Tovil is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Borough of Maidstone

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...

 in the South East 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 is a mixture of residential and industrial zoning, with an increase in commercial usage towards the centre of Maidstone, and more arable use on the outskirts.

Tovil has a history of paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...

s on the Loose Stream near the River Medway

River Medway

The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....

, which ceased operation in the 1980s. These included Great Ivy Mill, Hayle Mill, Upper Tovil Mill, Lower Tovil Mill and Bridge Mill. These and other mills located along the Loose Stream which flows through Tovil were formerly used for fulling, corn and in one case gunpowder. Alabaster Passmore had an important printing works in Tovil and there were other small industries and a railway siding. Many of the industrial units have since been replaced by housing.

One notable local business is loudspeaker manufacturer KEF

KEF

KEF is a British-based loudspeaker manufacturer with international distribution.It was founded in Tovil, Maidstone, Kent in 1961 by electrical engineer Raymond Cooke and named after Kent Engineering & Foundry which previously occupied the site....

, which is based on Eccleston Road in Tovil. Goachers

Goachers Brewery

Goachers Brewery is an independent brewery based in Maidstone, England. The brewery supplies a number of public houses across Kent. It is a traditional brewery that only uses malt and Kentish hops for all of its beers.-History:...

 microbrewery

Microbrewery

A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....

 is also based there.

The church of St Stephen was built in around 1840. The architect was John Whichcord Snr

John Whichcord Snr

John Whichcord Snr was a British architect who worked in Maidstone, Kent and designed many public and institutional buildings in the town.-Life:Whichcord, the son of a surveyor, was born in Devizes, Wiltshire...

. It is built of ragstone ashlar in the Early English style.