Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for KENT

KENT, a maritime county; bounded on the N, by the Thames and the German ocean; on the E, by the straits of Dover; on the SE, by the English channel; on the S, by the English channel and by Sussex; on the W by Surrey. It is separated, by the Thames, from the metropolitan part of Middlesex, and from all the S border of Essex; and, by the river Rother and headstreams of the Medway, from parts of Sussex. It projects eastward, from the main body of the SE of England, in the form of a horn, corner, or cant; and it thence took its ancient Iberian or British name, Romanized into Cantium, and modernised into Kent. It is supposed to have anciently extended some miles further up the Thames than at present, and to have included there the site of the original London, which Ptolemy and Ravennas indicate as on the S side of the river; and it may, not improbably, in remote times, have been united on the E to France, from which it is now about 24 miles distant. Its form is irregularly parallelogramic, extending from E to W. Its length is 64 miles; its greatest breadth, 38 miles; its circuit, about 190 miles; its area, 1, 039, 419 acres; its comparative largeness, the 9th county of England.

Shoals adjoin the N and E coasts; and are specially prominent in the Margate sands, off Margate, and in the Goodwin Sands, off Ramsgate. Marshes form a belt, averaging about 1½ mile in breadth, along great part of the Thames to the Swale; occur again in greater breadth, between the Isle of Thanet and the mainland; and form the large tract of Romney Marsh, Dunge Marsh, and Walling Marsh in the extreme S, from the neighbourhood of Hythe to the boundary with Sussex. A tract of lower eocene formation, averagely three or four times broader than the Thames belt or marsh, extends parallel to it, from Surrey to the Thanet Marsh; includes also the northern part of Sheppey island; is geognostically a continuation of what is called the London clay basin; and consists of London clay and plastic clay, or Woolwich beds and Thanet sand. A tract of upper cretaceous formation, continuous with the North Downs, extends parallel with the preceding, and of similar aggregate breadth, from Surrey to the neighbourhood of Waltham and Canterbury; goes thence, with rapidly increasing breadth, to the E coast; includes the parts of Thanet around Margate and Ramsgate; and forms the fine promontory of North Foreland, and the grand cliffs, " the white walls of Albion, '' around Dover. Two belts of the gault and lower greensand group, the one very narrow, the other somewhat wider, extend immediately S of the upper cretaceous tract. A region of the lower cretaceous formation, chiefly weald clay, but including some portions of Hastings sand, forms all the rest of the county, and is continuous with the Sussex weald. The geognostic characters of most of the surface will be noticed in our article WEALD. No part of the county, except the marshes, is level; and most parts are hilly, and abundantly wooded. The greatest height in the lower eocene tract is Shooter's Hill, 446 feet high. A range of chalk hills, sometimes called the back bone of Kent, traverses the entire county, from NW to SE; and culminates in Hollingbourne Hill, between the Medway and the Stour, 616 feet high, and in Paddlesworth Hill, near Folkestone, 642 feet high. Another range, called the Quarry Hills, runs parallel with the former; and has elevations rising to 800 feet, and commanding most beautiful views. An economical estimate of the county divides it into three regions, -that of " health without wealth, '' embracing the higher parts of " the back bone; '' that of " wealth without health, '' embracing the marshes and the wooded parts of the Weald; and that of " health with wealth, '' embracing eminently the parts about Canterbury, and the parts of the Medway's valley from Tunbridge to Maidstone, and more generally the greater part of the county. Fineness of scenery, mildness of climate, and richness as well as diversity of production, combine to render Kent eminently attractive. Hence does Drayton, in the " Polyolbion, '' say, -

O famous Kent !
What county hath this isle that can compare with thee?
That hath within thyself as much as thou can'st wish:
Thy rabbits, venison, fruits, thy sorts of fowl and fish:
As what with strength comports, thy hay, thy corn, thy wood, -
Nor anything doth want that anywhere is good.

