park in Maidstone, Kent. Previously a country estate it was converted to landscaped park land at the end of the 18th century before becoming a municipal park. It includes the former stately home Mote House together with a miniature railway, pitch and putt...
, to the east of Loose Road (A229
A229 road
The A229 is a major road running north-south through Kent.The road begins in the Medway town of Rochester at the foot of Star Hill forming a junction with the A2 road. It then climbs up through the built-up area of Chatham, passing Troy Town and Rochester Airport before descending the slope of the...
) and Sutton Road (A274
A274 road
The A274 is a major road running through mid Kent. The northern end of the road is in Maidstone, at the Wheatsheaf public house where it leaves the A229...
) and west of Willington Street. The land was formerly farmland and orchards. The suburb takes its name from Shepway Court a country house located where the road of that name is today.
Construction of the suburb started in the 1930s with the building of South Park Road, the western ends of Plains Avenue and Marion Crescent and Cranborne Avenue (originally named Shepway Avenue) and parts of Brockenhurst, Ringwood and Lyndhurst Roads. The majority of the suburb was constructed as a council estate by Maidstone Borough Council
Maidstone (borough)
Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone which is also the County town of Kent...
in stages after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Phases of infill construction continued up to the present. The original grid of roads laid out for the council estate after World War II bear names of traditional English counties (for example Northumberland Road, Cambridge Crescent, Hampshire Drive, Rutland Way and Nottingham Avenue). The estate was originally planned with large areas of open land for recreation, although later building has encroached on some of this space.
During the 1950s and 1960s the lead partner at the estate's medical centre was Dr Alan Barnsley, better known as the award winning novelist and poet Gabriel Fielding
Gabriel Fielding
Gabriel Fielding , pen name of Alan Gabriel Barnsley, was a British novelist whose works include: In the Time of Greenbloom, The Birthday King, Through Streets Broad and Narrow and The Women of Guinea Lane.-Biography:Fielding's father, George, was an Anglican vicar at Hexham...
.