Kent

Kent is a in southeast. It borders, and  and has a defined boundary with  in the middle of the. The of Kent include the  and the  of. Kent has a nominal border with halfway through the. is its and historically  and  have been accorded  though only the latter still holds it.

Kent's location between London and the has led to its being a front line of several conflicts, including the  during. East Kent was named Hell Fire Corner during the conflict. England has relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of the past 800 years; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance to the country's security. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from the iconic White Cliffs of

Because of its abundance of orchards and gardens, Kent is widely known as "The Garden of England" - an epithet often applied when marketing the county or its produce, although other regions have tried to lay claim to the title.

Major industries in the north-west of Kent have included, , and , but these are now in decline.South and East Kent rely on tourism and agriculture.

History


The area has been occupied since the era, as attested by finds from the quarries at. The were built during the  era. There is a rich sequence of, , and era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the  and the Roman villas of the.

The modern name of Kent is derived from the word Cantus meaning "rim" or "border". This describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. had described the area as Cantium, or home of the in 51 BC.

The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the. It is possible that another ethnic group occupied and East Kent. East Kent became a kingdom of the during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730 and as Cent in 835. The early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital.

In 597, appointed  as the first. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the King  to Christianity. The became Britain's first  and has since remained Britain's centre of Christianity.

In the early 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto , meaning "undefeated". This naming followed the invasion of Britain by. The Kent people's continued resistance against the led to Kent's designation as a semi-autonomous  in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William's half-brother, the county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering and. During the medieval and early modern period, Kent played a major role in several of England's most notable rebellions, including the of 1381, led by , 's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Rebellion of 1553 against Queen.

The first used the  in 1547. By the reign of (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at. By 1618, storehouses, a, a , and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham.

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

The 18th century was dominated by wars with France, during which the Medway became the primary base for a fleet that could act along the Dutch and French coasts. When the theatre of operation moved to the, this role was assumed by and , with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. As an indication of the area's military importance, the first map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801. Many of the naval buildings during this time still stand.

In the early 1800s, were very active on the Kent coastline. Gangs such as brought spirits, tobacco and salt to the county, and transported goods such as wool across the sea to France.

In 1881, the was created and the townships of, , , , , ,  and  were transferred out of Kent.

During World War II, much of the was fought in the skies over the county. Between June 1944 and March 1945, over 10,000 s, known as "Doodlebugs", were fired on London from bases in Northern France. Many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, and s, yet both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs.

After the war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965 the London boroughs of and  were created from nine towns formerly in Kent. In 1998, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and left the administrative county of Kent to form the  of. They have, however, remained in the ceremonial county of Kent. During this reorganisation, through an administrative oversight, the city of Rochester lost its official.

Physical geography


Kent is the at the southeastern end of England. It borders the and the  to the north,  and the  and the  to the south. France is 21 mi across the Strait.

The major geographical features of the county are determined by a series of ridges and valleys running east-west across the county. These are the results of to the en dome, a dome across Kent and  created by  movements 10–20 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of above subsequent layers of upper, upper , lower greensand, lower clay, and. The ridges and valleys formed as the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or red sandstone.

,, , and are built on greensand, while  and  are built on red sandstone. ,, the Medway towns, , , , , and are built on chalk. The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by the sea, and cliffs such as the are present where a chalk ridge known as the  meets the coast. Spanning Dover and is the.

The Wealden dome is a structure lying on a  foundation, which usually creates the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The s within the Westphalian Sandstone are deep (below 244 m – 396 m) and subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel where similar coalfields are located.

Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the s were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the. In 1776, 1950, and on  there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The caused physical damage in Folkestone.

The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to and. Until about 960, the was an island, separated by the, formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with. Similarly Romney Marsh and Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.

Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near and flows some 25 mi eastwards to a point near. Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the River Thames as its final tributary near. The river is tidal as far as lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as. The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the. Other include the  in the east.

Demographics
As of the, Kent, including Medway, had 1,579,206 residents and 646,308 households, of which 1,329,718 residents and 546,742 households were within the administrative boundaries. Of those households, 48.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% were couples and 8.7% were lone parents; 28.0% of households consisted of individuals, 14.6% had someone of able age living alone, and 30.4% included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males.

The ethnicity of the Kent was 96.5% White, 0.9% mixed race, 0.3% Chinese, 1.7% other Asian and 0.4% Black. The place of birth for residents was 94.2% United Kingdom, 0.7% Republic of Ireland, 0.5% Germany, 0.9% other countries, 0.3%, 0.8% Africa, 0.6% , 0.9% , 0.2% , 0.4% North America, 0.1% South America and 0.3%. Religion was recorded as 74.6%, 0.7% , 0.6% , 0.4% , 0.2% and 0.1% ish, while 15.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion, and 7.8% did not state their religion.

Government
(KCC) and its 12 s administer most of the county (3352 km²), while the  administers the more densely populated remainder (192 km²). Together they have around 300 and s. Kent County Council's headquarters are in, while Medway's offices are in  and.

As of the, Kent County Council was controlled by the ; 57 of the Council's 84 seats were held by the Conservatives, 21 by the , 6 by the and 1 by an Independent. As of the, Medway Council was controlled by the Conservatives; 33 of the Council's 55 seats were held by the Conservatives, 13 by the Labour Party, 8 by the and 1 by an Independent. . All of Kent's district councils were controlled by the Conservatives except for, which was in.

At the national level, Kent is represented in by 17 MPs, 10 of whom are Conservative and 7 are Labour. Kent is in the constituency of, which elects ten.

Economy
As of the, employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had a qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide.