The chief rivers, besides the Thames, are the Medway, the Stour, the Darent, the Cray, the Ravensbourne, the Rother, and the Ebbsfleet. Mineral springs are at Tunbridge Wells, Bromley, Canterbury, Sydenham, and other places. Land-springs resembling the " lavants '' of Sussex and Hants, are in varions parts of the chalk region; have an intermitting character, seemingly due to the cavernous nature of the substrata; break out chiefly after prolonged rains; and bear here the name of nailbournes, -a word which is said to be a corruption of eel bournes, and to mean streams abounding with eels; yet the nailbournes are not remarkable for either the number or the size of these fish. Many fine trout and other fish are found in the rivers; oysters are largely fished at Queenborough, Rochester, and Faversham; shrimps are taken in large quantities at Gravesend and Ramsgate; soles, flounders, and other fish are caught at these places, and at Milton, Whitstable, Margate, Deal, Dover, and Folkestone; and fisheries of cod, herring, and mackerel are carried on in the adjacent seas. The weald was once a great forest, chiefly of grand oaks, and tenanted mainly by deer and wild hogs. The oak still predominates in it; and this tree, as indigenous there, seems to explain why Gregory the Great requested that British timber might be sent to Rome for building the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul. The beech flourishes strikingly on the chalk, and occasionally attains here a very remarkable size; but whether it can be pronounced indigenous is doubtful. Stone for local building, and sometimes for export to London, is quarried in the ragstone range of hills. Limestone, for road making, for lime manure, for stucco, and for sugar refining, is found in beds of the green sand. Inferior lime for building, for manure, and for whiting, chalk for mending walls and for manure, and flints and sand for building and for stone fences, are found in the chalk formation. Clay for bricks and coarse pottery, river sand for mortar, Roman cement, and copperas stone, are found in the London clay and plastic clay beds. Iron sand, in the wealden formation, was used, till the 17th century, for iron manufacture; but went into desuetude in consequence of the substitution of pitcoal for billet wood as fuel; a substitution which caused the manufacture here to be superseded by the richer ores and the fuel of the northern counties.

The soils are varions, and, in a general view, very fertile. That of the arable land in the Isle of Thanet is a light loam on a chalky bottom, highly fertilized by artificial treatment. That of the Thames marshes is a clay, mixed with sea sand and small shells; while that of Romney Marsh is a fine, soft, rich loam and clay. That of the flat lands in the vicinity of Faversham, Sandwich, and Deal is a rich sandy loam, with diversified proportions of sand, and a stiff wet clay. That of the hop grounds, which extend from Maidstone to Canterbury and thence to Sandwich, is, for the most part, a rich deep loam, on a sub-soil of deep brick earth. That of most of the Isle of Sheppey is a deep, stiff, strong clay; while that of the rest of the Isle is a rich, black, vegetable mould, on a substratum of the same clay. That of the upland farms, both in the E and in the W, is exceedingly various, ranging from clay, loam, and chalk, to intermixtures of these with flint, gravel, and sand. That of the weald consists principally of clay of different degrees of tenacity and fertility. Rich marsh meadows, grazed by cattle and sheep, comprise about 11, 500 acres on the Thames, the Medway, and the Swale, about 27, 000 on the Stour, and about 44, 000 in Romney Marsh; and extensive sheep downs are in the chalk region. Copyhold estates are very rare; and freehold estates are said to number about 9, 000, exclusive of the estates of ecclesiastical and corporate bodies. Gavelkind, a custom of Saxon origin, giving inheritance of land to all sons in equal proportions, or to all children, with a certain share to the widow, seems always to have largely prevailed; and, though abolished over much of the county in the times of Henry VII. and James I., is still prevalent over a great aggregate of land. Farms average from 10 to 200 acres; leases run from 7 to 14 years; and farm buildings show much diversity of character, and include many old timbered houses. Wheat, barley, oats, beans, and rye, are principal crops. Hops are cultivated on about 50, 000 acres, and yield about 18, 000, 000 lbs. a year. Canary seed, radish seed, other seeds, pease, kidney beans, white mustard, potatoes, mushrooms, woad, and madder also are grown. Apples, pears, figs, plums, cherries, damsons, bullaces, walnuts, filberts, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, blackberries, spinach, water-cresses, and asparagus are cultivated. Market gardening is largely carried on. About 300, 000 sheep, of a superior long woolled breed, fattening early, are fed on the marshes; and about 820, 000 other sheep, yielding about 18, 500 packs of wool, are pastured on the downs. Poultry are fine; and rabbits, venison, and game abound. The woods are extensive; and besides furnishing timber for ship and house building, they yield large quantities of hop-poles, billet wood, hoops, and bark.

