Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane and The Green which includes The Street. The village is on the north bank of the River Len, a tributary of the River Medway at the foot of the North Downs. A stream, the Lilk, flows south into the river Len through Bearsted. Although part of the growing conurbation of Maidstone, the centre of Bearsted retains a traditional village look with 59 listed properties, many surrounding the village green, flanked by two pubs. The parish of Bearsted has a population of 8010 (2001 figure) and is broadly divided into two areas of development. The traditional village of Bearsted with modern development around its conservation areas lies north of the A20 Ashford Road and the Madginford neighbourhood, largely constructed in the 1960s, lies south of the Ashford Road. The area includes a small supermarket and shopping centre, a park and ride facility and primary school. The parish also incorporates part of tudor Mote Park on its western boundary. Parts of Madginford were formerly part of the parish of Otham but to avoid division have been appropriated as part of Bearsted. Transport The village is connected by: Road: the A20 (London to Dover) trunk road passes through the village and junction 7 on the M20 motorway is 1.5 miles (2.5 km) north-west. Rail: Bearsted railway station on the Maidstone Line opened with the rail line on 1 July 1884. The station was originally named Bearsted and Thurnham. Footpaths: both the ancient Pilgrims' Way and the modern North Downs Way run along the North Downs north of Bearsted. Governance Bearsted in elections every four years elects one representative to Kent County Council; this is currently: Bearsted elects three representatives to Maidstone Borough Council; they are currently: The parish council has 15 elected councillors with published monthly meeting dates at Madginford Hall, Egremont Road, Bearsted, Maidstone ME15 8LH or St Peter's Church Hall, Button Lane. Sometimes the finance and the planning committee meet at King George V Memorial Hall. In 2011 the parish council was elected, with elections every four years. History Holy Cross Church is located on Church Lane to the south of the green. A fair used to be held here on Holy Cross Day, an ancient festival