Aylesford

Aylesford
Medieval bridge over the River Medway at Aylesford
Aylesford
Aylesford shown within Kent
Population	10,660 (2011)
OS grid reference	TQ729589
District	Tonbridge and Malling Maidstone
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	AYLESFORD
Postcode district	ME20
Dialling code	01622

Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
List of places UK England Kent 51°18′17″N 0°28′57″E / 51.304680°N 0.482630°E / 51.304680; 0.482630Coordinates: 51°18′17″N 0°28′57″E / 51.304680°N 0.482630°E / 51.304680; 0.482630

Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, 4 miles NW of Maidstone in England.

Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village shop and other amenities including a hairdresser, estate agent, two restaurants, a chiropodist and a coffee shop are located on the high street. Aylesford's current population is around 5,000.

The Parish of Aylesford covers more than seven square miles, stretching north to Rochester Airport estate and south to Barming, and has a total population of over 10,000 (as of 2011), with the main settlements at Aylesford, Eccles, Blue Bell Hill Village and (part of) Walderslade.

Aylesford Newsprint was a long-established major employer in the area and was the largest paper recycling factory in Europe, manufacturing newsprint for the newspaper industry. In 2015, Aylesford Paper Mill, as it was known by local residents, was closed down and stripped of all its assets. Many local families who had been employed there, sometimes for several generations, were affected.

There has been activity in the area since Neolithic times. There are several chamber tombs north of the village, of which Kit's Coty House, 1.5 miles to the north, is the most famous; all have been damaged by farming. Kit's Coty is the remains of the burial chamber at one end of a long barrow. Just south of this, situated lower down the same hillside, is a similar structure, Little Kits Coty House (also known as the Countless Stones).

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