Paper making is carried on in numerous mills, particularly on the Medway and the Darent; and employs about 1, 080 persons. The weaving of ribbons, silks, linen, cotton, and woollen, employs about 400 persons. The making of bricks, tiles, pottery, and cement, and the working of lime, employ several thousands. The making of sacks, hop-bags, sugar-moulds, tobacco-pipes, copperas, glass, tar, whiting, and Tunbridge-ware, and the refining of sugar, employ a good number. Shipbuilding, marine-engine making, iron founding, brewing, malting, and tanning, figure largely at Greenwich, Dartford, Maidstone, Northfleet, and Faversham. Gunpowder is manufactured at Dartford, Faversham, and Tunbridge. Naval arsenals are at Woolwich, Deptford, Chatham, Sheerness, and Deal. Large military establishments are at Woolwich, Chatham, Dover, and Hythe. Great traffic exists on the Thames, in connexion at once with local trade, with sea side resort of visitors, with the trade of London, and with the anchoring in the Downs. Inland navigation comprises a considerable aggregate of river, improved and extended by art; but includes a very limited aggregate of canal. A network of railways lies in the NW-corner, connecting Greenwich and other places there with the centre and environs of the matropolis. Lines of railway go thence to the S, giving communication with Surrey, and toward the S and the SW coast. A line of railway goes thence also, along the Thames, to Gravesend: proceeds to Strood and to Sittingbourne; sends off, near the latter, a branch to Sheerness; goes on to Faversham; forks there into two lines, the one of which goes, by Whitstable, Herne Bay, and Margate, round the coast to Ramsgate; while the other goes by Canterbury and Adisham, to Dover. A short line goes from Whitstable to Canterbury; another short line goes direct from Margate to Ramsgate; a great line goes from Ramsgate, past Canterbury and Ashford, into junction with the South Coast line of Sussex; and another line strikes from the preceding at Minster, and goes to Sandwich, Deal, and Dover. A great line strikes southeastward from the NW corner, near Deptford; goes to Tunbridge and Tunbridge-Wells; and is prolonged thence, in lines through Sussex, to Hastings, Eastbourne, and Newhaven. A branch leaves this to the S of Lewisham, and goes eastward into junction with the Thames line at Dartford. A line leaves one of the southward lines on the W border, near Beckenham; goes eastward, past Bromley, St. Mary-Cray, and Sutton-at-Hone, into junction with the Thames line at Strood; and sends off a branch southward, from a point between St. Mary-Cray and Sutton-at-Hone, to the neighbourhood of Sevenoaks. A great line, coming in from a junction with the London and Brighton line at Reigate in Surrey, goes eastward, past Tunbridge, Paddock-Wood, Headcorn, and Ashford, to Folkestone and Dover. A cross line strikes from this at Paddock-Wood; and goes northward, down the valley of the Medway, past Maidstone, to Strood. The aggregate of turnpike roads is about 586 miles; and they form 46 trusts.