The average hours worked per week by residents of Kent were 43.1 for males and 30.9 for females. Their industry of employment was 17.3% retail, 12.4% manufacturing, 11.8% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 8.9% construction, 8.2% transport and communications, 7.9% education, 6.0% public administration and defence, 5.6% finance, 4.8% other community and personal service activities, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 1.6% agriculture, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.2% mining, and 0.1% private households. This is higher than the whole of England for construction and transport/communications, and lower for manufacturing.

Kent is sometimes known as the "Garden of England" for its abundance of orchards and gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called s are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish.

However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilization of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator (GVA) between 1995 and 2000 (figures are in millions of British Pounds Sterling).


 * Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
 * includes energy and construction
 * includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

North Kent is heavily industrialised with -making at and,  at Sittingbourne,  on the Medway and ,  and  and construction at Rochester,  at Dartford and  at , and  at. There are two at, although the older one, built in 1965, was closed at the end of 2006.

Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during the 19th and 20th century. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between and  bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around on the tidal Medway.

Kent's original s stood on streams like the, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the. Two 18th century mills were on the and at  on the River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at on The Swale.

From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The was mined during the 20th century at several collieries, including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.

Arts
Kent has provided inspiration for several notable writers and artists. Canterbury's religious role gave rise to 's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the English language. The father of novelist worked at the Chatham Dockyard; in many of his books, the celebrated novelist featured the scenery of Chatham, Rochester, and the  marshes. The landscape painter spent part of his childhood in the town of  in East Kent, and regularly returned to visit it throughout his life. The East Kent coast inspired many of his works, including some of his most famous seascapes. During the late 1930s, -awarded novelist worked as a teacher at, where he met his future wife Ann Brookfield.

Roads
With the Roman invasion, a road network was constructed to connect London to the Channel ports of Dover, Lympne and Richborough. The London–Dover road was. These roads are now approximately the A2, B2068, A257, and the A28. The runs through Dartford (A207), Gravesend, Rochester, Canterbury and Dover; the A20 through Eltham, Wrotham, Maidstone, Charing, Ashford. Hythe, Folkestone and Dover; the through Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and on to Hastings in East Sussex. In the 1960s, two motorways were built; the from Medway to Faversham, and the  from Swanley to Folkestone. Part of the runs through Kent, from Westerham to the. The Dartford tunnel has been joined by the, together providing four lanes in each direction. The, built in 1980, provides a short link between the M25 at and the M20 near.

Water
The medieval, except for Dover, have all now silted up. The Medway Estuary has been an important port and naval base for 500 years. The River Medway is tidal up to and navigable up to Tonbridge. Kent's two canals are the Royal Military Canal between Hythe and Rye, which still exists, and the Thames and Medway Canal between Strood and Gravesend. Built in 1824, it was purchased in 1846 by the railways, which partially backfilled it. A container port is located at.

Railways
The earliest locomotive-driven passenger-carrying railway in Britain was the which opened in 1830. This and the later merged into  (SER). By the 1850s, SER's networks had expanded to Ashford, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, and the Medway towns. SER's major London termini were, , and. Kent also had a second major railway, the (LCDR). Originally the in 1858, it linked the northeast Kent coast with London terminals at  and.

The two companies merged in 1899, forming the (SECR). In the aftermath of World War I, the government's grouped railway companies together; the SECR joined neighbouring  (LBSCR) and  (LSWR) to form the. Britain's railways were nationalised in 1948, forming. The railways were privatised in 1996 and most Kent passenger services were d to. Following financial difficulties, Connex lost the franchise and was replaced by.

The was completed in 1994 and connects to  by a  via. In November 2007, the London terminus moved from Waterloo to, and a new station, ,  opened between  and , serving northern Kent. .The high speed lines will be utilised to provide a faster train service to coastal towns like and.

In addition to the "mainline" railways, there are several light, heritage, and industrial railways in Kent. There are three heritage, standard gauge railways; near Tunbridge Wells on the old Tunbridge Wells West branch,  on the old East Kent coalfield area and the  on the Weald around Tenterden. In addition there is the 15 inch gauge, tourist-oriented on the southeast Kent coast along the Dungeness peninsular. Finally, there is the 2 ft 6 in, industrial.

Air
A limited number of charter flights are provided by Kent's, at , and  at. However, most passengers across the South East use the larger, , and  airports. In 2002, it was revealed that the government is considering building a new four-runway airport on the marshland near the village of on the, but this plan is being protested by cultural and environmental groups.

Education
The county has three universities; with campuses throughout, , with campuses in Canterbury and Medway, and , with sites at ,  and Medway. Whereas much of the UK adopted a system in the 1970s, Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Unitary Authority are among around fifteen local authorities still providing through the  s and s. Together, the two Kent authorities have 38 of the 164 grammar schools remaining in the UK.

KCC has the largest education department of any local authority in the UK, providing school places for over 289,000 pupils.

For the 2005-06 school year, KCC and Medway introduced a standardised school year, based on six terms, as recommended by the in its 2000 report, "The Rhythms of Schooling".

Between September 2003 and August 2004, 70% of pupils in the Kent authority achieved Level 4 in mathematics, compared to 74% of pupils in England as a whole; 74% achieved Key Stage 2 Level 4 in English, compared to 78% nationally; 56% achieved five or more  A*–C grades or the equivalent, compared to 54% nationally.

As of the 2001 census, Kent residents between the ages of 16 and 74 received their highest academic qualifications in the following proportions: 16.8% a qualification or the equivalent, 8.0% two or more  or the equivalent, 21.0% five or more GCSE grades A*–C or the equivalent, and 18.2% one or more GCSEs passes or the equivalent. Of the remaining portion, 28.3% had no qualifications and 7.7% had a qualification of an unknown level.