is a County in southeast England . It borders East Sussex , Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames Estuary . The Ceremonial County Boundaries of Kent include the Shire County Of Kent and the Unitary Borough of Medway . Kent has a nominal border with France halfway through the Channel Tunnel . Maidstone is its County Town and historically Rochester and Canterbury have been accorded City Status though only the latter still holds it.
Kent's location between London and the Continent has led to its being a front line of several conflicts, including the Battle Of Britain during World War II . 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.
Due to its abundance of 2006
Major industries in the north-west of Kent have included Cement , Papermaking , and Aircraft Construction , but these are now in decline.
See Also: History of Kent
The area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe . The Medway Megaliths were built during the Neolithic era. There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age , Iron Age , and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere Gold Cup and the Roman villas of the Darent Valley .1
The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word ''Cantus'' meaning "rim" or "border". This describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as ''Cantium'', or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC.2
The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses . It is possible that another ethnic group occupied The Weald and East Kent. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century3 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.4
In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed Augustine as the first Archbishop Of Canterbury . In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the Pagan King Æthelberht Of Kent to Christianity. The Diocese Of Canterbury became Britain's first Episcopal See and has since remained Britain's centre of Christianity.5
In the early 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto '' Invicta '', meaning "undefeated". This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William Of Normandy . The Kent people's continued resistance against the Normans led to Kent's designation as a semi-autonomous County Palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William's half-brother Odo Of Bayeux , the county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland . 6
During the medieval and early modern period, Kent played a major role in several of England's most notable rebellions, including the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler ,7
Jack Cade 's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1553 against Queen Mary I .8
The (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at Chatham . By 1618, storehouses, a Ropewalk , a Drydock , and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham.9
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 Raid On The Medway , a successful attack by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667.10
- otheus--- confusing and out-of-place; this is a history of Kent, not of the Dockyard -->Many of the Georgian naval buildings during this time still stand.
In the early 1800s, Smugglers were very active on the Kent coastline. Gangs such as The Aldington Gang brought spirits, tobacco and salt to the county, and transported goods such as wool across the sea to France.12
In 1881, the County Of London was created and the townships of Deptford , Greenwich , Woolwich , Lee , Eltham , Charlton , Kidbrooke and Lewisham were transferred out of Kent.
During World War II, much of the Battle Of Britain was fought in the skies over the county. Between June 1944 and March 1945, over 10,000 V1 Flying Bomb s, known as "Doodlebugs", were fired on London from bases in Northern France. Many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, and Barrage Balloon 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 Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent. 14 In 1998, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway . They have, however, remained in the ceremonial county of Kent.15 During this reorganisation, through an administrative oversight, the city of Rochester lost its official City Status .16
- otheus--- the following should NOT be in the history section! Perhaps geography? -->
See Also: Geography of Kent
Kent is the at the southeastern end of England. It borders the River Thames and the North Sea to the north, and the Straits Of Dover and the English Channel to the south. France is across the Strait.18
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 Weathering to the Weald en dome, a dome across Kent and Sussex created by Alpine movements 10–20 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of Chalk above subsequent layers of upper Greensand , upper Clay , lower greensand, lower clay, and Red Sandstone . The ridges and valleys formed as the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or red sandstone.
Sevenoaks , Maidstone , Ashford , and Folkestone are built on greensand, while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are built on red sandstone. Dartford , Gravesend , the Medway towns, Sittingbourne , Faversham , Canterbury , Deal , and Dover are built on chalk.19 Britain's Structure and Scenery, L.Dudley Stamp., Pub Sept 1946, Collins New Naturalist Series. The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by the sea, and cliffs such as the White Cliffs Of Dover are present where a chalk ridge known as the North Downs meets the coast. Spanning Dover and Westerham is the Kent Downs Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty .20
The Wealden dome is a Mesozoic structure lying on a Palaeozoic foundation, which usually creates the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The Coal Measure 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.21
Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the Epicentre s were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the Richter Scale . In 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007 there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The 2007 Earthquake caused physical damage in Folkestone.22
The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to Tectonic Uplift and Tidal Erosion . Until about 960, the Isle Of Thanet was an island, formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with alluvium. Similarly Romney Marsh and Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.
Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near Edenbridge and flows some eastwards to a point near Maidstone . Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness .23 The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge .24 The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the River Darent . Other Rivers Of Kent include the River Stour in the east.
As of the 2001 UK Census ,25 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 Co-habiting couples and 8.7% were lone parents; 28.0% of households consisted of individuals, 14.6% had someone of Pension 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 Western Europe countries, 0.3% Eastern Europe , 0.8% Africa, 0.6% Far East , 0.9% South Asia , 0.2% Middle East , 0.4% North America, 0.1% South America and 0.3% Oceania . Religion was recorded as 74.6% Christian , 0.7% Sikh , 0.6% Muslim , 0.4% Hindu , 0.2% Buddhist and 0.1% Jew ish, while 15.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion, and 7.8% did not state their religion.
Kent County Council (KCC) and its 12 District Council s administer most of the county (3352 km&2), while the Medway Unitary Authority administers the more densely populated remainder (192 km&2). Together they have around 300 Town and Parish Council s. Kent County Council's headquarters are in Maidstone ,26 while Medway's offices are in Strood and Gillingham .
As of the 2005 County Council Elections , Kent County Council was controlled by the Conservative Party ;27 57 of the Council's 84 seats were held by the Conservatives, 21 by the Labour Party , 6 by the Liberal Democrats and 1 by an Independent.28 As of the 2007 Local Elections , 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 Liberal Democrats and 1 by an Independent.29. All of Kent's district councils were controlled by the Conservatives except for Ashford Borough Council , which was in No Overall Control .30
At the national level, Kent is represented in Parliament by 17 MPs, 10 of whom are Conservative and 7 are Labour. Kent is in the European Parliament constituency of South East England , which elects ten Members Of The European Parliament .31
As of the 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 Hop gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called Oast House 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 Gross Value Added (GVA) between 1995 and 2000 (figures are in millions of British Pounds Sterling). 33
For the 2005-06 school year, KCC and Medway introduced a standardised school year, based on six terms, as recommended by the Local Government Association in its 2000 report, "The Rhythms of Schooling".51
- –C grades or the equivalent, compared to 54% nationally.52
- –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.53
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