The 28-acre site that constitutes Kent Life has evolved through the years from the historic Sandling Farm, an area that formed part of the wider Allington Castle estate in the mid 16th century, stretching some 461 acres, and owned by Thomas Wyatt.
In 1964, the estate was bequeathed to the people of Maidstone by the then owner. By 1983 a joint project between Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council had created ‘The Museum of Kent Life’ (as it was formerly known) on the site of the old Sandling Farm, and it was officially opened to the public on July 6th 1985. Thus, the Museum of Kent Life was set up as a working heritage farm on which to tell the story of everything once Kentish.
