Venue Type & Location
Town Hall
Site Name: Town Hall
Location: Maidstone
County: Kent
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location
Overview
Little is known about the 16th c. Town Hall, located on the upper end of High Street, above the Lower Court House where sessions court, assizes and civic meetings were held (Newton, Antiquities of Maidstone 113).
Performance History
As the seat of civic government and centre for festive occasions, Maidstone's Town Hall was probably the venue for most performances by touring entertainers before the mayor and city officials between 1568 and 1614, the period during which relevant payments were recorded.
Current Status
Demolished.
History of the Venue
16th c. Lower Court House and Town Hall built, presumably some time after incorporation of the borough in 1549.
1762--3 Lower Court House demolished and a new town hall built on the same site.
Record Source
REED Kent: Diocese of Canterbury 2.715--25
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Baverstock, J.H. Some Account of Maidstone, in Kent. London: J.B. Nichols and Son, and T. Rodd, 1832
- Brayley, E.W. The Beauties of England and Wales; or Delineations, topographical, historical and descriptive of each county. 18 vols. London: Vernor and Hood, 1801--16
- Clark, Peter and Lyn Murfin. The History of Maidstone: The Making of a Modern County Town. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1995
- Newman, John, and Nikolaus Pevsner. West Kent and the Weald. Harmondsworth and Baltimore: Penguin, 1976
- Newton, William. The History and Antiquities of Maidstone, The County-Town of Kent. London: The Author, 1741