The county contains 423 parishes, parts of 2 other parishes, and 18 extra-parochial places and villes. It is divided into the lathes of St. Augustine, Aylesford, Scray, Shepway, and Sutton-at-Hone, the cities of Canterbury and Rochester, and the boroughs of Deal, Dover, FaVersham, Folkestone, Gravesend, Hythe, Maidstone, Margate, Sandwich, and Tenterden. It is distributed, for militia purposes, into the subdivisions of Ashford, Bearsted, Blackheath, Bromley, Canterbury, Cranbrook, Dartford, Elham, Faversham, Hone, Malling, Ramsgate, Rochester, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge, Tunbridge-Wells, and Wingham, and the Cinque Ports jurisdiction. It was cut, for parliamentary representation, by the act of 1832, into two divisions, East and West; and by the act of 1867, into three, East, Mid, and WEST. The divisions East and West are also historical, insomuch that the people of East Kent call themselves Men of Kent, and claim a superiority on account of ancient privileges, while the people of West Kent are called Kentish men. The registration county gives off two parishes to Sussex districts, and nine parishes and most of another to London districts; comprises, 1, 013, 838 acres; and is divided into the districts of Bromley, Dartford, Gravesend, North Aylesford, Hoo, Medway, Malling, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge, Maidstone, Hollingbourn, Cranbrook, Tenterden, West Ashford, East Ashford, Bridge, Canterbury, Blean, Faversham, Milton, Sheppey, Thanet, Eastry, Dover, Elham, and Romney-Marsh. Four of the boroughs, Folkestone, Gravesend, Margate, and Tenterden, though municipal, are not parliamentary; and two towns, Chatham and Greenwich, though not municipal boroughs, have parliamentary representation. The other towns, with upwards of 2, 000 inhabitants-or ranging, in 1861, from 2, 731 to 13, 807-are Ashford, Dartford, Milton, Ramsgate, Sheerness, Tunbridge, Tunbridge-Wells, and Whitstable. And there are many smaller towns and numerous villages. The chief seats are Bayham Abbey, Belmont, Bifrons, Birling Manor, Chart Lodge, Chevening Place, Cobham Hall, Deal Castle, Eastwell, Finchden, Godmersham House, Forest Hill, Holwood House, Knole Park, Lees Court, Lenniker, Linchfield House, Linton Park, Mereworth Castle, Montreal, the Mote, Penshurst Castle, Scott's Hall, Sissinghurst Park, Smiths H all, South Park, Southwood House, Torre Hill, Wilderness Park, Belvedere House, Burrs Wood, Charlton House, Cliff House, Collingwood House, Crofton Hall, East Cliffe Lodge, East Sutton Place, Evington, Goodnestone Park, Great Bounds Park, Hatch, High Elms, Hothfield Park, Kennards, Oxenoth, Acrise Court, Addington Place, Angley Park, Aperfield Court Lodge, Ashgrove, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst Park, Barham Court, Barming House, Barming Place, Barnjett, Bedgebury, Bentham Hill, Berengrove, Boughton Mount, Boughton Place, Bourne Place, Boxley Lodge, Bradbourn House, Brastead Place, Brockhill House, Broke House, Brooklyn, Broomhill, Broomlands, Chick's Court, Chilham Castle, Chilston Park, Chipstead Place, Clare House, Comb Bank, Court Lodge, Crofton House, Culver Hill, Dane Court, Danson Park, Denton Park Court, Downgate, Dunsdale, Elfords, Elsfield House, Eyhorne House, Fairlawn, Finchox, Fowlers Park, Franks, Fredville, the Friars, Gads-Hill Place, Glassenbury, Gore Court, Great Sharsted, Groombridge Place, Grove, Grovehurst, Hadlow Castle, Hall Place, Halstead Place, Hamptons, Hartsdown House, Hemsted Park, Henhurst, Heronden Hall, High-Street House, Holborough Court, the Hole, the Hollands, Hollingbourn House, Holmwood, Hunton Court, Ingress Abbey, Kearsney Abbey, Keston House, Kingsgate House, Knowlton Park, Langton House, Lee Priory, Leeds Castle, Leybourne Grange, Lillesden, Lullingstone Castle, Luton House, Lynsted Lodge, Manor House, Maytham Hall, Millgate, Minster Abbey, Oakfield Lodge, Oldbury Lodge, Otterden Place, Oxney Court, Park-House, Pegwell Lodge, Piermont, Preston-Hall, Red Leaf, Risden House, Riverhill House, St. Alban's Court, St. Leonard's House, Sandling Park, Scotney Castle, Selling Court, Shootfield, Somerhill Park, Squerryes, Stanley Grange, Staplehurst Place, Stede Hill, Stone Castle, Stonewall Park, Sundridge Park, Swifts, Thurnham Court, Ulcombe Place, Updown House, Vinters, Waldershare Park, West Cliffe House, Westwell, Wickham Court, Widmore Lodge, Wilmington Hall, Woodlands, Woodstock Park, and Wooton Court. Real property, in 1815, £1, 687, 443; in 1843, £2, 907, 606; in 1860, £3, 493, 159, -of which £7, 317 were in quarries, £1, 060 in fisheries, £1, 651 in canals, £4, 331 in railways, and £21, 973 in gas works.

