Post by les on Mar 3, 2024 4:20:55 GMT -5
Maidstone in Kent always offered a wide variety of jobs.
The mills, which I include paper mills a huge source of work and most kids had an ample supply of paper even if we were deprived of other luxuries.
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The gasworks employing many men on the north side of the Medway. The site consisted of huge gas containers and a whole army of vans, lorries and workers; the gas containers where seen from most parts of the town.
The breweries, and there were many of them, spread on both sides of the Medway and again a huge source of work.
Stile and whinch taken over by Courage, Masons taken over by Shepherd and Neame amd Fremlins taken over by Whitebread
The Maidstone Generating station on the Medway but this time on the south side. opened January 1901 14 February Maidstone created a record among towns of a similar size for obtaining more than 200 customers and 223kilowatts
There were 2 generators.one suplied the Trams/Trolley buses
Tilling and Stevens were making diesel engines as fast as they could for a market that never seemed to dry up. I just remember the lunch time hooter blowing and hundreds of workers making their way home on push bikes along St. Peters Street.
Tillings and Stevens started where Tillings made Lorry's and buses and Stevens made electric gear boxes which a lot of drives liked as sichomesh had not been invented.They join togeter to form Tilling Stevens.Taken over by Chrysler .they also recondishend engines .an on th top floor made central heating units
Nursing jobs amply supplied not only from the West Kent hospital but from Barming mental hospital and Preston Hall.
Farming although I cannot pretend inside Maidstone, nevertheless surrounded the town and only the brave would venture outside the centre if they suffered from hay fever.
The main crop was Hops and Apples ,Hop picking was at the end of the school summer holiday's and a lot of Londoner's would come down and stay in hoppers huts.about the size of a small shed.
We had a thriving centre of sweet making from Sharps "The word for toffee".
We had Grants making cherry brandy on the north side of the river. 1835-1971 taken over by Gordens now made at the Shepherd and Neames brewery