Kent
County of southeast England, known as the `garden of Englandī, which
has contained the new unitary authority Medway Towns since April
1998
Area:
3,730 sq km/1,440 sq mi
Towns and Cities:
Maidstone (administrative headquarters), Ashford, Canterbury, Deal,
Dover (ferry terminus), Gravesend, Hythe, New Ash Green (a new
town), Sevenoaks, Royal Tunbridge Wells; resorts: Folkestone,
Margate, Ramsgate
Physical:
The North Downs; White Cliffs of Dover; rivers: Thames, Darent, Medway
(traditionally, a ` man of Kentī comes from east of the Medway
and a `Kentish manī from west Kent), Stour; marshes (especially
Romney Marsh); the Isles of Grain, Thanet and Sheppey (on which
is the resort of Sheerness, formerly a royal dockyard); the Weald
(an agricultural area); Dungeness (peninsula and headland)
Features:
Leeds Castle (converted to a palace by Henry VIII); Ightham Mote; Hever
Castle (where Henry VIII courted Anne Boleyn); Chartwell (Churchill's
country home), Knole, Sissinghurst Castle and gardens; the Brogdale
Experimental Horticulture Station at Faversham has the world's
finest collection of apple and other fruit trees; the former RAF
Manston became Kent International Airport 1989; Dungeness nuclear
power station
Agriculture:
Cereals, hops, apples, soft fruit, vegetables; in Kent are found about
half the orchards, half the hops, and one fifth of the soft fruit
grown in England and Wales; livestock production
Industries:
Cement (Gravesend), paper, oil refining, shipbuilding, tourism. The
East Kent coalfield ceased production in 1989.
Population:
(1994) 1,551,300
History:
St Thomas ā Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral, and his shrine
became a place of pilgrimage until the Reformation.
Famous People:
Christopher Marlowe, Edward Heath
Historical Events
Kent's proximity to the continent and to London has meant that many
historically important events have taken place in the county.
It was on the coast of Kent that Caesar landed in 55 BC; to which
Hengist and Horsa brought their Saxon mercenaries; and to which
St Augustine led his followers. The Archbishop of Canterbury traces
his descent as Primate of all England from St Augustine. Canterbury
is of great antiquity and evidence has been found here for continuity
of settlement from Roman to Jute and Frankish times. The influences
of these groups reflected in Kent's language, custom, and settlement
pattern, which contrast with those of the more predominantly Saxon
Surrey and Sussex. Parts of Kent are open countryside, which could
easily be invaded, and the former Royal Military Canal was cut
across Romney Marsh as a defence against Napoleon.
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