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Background to KentCounty of SE England, known as the 'garden of England' Area 3,730 sq km/1,440 sq milesPopulation (1991) 1,508,900 |
Towns and cities Maidstone
(administrative headquarters), Canterbury, Dover, Chatham,
Rochester, Sheerness, Tunbridge Wells; resorts: Folkestone,
Margate, Ramsgate
Features the North Downs; rivers: Thames, Darent, Medway, Stour
(traditionally, a 'man of Kent' comes from east of the Medway and
a 'Kentish man' from W Kent); New Ash Green, a new town; Romney
Marsh; the Isles of Grain, Sheppey (on which is the resort of
Sheerness, formerly a royal dockyard), and Thanet; Weald
(agricultural area); 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, and the channel tunnel
from Folkestone to France opened in 1995. Ashford is a poular
starting point for Eurostar rail jouneys to mainland Europe.
Industries in Kent include: hop growing, apples, soft fruit, cement, paper, oil refining and shipbuilding. The East Kent coalfield ceased production 1989
The Weald of Kent (Old English 'forest')
The area between the North and
South Downs of England which were once thickly wooded, and formed
part of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire. Now an agricultural
area it produces fruit, hops, and vegetables. In the Middle Ages
its timber and iron ore made it the industrial heart of England.
Its oaks were used in shipbuilding.
The name often refers only to the area of Kent SW of the
greensand ridge running from Hythe to Westerham. The Weald is
also used as sheep pasture land.
The Medway River
Is a major river of SE England. It rises in Sussex and flows through Kent and the Medway towns (Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester) to Sheerness, where it enters the Thames. It is about 96 km/60 mi long. In local tradition it divides the 'Men of Kent', who live to the E, from the 'Kentish Men', who live to the W. The Medway is now polluted by industrial waste.
Augustine, St (died 605)
First archbishop of Canterbury, England. He was sent from Rome to convert England to Christianity by Pope Gregory I. He landed at Ebbsfleet in Kent 597
Famous people include: Christopher Marlowe, Sir Edward Heath, William Caxton and "Pop Larkin". Charles Dickens and Jane Austin sought inspiration for their literary skills in Kent.
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