The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant, 48 deputy lieutenants, a high sheriff, and about 410 magistrates; and it is in the Home military district and judicial circuit. The part of it forming the deanery of Rochester is in Rochester diocese; and the rest of it, together with a small portion of Surrey, forms the diocese of Canterbury. The assizes are held at Maidstone; and the quarter-sessions, at Maidstone and Canterbury. The police force, in 1864, exclusive of a section in the NW within the metropolitan police district, comprised 21 men for Canterbury, at a cost of £1, 521; 8 for. Dea1, at a cost of £375; 25 for Dover, £1, 781; 7 for Faversham, £529; 11 for Folkestone, £679; 22 for Gravesend, £1, 736; 2 for Hythe, £36; 23 for Maidstone, £1, 780; 10 for Margate, £729; 13 for Ramsgate, £967; 32 for Rochester, £2, 093; 3 for Sandwich, £45; 4 for Tenterden, £182; 17 for Tunbridge-Wells, £1, 135; and 262 for the rest of the county, £22, 175. County jails are at Maidstone and Canterbury; a city jail, at Canterbury; town jails, at Dover, Faversham, Sandwich, and Tenterden; and a liberty jail, in Romney-Marsh. The crimes committed, in the year ending 29 Sept. 1864, exclusive of the section within the metropolitan police district, were 59 in Canterbury, 16 in Deal, 13 in Dover, 4 in Faversham, 8 in Folkstone, 57 in Gravesend, 6 in Hythe, 68 in Maidstone, 7 in Margate, 18 in Ramsgate, 6 in Rochester, 15 in Sandwich, 37 in Tunbridge-Wells, and 487 in the rest of the county; the persons apprehended were, in these respectively, 59, 12, 16, 9, 10, 19, 6, 25, 7, 11, 5, 15, 35 and 404; and the houSes of bad character were 25, 14, 47, 13, 3, 51, 0, 30, 4, 33, 18, 3, 4 , and 125. Each of the three divisions of the county sends two members to parliament; Canterbury, Dover, Greenwich, Maidstone, Rochester, and Sandwich send each two; and Chatham, Gravesend, and Hythe send each one-Canterbury was the place of election for the E division, and Maidstone for the W division. The electors in the quondam E division, in 1868, were 8, 250; in the W division, 9, 811. Poor rates of the registration county, in 1863, £262, 129. Marriages in 1863, 1, 555, -of which 199 were not according to the rites of the Established Church; births, 7, 363, -of which 203 were illegitimate; deaths, 4, 404, -of which 1,887 were at ages under 5 years, and 93 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 38, 095; births, 164, 628; deaths, 102, 908. The places of worship within the electoral county, in 1851, were 479 of the Church of England, with 194, 443 sittings; 3 of the Presbyterian Church in England, with 1, 776 s.; 86 of Independents, with 27, 091 s.; 7 of General Baptists, with 1, 348 s.; 79 of Particular Baptists, with 20, 892 s.; 3 of New Connexion General Baptists, with 646 s.; 18 of Baptists undefined, with 2, 782 s; 10 of Quakers, with 1, 753 s.; 2 of Unitarians, with 662 s.; 184 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 33, 759 s.; 1 of New Connexion Methodists, with 60 s.; 26 of Primitive Methodists, with 2, 877 s.; 27 of Bible Christians, with 3, 298 s.; 8 of the Wesleyan Association, with 1, 440 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 190 s.; 5 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, with 2, 297 s.; 1 of the New Church, with 70 s.; 2 of Brethren, with 105 s.; 24 of isolated congregations, with 2, 897 s.; 1 of French Protestants, with 30 s.; 2 of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, with 288 s.; 7 of Latter Day Saints, with 592 s.; 13 of Roman Catholics, with 3, 337 s.; and 5 of Jews, with 315 s. The schools were 500 public day schools, with 53, 631 scholars; 1, 430private day schools, with 31, 827 s.; 638 Sunday schools, with 57, 987 s.; and 26 evening schools for adults, with 800 s. Pop. in 1801, 308, 667; in 1821, 427, 224; in 1841, 549, 353; in 1861, 733, 887. Inhabited houses, 126, 221; uninhabited, 5, 247; building, 1, 082.

