September 2023

Prestigious Whatman paper and Turkey Mill, where it was made, spread Maidstone’s fame across the world. Perhaps less well known is the role of the Whatman family in the story of Vinters Park.

As local author and historian Robin Ambrose told 30 Friends and guests at Maidstone Museums’ Foundation’s monthly talk on September 7, 2023, the park, now also known for the Maidstone Studios, a crematorium and housing, was home to the Whatmans for nearly 200 years. In the late 1700s, James Whatman, then resident in Turkey Court alongside the mill, bought Vinters Park mansion – built for Roger de Winter in 1343 – and surrounding acres. He hired renowned landscape architect Humphrey Repton to re-design the park. 

Under successive Whatmans, the 600+ acre estate and elegant mansion staged lavish events across the decades until the death of Louisa  – the last Whatman owner –  in 1950. The estate was divided into lots for sale at auction. They included numerous rental properties – some in Weavering Street – and farmland  – now largely covered by the Grove Green housing development. The mansion was gutted by fire and demolished in the mid-1950s.  Walkers and wildlife lovers can still enjoy Vinters Valley Nature Reserve. Even though the Whatmans are no longer at Turkey Mill nor Vinters Park, their pivotal place in Maidstone’s history of paper-making should never be forgotten.