Kent

Kent covers an area of 1,525 square miles and is located in the South East corner of England with a population of around 1,500,00. The county town is Maidstone.

Geography

The major rivers are the Medway, the Stour, and the Darent. It is bordered to the north by the River Thames to the estuary and in the south by the Strait of Dover. The North Downs cross the county from east to west and are comprised of Chalk. To the south lies the fertile wooded hills of the Weald and Romney Marsh. The Isle of Sheppey is part of Kent but separated from the coast by the narrow Swale channel.

Industry

One of London's Home Counties, Kent is increasingly being encroached by the housing needs of London to the north, and industrial expansion and warehousing is taking place due to the proximity to the continent of Europe. However, the region is still mainly agricultural and was known as the “garden of England”. As well as apples, grain, and hops, sheep, fishing, and dairy produce are also important. Paper, pottery, brick, cement, chemicals, and beer are manufactured, and there is shipbuilding and oil refining.

History

Kent has been important throughout English history. The Canterberians, a Celtic tribe, who name survives in Canterbury, founded the first Kingdom of Kent. The Romans under Julius Caesar landed in Kent in 55 BC. Kent was the earliest of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and was founded by Saxon mercenaries bought in by the Celtic King to defend Britain from other Saxon raiders. Kent was a centre for learning and was an early convert to Christianity with a centre at Canterbury but the kingdom was defeated eventually and became sub-Kingdom of Mercia and then a province of the Kingdom of Wessex. In the Middle Ages many religious houses were established in the old kingdom of Kent, and Canterbury became a place of pilgrimage.

Kent County Flag