Located directly west of Maidstone, wedged between West Malling, sits the civil parish and district of Barming, in Kent. Barming’s history is long, storied, and curious - with much of its origins shrouded in mystery and lost to time. Contemporarily; Barming is commonly thought of as a suburb of Maidstone - owing to its proximity to the town centre. However Barming has its own self-sufficient ecosystem, with a high-street, shops, leisure activities, and a rail station! Owing to its peripheral location to Maidstone, properties in the Barming locale are often large country manors with significant acerages, with prices ranging up to £1 million!

The origins of the name ‘Barming’, are uncertain and still debated by historians and etymologists! The name has had several spellings over the centuries and has been recorded in wildly different ways, from Barmelinges, Baringjet, Paringet, Barmingjet (found in the Registrum Roffense), Bearmlingetes in the 12th century Textus Roffensis, and Bernielinge in the Domesday Book. Despite this mysterious name and multiple spellings, however, from as early as the 1086 Domesday Book Barming had been demarcated into east and west - separating the two areas by name. This separation is still felt in Barming’s roots today; at the eastern edge which sits on the contiguous border of Maidstone being much more developed, to the western edge which remains much more ruralised.

An apocryphal tale of Barming places the origins of the British slang word ‘Barmy’, at the site of Barming - owing to the fact that Kent’s psychiatric hospital was once centred in Barming. This is most certainly false but given the mysterious origins of the Barming name itself - it is interesting to think it might be true!

Barming is separated into east and west, developed and rural respectively. Therefore, the western edge of Barming maintains its rural character, therefore development in the area is often slow and stagnant. Over the last few centuries, owing especially to the rail station and its proximity to Maidstone - there has been incremental pressure to develop Barming even more. In Maidstone Borough Council’s 2017 adopted local plan - the council specifically allocated that 187 new dwellings be constructed off Oakapple Lane in Barming, highlighting the ongoing need for development in the area!