Northwest of Maidstone nestled underneath the southerly tip of the Medway Towns conurbation, sits the village and civil parish of Aylesford, Kent. With a history of settlement stretching back thousands of years, medieval architecture, and the nearby Kentish North Downs - Aylesford has long remained an ideal home for those looking for space and picturesque idyllic beauty. Although maintaining its historic centre littered with medieval architecture - Aylesford has been consistently developing both sides of the River Medway, bleeding into the nearby New Hythe and Ditton. The built environment is therefore diverse - filled with grand country homes and contemporary suburban new builds!

It’s thought that Aylesford’s history goes back thousands of years to the Neolithic era! This is mainly evidenced by the nearby Kit’s Coty. Kit’s Coty are two Neolithic barrows - a funeary monuments - dated from 3000 to 4000 BC, over 6,000 years ago! These barrows represent the first social farming communities in the area, highlighting human occupation in Aylesford for thousands of years. This is also highlighted with the 19th century excavations of the area, that uncovered Iron Age burial monuments dating to 75 BC. For a small settlement nestled underneath the River Medway, Aylesford has some very important history. Aylesford was the site of the first defeat suffered by the Britons to the Saxons in 455 AD, which helped the Saxons to conquer the rest of Britain! It was then also the site that William the Conquerer took for himself following the Norman Conquest.

Aylesford’s manorial history continued throughout the centuries, culminating in the 18th century construction of Preston Hall. This Palladian mansion house was completed in the early 19th century, encompassing Tudor revivalism, unique Georgian architecture and glorious unique gardens. Although this impressive manor house has long been regarded a gem of Aylesford, the essential architecture critic Nikolaus Pesvner once famously remarked that it was, ‘hard to love’.

Although situated close to the Medway Towns, Aylesford is actually part of the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC). The TMBC is currently still producing its local plan for the next phase of the borough’s cycle and therefore it is hard to predict what potential development could be due for the Aylesford locale. However, recent large-scale housing developments have reached Aylesford, such as the 44 3 and 4 bed home development known as The Poppies. So, there is definitely room for infrastructural and domestic development within the Aylesford locale!