The territory now forming Kent was inhabited by the ancient British Cantii. The Romans landed in it, under Cæsar, in the years 55 and 54 B. C., -and again, under Claudius, in the year 42 A. D.; and they included it in their Britannia Prima. The " remote Britain'' was then united with the great Roman world, and put under preparation for great subsequent changes. No events of historical note occurred in Kent during the Roman rule; yet the coasts and strongholds here, especially under Carausius in the years 287-293, were more frequented and valued by the Romans than any others in Britain. The Saxons, under Hengist and Horsa, landed at Ebbsfleet in 449; and they swept away from Kent a tendency to return to the ancient British state of things after the retiring of the Romans, and established a regime of their own. They called the territory Cantguar-Lantd, signi fying " the country of the people inhabiting Cantium; ' and they made it the first of the kingdoms of the Saxon heptarchy. This kingdom, usually called the kingdom of Kent, originally included London and part of Surrey; and it was the scene, in 597, of the landing of Augustine, and thence of those labours and measures of his which, together with their results, gave rise to the entire English constitution of church and state. Hengist ruled it till 488; Eske or Aesc, till 512; Octa, till 534; Ymbrick or Ermeric, till 568; Ethelbert, the first Christian king, till 616; Edbald, till 640; Ercombert, till 664; Egbert or Ecgbryht, till 673; Lothaire or Hlothere, till 684; Edrick or Eadric, till 690; Withdred or Wihtred, and another, till about 725; Eadbert, Edelbert and Alric, irregularly till 794; Ethelbert-Pren, of Wessex, till 799; Cudred or Cuthred, of Mercia, till 805; and Baldred, till 823. But these kings had varying fortunes and a varying inland boundary; and, though the earlier ones were among the most powerful sovereigns of the heptarchy, the later ones became comparatively feeble, and had a struggle to retain either power or place. Egbert, king of Wessex, eventually drove Baldred from the throne, absorbed his kingdom into a monarchy of all Britain, and made Kent a mere earldom. Ealhere became Earl in 852; Coelmere, in 897; others, at subsequent periods; and the great Godwin, in the early part of the 11th century. The earldom, like the previous kingdom, was of varying character, and underwent great changes with changing events. The Danes invaded it in 832; they variously invaded, overran, and mastered it at subsequent periods in the same century and the following one; the Saxons re-acquired power over it on the death of Hardicanute; and the house of Godwin flourished greatly in it till the Norman conquest. A series of great Norman lords thence became Earls of Kent. The first was Odo de Bayeux. Then followed William de Ypres and Hubert de Burgh; the latter Shakspeare's " gentle Hubert, '' who made such a defence of Dovercastle against Louis of France as probably saved England from a French conquest. Afterwards came Edmund of Woodstock, second son of Edward I.; then his three children, the last of whom was the wife of the Black Prince and mother of Richard II., and commonly known as " the fair maid of Kent." Then came her descendants, by marriage with Sir Thomas Holland; and these were Earls of Kent till the extinction of the male line in the time of Henry IV. William Neville, second son of the first Neville Earl of Westmoreland, was created Earl of Kent by Edward IV.; but died without a representative. Edmund Grey, Lord Hastings, was then made Earl of Kent; and his descendants enjoyed the earldom till the time of Queen Anne; and then the 13th Earl was created Duke of Kent, but was the last of his line to enjoy the titles. Edward, fourth son of George III., and father of Queen Victoria, was created Duke of Kent. Wat Tyler's rebellion began at Dartford, in 1381; Jack Cade's insurrection began at Blackheath, in 1450; the wars of the Roses made some figure in Kent; the rebellion, headed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the time of Mary, took place here; and a victory by Fairfax, in 1648, was obtained at Maidstone.

