Maidstone manufacturing history

 A market town and the county town of Kent, the 'Garden of England', Maidstone was home to manufacturers exploiting local produce. Kent is known for hops and so breweries flourished. The county is also known for its fruit and so Grants Cherry Brandy but also jam and confectionary makers most notably Sharp's Toffee. Sharps were bought by Trebor which had started out in South London, set up a factory in Chesterfield to escape enemy bombing during the Second World War and became the fourth largest confectionary manufacturer with main competitors Cadbury and Rowntree. Cadbury bought the expanded Trebor in 1989 and the Maidstone factory closed in 2000. The Maidstone factory was known as the Kreemy Works, the largest toffee factory in the world.

It is a town on the Medway and so had a plentiful supply of water for paper making both for specialist uses and newsprint. Hayle Mill made the renowned Bockingford water colour paper.

It is not far from London and so took on a role in support of the metropolis in terms of homes for commuters but also manufacturers to support the London infrastructure. WA Stevens experimented converting a motor car to electric power. In conjunction with London bus company Tilling this developed a drive system whereby a petrol engine powered an electric motor which in turn drove the front wheels of a bus. For a bus driver this held the advantage over a crash gearbox before synchromesh was invented. London bus operator Thomas Tilling bought Stevens in 1910 and the invention was exploited to good effect. However, experience in the First World War taught an increasing number of drivers how to manage a crash gearbox and so the Tilling-Stevens option lost some of its attraction.

In the interwar period the motor car was gaining popularity and the Maidstone based Rootes company had built an astonishing position as the top motor retailer in Britain. They already provided service and repair back up for their sales but expanded this by building charabancs on Tilling-Stevens chassis. As I wrote in How Britain Shaped the Manufacturing World, Rootes explored manufacturing options elsewhere including the Humber company as shown in the image, but also bought Tilling-Stevens in 1950.

In nearby Harrietsham, Marley Concrete roofing tiles were introduced after the First World War when building materials were in short supply. Owen Aisher was building bungalows in Kent, but found he was being held up by supply shortages. He took the initiative and began using an adapted second-hand machine to produce concrete roof tiles. The availability of cement further up the Medway clearly made this cost effective. Manufacturing techniques developed, and a number of factories were built around the country to improve access to customers. By the time of the Second World War, Marley was producing two hundred million tiles a year. In the fifties, demand continued to grow, manufacturing techniques were further developed, and more factories built. Marley added floor tiles, including those made from vinyl to their range. Later, they produced whole roofing systems and more recently integrated solar panels. In 2022, the business was sold with roofing being bought by Marshalls plc.

Further reading:

Peter Clark and Lyn Murfin, The History of Maidstone (Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1995)