Kent

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Kent Portal

This article is about the county in England. For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation).

Kent


Geography
Status	Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Region:	South East England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 10th 3,736 km² Ranked 10th 3,544 km²
Admin HQ:	Maidstone
ISO 3166-2:	GB-KEN
ONS code:	29
NUTS 3:	UKJ42
Demographics
Population - Total (2005 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 7th 1,621,000 434 / km² Ranked 1st 1,369,900
Ethnicity:	96.5% White 1.7% S. Asian

Kent is the south easternmost county in England. Its county town is Maidstone and its only city is Canterbury, which is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Situated between the capital and the continent, Kent is a primary trade route and has been in the front line of a number of conflicts. Kent has land borders with East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London, and a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames estuary. Kent also has a nominal border with France halfway along the Channel Tunnel. Its name comes from the Kingdom of Kent.

Kent is sometimes known as the Garden of England because of its agricultural influence, extensive orchards and hop-gardens. The north Kent strip, however, is heavily industrialised. The aircraft industry, farming and printing are among local industries that have been in decline in recent years, while tourism and service industries have grown to take their place.

Famous residents of Kent have included Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin. Sir Winston Churchill's home Chartwell is also in Kent.

1 History
2 Physical geography
3 Government
4 Economy
- 4.1 Industries
5 Cities, towns and villages
6 Education
7 Military Kent
8 Man of Kent or Kentish Man?
9 See also
10 References
- 10.1 Sources
11 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Kent

The area has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Swanscombe attest. During the Neolithic the Medway megaliths were built and there is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman occupation indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley.

The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning a rim or border, being applied as a name to the eastern part of the modern county, and meaning border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar described it as Cantium, home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC.

The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by other Iron Age tribes; the Regnenses and possibly another ethnic group occupying The Weald. East Kent became one of the kingdoms of the Jutes during the fifth century AD (see Kingdom of Kent) and the area was later known as Cantia in about 730 and Cent in 835. The early Mediaeval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara or Kent people, whose capital was Canterbury.

Canterbury is the religious centre of the Anglican faith, and see of St Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine is traditionally credited with bringing Christianity to the county and thus to England in 597.

Following the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta meaning undefeated and claiming that they had frightened the Normans away, as the Normans merely used Kent to reach London. Once London was reached, the Normans ignored most of East Kent, due to the peasants attacking them at every turn. As a result, Kent became a semi-autonomous County Palatine under William's half-brother Odo of Bayeux, with the special powers otherwise reserved for counties bordering Wales and Scotland.

During the medieval and early modern period, Kent produced several of England's most notable rebellions. Kent provided the main force, led by Wat Tyler, for the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, as well as producing Jack Cade's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1553 against Mary I.

Canterbury became a great pilgrimage site following the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Canterbury's religious role also gave rise to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the rise of the written English language and ostensibly set in the countryside of Kent.

By the 17th century, tensions between Britain and the continental powers of the Netherlands and France led to increasing military build-up in the county. Forts were built all along the coast following a daring raid by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667.

The county emblem of Kent

In the 1800s smugglers were very active on the Kent coastline, with gangs, such as The Aldington Gang bringing spirits, tobacco and salt to Kent, taking goods like wool across the English Channel to France.

During World War II the airfields in Kent played a vital part in the Battle of Britain while civilian settlements were often bombed.

Kent's borders have changed over the years. In 1881 the County of London was created and the townships of Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich, Lee, Eltham, Charlton, Kidbrooke and Lewisham were transfered out of Kent. Similarly in 1965 the London Borough of Bromley, and London Borough of Bexley were created out of nine kentish townships, but inhabitants still refer to the areas as Bromley or Bexley in Kent. ^[1]

In 1988 Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway, but remain in the ceremonial county of Kent.

The two cities in Kent were Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Rochester, the seat of the Bishop of Rochester. However, since 1998 when local government was reorganised, Rochester lost its official city status through an administrative oversight; attempts are now being made to regain it.

Although the Victoria County History for Kent is limited, an extensive survey of the county was undertaken over a 50-year period by Edward Hasted between 1755-1805. William Lambarde was an even earlier writer, in the 16th century.

