Battle of Maidstone Site (1648)

The streets of Maidstone's old town were the site of some of the most intense urban fighting of the English Civil War, when Parliamentary forces under General Fairfax stormed the town in June 1648 and defeated a large Royalist force in house-to-house fighting. The battle lasted through the night and left the town significantly damaged.

Walking through the medieval town centre today — All Saints' Church, the High Street, the riverside — you are essentially tracing the ground where this fought-out. There are no dedicated battlefield interpretation markers, but the heritage trail boards scattered around the town centre reference the Civil War events. The Town Hall and the church were both significant points in the fighting. For those with a specific interest in the period, the Kent History and Library Centre holds primary sources on the battle.

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A story
The Battle of Maidstone in June 1648 was one of the decisive engagements of the Second English Civil War. A Royalist force of around 11,000 men had assembled in Kent and seized Maidstone; Parliamentary troops under General Fairfax attacked in the evening and fought through the night, street by street, until they took the town. The defeat effectively ended Royalist resistance in the south of England and helped seal Charles I's fate — he was executed eight months later.