History of the UK's cities and towns (Kent)

Kent is a ceremonial non-metropolitan county in the south-east of England. The county seat is Maidstone. The county of Kent, located in the south-eastern corner of England and bordering London, Sussex and Surrey, is also called the Garden of England, because of the abundance of fruits, vegetables and flowers growing here. There are far more monuments in Kent than in any other county: Knole, Penshurst Place, Chartwell, Finchcocks, Groombridge Place, Scotney, Hever, Tonbridge, Chilham, Canterbury, Dover, Rochester, Leeds Castle, built on two small islands on the lake, and many others. They are scattered between thickets of hops, and trees bending under the weight of ripe fruit.

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties occupy somewhat different areas. The administrative county has 12 districts: Dover, Sevenoaks, Shepway, and Thanet, the boroughs of Ashford, Dartford, Gravesham, Maidstone, Swale, Tonbridge and Malling, and Tunbridge Wells, and the city of Canterbury. The geographic county comprises the entire administrative county plus the unitary authority of Medway. The historic county includes the entire geographic county as well as eastern portions of Greater London, including all or most of the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, and Lewisham [5].

A line of chalk hills running from west to east forms the spine of the county. North of the ridge the land falls to the marshy and low-lying shore of the Thames estuary, and to the south there is an area of clays and sands forming a rolling wooded region known as The Weald. The long coastline of Kent is alternately flat and cliff-lined. The low Thames coast is bordered by marshes and islands (Grain and Sheppey), and farther east the former Isle of Thanet now forms part of Kent. There are chalk cliffs at Thanet at the North Foreland and again between Dover and Deal, but farther south is the low-lying area of Romney Marsh, which has emerged from the sea, in part by reclamation, since Roman times. In the extreme southeast is the shingle promontory of Dungeness.

Because of its position facing the continent of Europe across the Strait of Dover, Kent has been subjected to numerous invasions and has attracted successive waves of settlement. Evidence of early Continental invaders is seen at Kits Coty House near Aylesford, a long barrow at Chilham, and Bigbury (a Belgic hill fort). Roman settlement began with the subjugation of the area in 43 CE. The chief Roman supply port was Richborough, and the administrative centre was at Canterbury, where Roman baths and a theatre have been unearthed. Early in the 5th century Kent was invaded by Jutes and Saxons, and it became one of the seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon Britain. In 597 the king of Kent welcomed the Christian mission of Augustine (later St. Augustine of Canterbury). Augustine founded an abbey outside the walls of Canterbury, a monastery inside (where the cathedral now stands), and a second diocese at Rochester [6].

After the Norman Conquest (1066), the Normans rebuilt Rochester and Canterbury cathedrals and constructed a number of castles, of which those at Dover and Rochester survive. In 1170 Canterbury Cathedral was the scene of the murder of Thomas Becket, the archbishop. Many pilgrims subsequently visited his shrine, and those of the 14th century were immortalized by Geoffrey Chaucer in his The Canterbury Tales.

The history of the United Kingdom stretches back over many centuries. Once the largest empire in the history of the world, United Kingdom history is still studied by most of the world to this day. Since the time of the Normans, the history of the United Kingdom has added many chapters. The United Kingdom today is a G8 nation and remains a major world power. Anyone planning a trip to the United Kingdom will certainly benefit from becoming familiar with the fascinating history of the United Kingdom.

The twentieth century saw the weakening of the United Kingdom as the first and second world wars shook Europe and crippled many economies. Although the United Kingdom has since reorganized itself into a prosperous and economically sound country, it is no longer the largest empire in neither the world nor the richest. The United Kingdom is, however, still a major player in world affairs. As a nuclear power and still retaining some of the most influential threads of an empire in the history of the world, the United Kingdom remains an important country.

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties occupy somewhat different areas. The administrative county has 12 districts: Dover, Sevenoaks, Shepway, and Thanet, the boroughs of Ashford, Dartford, Gravesham, Maidstone, Swale, Tonbridge and Malling, and Tunbridge Wells, and the city of Canterbury. The geographic county comprises the entire administrative county plus the unitary authority of Medway. The historic county includes the entire geographic county as well as eastern portions of Greater London, including all or most of the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, and Lewisham.