[edit] Physical geography

Kent viewed from a NASA satellite September 2005

Kent is the south easternmost county in England. It is bounded on the north by the River Thames and the North Sea, and on the south by the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. The continent of Europe is a mere 21 miles across the Strait. The major geographical features of the county are determined by a series of ridges running from west to east across the county. These ridges are the remains of the Wealden dome, which was the result of uplifting caused by the Alpine movements between 10-20 million years ago.

Erosion has resulted in these ridges and the valleys between. From the north they are: the marshlands along the Thames/Medway estuaries and along the North Kent coast; the chalk North Downs reaching heights of around 600ft; the sandstone and clay valley containing the River Medway and its tributaries; the Greensand ridge; the Wealden clay valley and finally the sandstone High Weald.

The highest point of the county is Betsom's Hill north of Westerham (grid reference TQ435563 ), at 251m/823ft.

Probably the most significant geographical feature of Kent is the White cliffs of Dover. It is here that the North Downs reaches the sea. From there to Westerham is now the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Weald derives its ancient name from the Germanic word wald meaning simply woodland. Much of the area remains today densely wooded; where there are also heavy clays the tracks through are nearly impassable for much of the year.

Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near Edenbridge and flows some 25 miles (40km) eastwards to a point near Maidstone when it turns north. Here it breaks through the North Downs at Rochester before joining the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness. The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge. There are other rivers in Kent.

[edit] Government

The county is governed by Kent County Council which comprises 12 district councils, one unitary authority (Medway Council) and around 300 town and parish councils. It has its headquarters in Maidstone.

[edit] Economy

The following chart shows the trend of the economic indicator gross value added (GVA) at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. ^[2]

Year	Regional GVA^[A]	Agriculture		Industry^[B]		Services^[C]
County of Kent (excluding Medway)
1995	12,369	379	3.1%	3,886	31.4%	8,104	65.5%
2000	15,259	259	1.7%	4,601	30.2%	10,399	68.1%
2003	18,126	287	1.6%	5,057	27.9%	12,783	70.5%
Medway
1995	1,823	21	3.1%	560	31.4%	1,243	68.2%
2000	2,348	8	1.7%	745	30.2%	1,595	67.9%
2003	2,671	10	1.6%	802	27.9%	1,859	69.6%

^A Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

^B includes energy and construction

^C includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

The table shows a significant drop in agriculture between 1995 and 2000. Industry and services are increasing their contribution to the area, services at a higher rate.

[edit] Industries

In medieval times the Weald was of national importance for two industries: the iron industry and cloth-making.

Kent is sometimes known as the Garden of England because of its agricultural influence, extensive orchards and hop-gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oast houses are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer London, market gardens also flourish.

In more recent times, three industries have been of some importance: paper-making, cement-making and coal-mining:

North Kent is heavily indistrialised with industries such as the cement industry at Northfleet and Cuxton, brickmaking at Sittingbourne, shipbuilding on the Medway and Swale, aircraft design and construction and engineering at Rochester, chemicals and papermaking at Dartford, and oil refining at Grain.^[1]

The hop - used in making beer - is a traditional crop, with hop drying oast houses dotting the landscape. The East Kent coalfield was mined in the 20th century, and there are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness, although the older one (built 1965) was closed at the very end of 2006.^[3]

Paper needs a supply of the right kind of water: in Kent the original mills stood on streams like the River Darent, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the Great Stour. Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames; and at Kemsley on The Swale.
Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were being undertaken. The ready supply of chalk available, and huge pits between Stone and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway.
Coal was mined in East Kent: from about 1900 several pits were operating, and Snowdown Colliery was opened in 1908. The coalfield is now closed.

[edit] Cities, towns and villages

Kent has many large towns including Ashford, Chatham, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone, Gillingham, Gravesend, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Sevenoaks, Sittingbourne, Tonbridge, and Royal Tunbridge Wells, and two cities, Canterbury and Rochester.

The district of Thanet has been regarded as one of the most disadvantaged areas in the south-east of England, whilst Kent's ports, Dover, Folkestone, Ramsgate and the Channel Tunnel, provide a lot of income to the county, and the two motorways provide links with the European continent and the remainder of the Great Britain. There are airports at Manston and smaller airfields at Headcorn, Lydd and Rochester.

