Detling
West Court Oast
Detling Location within Kent
Population	796 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ7958
Civil parish	Detling
District	Maidstone
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAIDSTONE
Postcode district	ME14
Dialling code	01622
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Faversham and Mid Kent
List of places UK England Kent 51°17′46″N 0°34′16″E / 51.296°N 0.571°E / 51.296; 0.571

Detling is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the slope of the North Downs, 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Maidstone, and on the Pilgrims' Way.

History and features

The Cock Horse Inn was used to stable additional horses when required to take heavily laden coaches and wagons on the steep route up Detling Hill. The village is now bypassed by the A249 road, which opened in 1962.^[2] Jade's Crossing, a footbridge to the west of the village, opened in 2002 after a local resident, Jade Hobbs, was killed trying to cross the road.^[3]

The Grade I listed village church is dedicated to Martin of Tours.^[4]

The former airfield at the top of the hill was a Royal Navy Air Station during World War One, and an RAF station during World War Two.^[5] It was bombed by the Luftwaffe several times, with considerable loss of life. Its original area has been divided with some of the original hardstandings being used in a light industrial units area, part of the airfield is now farm land, and a significant part used by the Kent Showground – which hosts a number of annual events, such as the Kent County Show and the Detling Summer Conference, an event for evangelical Christians. A memorial in Detling Village commemorates the service personnel from the airfield. See RAF Detling for more details.

The village is also home to a Tudor gateway that has stood since the time of Henry VIII.

Detling Cricket Club have a ground on the Pilgrims' Way. They play on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer and hold practice sessions on Tuesday evenings. The team plays in the Kent Village League.