Kent is very rich in antiquities. The chief ancient British ones are camps or earthworks, in varions parts; deep excavations, popularly but erroneously called Danes' Pits, in the chalk region, principally near the Medway and the Thames; and the remarkable monument called Kits Coity House, on a hill near Aylesford. The Roman Watling street crosses the county from London to Dover; had branches to Reculver and Richborough; and had another branch, called Stone street, to Lympne. Roman stations were at Vagniacæ or Southfleet, Durobrivis or Rochester, Durolevum or Sittingbourne, DuroVernnm or Canterbury, Dubris or Dover, Regulbium or Reculver, Ritupæ or Richborough, and Portus Lemanis or Lympne; and remains of the last three are still important and striking. Remains of a curious pharos also are at Dover. Vestiges or relics of walls and furnishings are so very numerous as to indicate that Roman villas abounded along the sides of Watling street, and through out great part of the Medway s valley. Rich Roman pavements, such as those found in Sussex and Gloucestershire, have not yet been discovered here; but great quantities of Roman pottery have been found at Upchurch and Dymchurch, and a large aggregate of Roman coins, swords, spears, and other relics, have been found in numerous places. Roman camps also are at Ospringe, Barham, Trenworth, Bonning, Folkestone, Stutfall, and Keston. Saxon remains have been identified with a camp at Coldred, with ancient cemeteries in Ash parish and near Ramsgate, and with numerous barrows; but they consist chiefly of pottery, glass, weapons, and personal ornaments, preserved in museums. Danish camps or earthworks are at Blackheath, Canterbury, KemsleyDowns, Swanscombe, Walmer, and near Milton. Specimens or remains of mediæval military architecture exist in Canterbury castle, Rochester castle, Dover castle, Allington castle, Leeds castle, Hever, Tunbridge, Westonhanger, and Saltwood. Specimens or remains of mediæval domestic architecture are very numerous, yet aggregately not so fine as those of some other counties; and they are best exemplified in Eltham Palace, Cobham, the Moat, Penshurst, Chilham, Knole, Sore-Place, Battle Hall, Boughton-Place, and East Sutton Place. Remains exist of 7 abbeys, 20 priories, 6 nunneries, 2 commanderies, 5 ancient colleges, and 15 ancient hospitals; and the most notable of them are Malling Abbey, Horton priory, St. Martin's priory in Dover, the remains of an abbey, a priory, and a convent in Canterbury, and the remains of a commandery at Swingfield. Part of a Saxon church is in Dover Castle; parts or specimens of Norman churches are at Barfreston, Darent, Patrixbourne, St. Margaret-at-Cliffe, Rochester, Davington, Bapchild, Harbledown, Paddlesworth, Dover, Minster, Walmer, Betshanger, and Sutton; a very fine specimen of transition Norman is the choir of Canterbury cathedral; interesting specimens of early English are in Rochester cathedral, and in the churches of Bridge, Northbourne, Ash, Great Mongeham, Sandwich-ST. Clement, Wade-ST. Nicholas, Canterbury-St. Martin, Minster, Herne, Westwell, Folkestone, Hythe, Lenham, Graveney, Faversham, Chalk, and Horton-Kirkby; good specimens of decorated English churches are at Chartham, Barham, Chilham, Stone, Hever, and Sandhurst; and good specimens of later English ones are the nave of Canterbury cathedral, and the churches of Maidstone-All Saints, Chislehurst, Sevenoaks, Nettlested, Cranbrook, Tenterden, Ashford, Aldington, Wingham, and Bishopsbourne.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a maritime county"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions")
Administrative units: Kent AncC
Place: Kent

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