For other settlements see:

[edit] Education

Whereas much of the UK adopted a comprehensive education system in the 1970s, Kent County Council (and Medway Unitary Authority) are among around 40 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) still providing selective education through the eleven-plus, High Schools and Grammar Schools. Together, the two Kent LEAs have 38 of the 164 Grammar Schools remaining in the UK.

KCC is the largest LEA in the UK, providing school places for over 289,000 pupils.

Schools in Kent (data from 2000) ^[4]
LEA	Nursery	Primary	Secondary (High)	Secondary (Grammar)	Special	Pupil Referral Units	Independent	City Technology College	Total
KCC	1	475	74	32	34	11	83	1	711
Medway	0	89	14	6	3	1	7	0	120

From the 2005-06 school year, KCC and Medway introduced the standardised school year, based on six terms, as recommended by the Local Government Association following its 2000 report – The rhythms of schooling – and its key recommendation that the six-term pattern would better meet the learning needs of children in the 21st century. ^[5]

[edit] Military Kent

Kent, strategically placed as it is between the capital and the continent, as well as being a primary trade route, has been in the front line of a number of conflicts, and there are many signs of fortifications through the ages, including prehistoric earthworks at Oldbury, Richborough from the Roman Invasion, through the tudor cinque ports, the Royal Military Canal and Martello towers of the Napoleonic Wars, the First and Second World War, and more recently the Cold War.

Much of the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over the county, and between June 1944 and March 1945, over 10,000 V1 flying bombs, or Doodlebugs were fired on London from bases in Northern France. Many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns or barrage balloons, but around 2500 fell on the capital - but almost the same number fell in Kent, and the area became known as Doodlebug Alley.

Kent also played a significant role in the Civil War around 1648.

For over 400 years, from the mid 16th Century, The Royal Dockyards at Chatham produced many ships of the line for the Royal Navy. The keel for HMS Victory was laid at Chatham on 23 July 1759.

As well as numerous fortified manor houses, Kent has a number of traditional militarily significant castles, including those at Allington, Chilham, Dover, Hever, Leeds, Rochester and Walmer, built to protect the coast, the River Medway or routes into London.

As an indication of the area's military importance, the first Ordnance Survey map ever drawn was the 1 inch map of Kent, published in 1801. Work on the map started in 1795. ^[6]

[edit] Man of Kent or Kentish Man?

Canterbury is in East Kent.

Kent is traditionally divided into West Kent and East Kent by the River Medway. This division into east and west is also reflected in the term 'Men of Kent' for residents east of the Medway; those from west are known as 'Kentish Men'. The female equivalents are 'Maid of Kent' and 'Kentish Maid'.

However, further investigation shows that the division is not the Medway, but further east in Gillingham. Edward Hasted, in his 1798 description of Rainham, writes: "The whole of this parish is in the division of East Kent which begins here, the adjoining parish of Gillingham, westward, being wholly in that of West Kent."

The division, according to one historian, Freddie Cooper, a former Mayor of Gillingham, remained until 1 April 1929 when Rainham was transferred, despite protest, from the administration of Milton Rural District Council to that of Gillingham.

Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a Tyke from Yorkshire and a Yellowbelly from Lincolnshire; the traditional nickname for people from Kent is 'Kentish Long-Tail', deriving from the long-held belief on the continental mainland of Medieval Europe that the English had tails.

[edit] See also

List of tourist attractions in Kent
Recreational walks in Kent
Thames Gateway - includes details of regeneration projects in the northern areas of Kent

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Kent History Illustrated, Frank W. Jessup 1966
^ Office for National Statistics - Regional Gross Value Added (pp.248)
^ BBC News report on the closure of Dungeness Power Station
^ http://www.dfes.gov.uk
^ http://www.kent.gov.uk
^ Richard Oliver: Ordnance Survey maps: a concise guide for historians published by OS, 2nd Ed 1995, ISBN 1 870598 24 5

[edit] Sources

Ashbee, Paul: Kent in prehistoric times, Stroud : Tempus 2005
Glover, J., Place names of Kent.
Freddie Cooper, personal research
Men of Kent: Sorry ... but we’re joining a new tribe, by Stephen Rayner, Memories page, Medway News, October 2004