Kent is a
ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...
in
South East England. It is bordered by
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
across the
Thames Estuary to the north, the
Strait of Dover to the south-east,
East Sussex to the south-west,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
to the west, and
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
to the north-west. The
county town
In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
is
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
.
The county has an area of and had population of 1,875,893 in 2022, making it the
fifth most populous county in England. The north of the county contains a conurbation which includes the towns of
Chatham,
Gillingham, and
Rochester. Other large towns are Maidstone and
Ashford, and the
borough of Canterbury holds
city status. For local government purposes Kent consists of a
non-metropolitan county
A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government.
The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...
, with twelve districts, and the
unitary authority area of
Medway. The county historically included south-east Greater London, and is one of the
home counties.
The north of Kent is a plain bordering the Thames Estuary. South of this is the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
, a chalk downland ridge which crosses the county from north-west to south-east and which forms dramatic chalk cliffs, including the
White Cliffs of Dover, where it meets the English Channel. The south-west of the county contains part of the
Greensand Ridge and the
Weald, the area between the North and
South Downs. The south-east of the county contains the low-lying
Romney Marsh. The North Downs and High Weald have been designated
national landscapes. The geography of the county lends itself to the cultivation of fruit orchards, and it has been nicknamed "the Garden of England". In north-west Kent, industries include aggregate building material extraction, printing, and scientific research. Coal mining has also played its part in the county's industrial heritage.
Kent's location between London and the
Strait of Dover, the narrowest crossing point between England and mainland Europe, has led to the county being the point of entry for many prominent figures and groups in British history. It was one of the first British territories to be settled by Germanic tribes, most notably the
Jutes
The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...
, following the withdrawal of the Romans.
In the 6th century,
Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
landed in the county to begin the
conversion of England to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and became the first
archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
;
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
is now a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. England relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of its history; the
Cinque Ports in the 10th–14th centuries and
Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance.
Dover Castle has been described as the "key of England" due to its strategic significance.
Etymology
The name is of
Celtic origin and dates back to at least the 4th century BC. It is one of the earliest names recorded in Britain, known to the Greeks since the explorer
Pytheas recorded it as ''Kantion'' during his voyage around the British Isles in about 325 BC. As such, it has been claimed as the "oldest recorded name still in use in England".
The meaning has been explained as 'coastal district', 'corner-land' or 'land on the edge' ( 'bordering of a circle, tyre, edge'; 'circle'; 'side, edge'). In Latin sources the area is called or , while the Anglo-Saxons referred to it as , or .
History
The area was first occupied by
early humans, intermittently due to periods of extreme cold, during the
Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
(Old Stone Age), as attested by an early Neanderthal skull found in the quarries at
Swanscombe. The
Medway megaliths were built during the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
era. There is a rich sequence of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, Celtic
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, and Britto-
Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the
Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the
Darent valley.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
described the area as , or the home of the
Cantiaci, in 51 BC.
The extreme west of the modern county was by the time of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caes ...
occupied by a Celtic Iron Age tribe known as the
Regni. Caesar wrote that the people of Kent were "by far the most civilised inhabitants of Britain".

Following the withdrawal of the Romans, large numbers of Germanic speakers from mainland Europe settled in Kent, bringing their language, which came to be
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
. While they expelled the native Romano-British population, some likely remained in the area, eventually assimilating with the newcomers. Of the invading tribes, the
Jutes
The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...
were the most prominent, and the area became
a Jutish kingdom recorded as ''Cantia'' in about 730 and ''Cent'' in 835. The early medieval inhabitants of the county were referred to as the ''Cantwara'', or Kentish people. The city of Canterbury was the largest in Kent.
In 597,
Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary (who became
Saint Augustine of Canterbury after his death) as the first
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the
pagan King
Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. The
Diocese of Canterbury became England's first
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
with first cathedral and has since remained England's centre of Christianity.
The second designated English cathedral was for West Kent at
Rochester Cathedral.
Kent was traditionally
partitioned into East and West Kent, and into
lathes and
hundreds. The traditional border of East and West Kent was the county's main river, the
Medway. Men and women from east of the Medway are Men (or Maids) of Kent, those from the west are Kentishmen or Kentish Maids.
The divide has been explained by some as originating in the Anglo-Saxon migrations, with Jutes mainly settling east of the Medway and Saxons settling west of it.
In the 11th century, the people of Kent (or ''Chenth'', per the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
) adopted the motto ''
Invicta'', meaning "undefeated" or "unconquered". The adoption of this motto followed the invasion of Britain by
William of Normandy, as he was unable to subdue the county and they negotiated favourable terms. The continued resistance of the Kentish people against the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
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
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
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,
Jack Cade's Kent rebellion of 1450, and
Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 against Queen
Mary I.

The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
first used the
River Medway in 1547. By the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
(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.

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.
The 18th century was dominated by wars with France, during which the Medway became the primary base for a fleet that could act along the Dutch and French coasts. When the theatre of operation moved to the
Atlantic, this role was assumed by
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
and
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. As an indication of the area's military importance, the first
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801.
Many of the
Georgian naval buildings still stand.
In the early 19th century, 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.
In 1889, the
County of London was created and took over responsibility for local administration of parts of north-west Kent. These included the towns of
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
,
Woolwich,
Plumstead,
Deptford,
Lee,
Eltham,
Charlton, and
Kidbrooke. In 1900, however, Kent absorbed the district of
Penge
Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...
. Some of Kent is contiguous with the
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
sprawl, notably parts of
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
.
Originally, the border between Kent and Sussex (later
East Sussex) ran through the towns of
Tunbridge Wells and
Lamberhurst. In 1894, by the
Local Government Act, the parts of these towns that lay in East Sussex were absorbed by Kent.
During the Second World War, much of the
Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over Kent.
Between June 1944 and March 1945, more than 10,000
V1 flying bombs, or "Doodlebugs", were fired towards London from bases in
Northern France. Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns and
barrage balloons, 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
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
and
Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent.
In 1998, Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and
Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the
Unitary Authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
of
Medway. Plans for another unitary authority in
north-west Kent were dropped, but in 2016 consultations began between five Kent local authorities (Canterbury, Thanet, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe, and Ashford) with a view to forming a new unified authority for East Kent, although remaining within the auspices of Kent County Council. This idea was eventually dropped.
For almost nine centuries, a small part of present-day East London (the
North Woolwich,
London E16 area), formed part of Kent.
Geography

Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the
Thames Estuary and the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
to the north, and the
Straits of Dover and the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
to the south. France is across the Strait.
The major geographical features of the county are based on a series of ridges and valleys running east–west across the county. These are the results of
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
of the
Wealden dome, a dome across Kent and
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
created by
alpine movements 20–10 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of
chalk above successive layers of
Upper Greensand,
Gault Clay,
Lower Greensand,
Weald Clay, and Wealden sandstone. The ridges and valleys formed when the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone.
Sevenoaks,
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
,
Ashford, and
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
are built on greensand,
while
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
and
Tunbridge Wells are built on sandstone.
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
,
Gravesend, the Medway towns,
Sittingbourne,
Faversham
Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
,
Deal, and
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
are built on chalk.
[Britain's Structure and Scenery, L.Dudley Stamp, Pub September 1946, Collins ]New Naturalist
The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...
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
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
meets the coast. Spanning Dover and
Westerham is the
Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Wealden dome is a
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
structure lying on a
Palaeozoic foundation, which can often create the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The
Coal Measures within the Westphalian Sandstone are about deep, and are subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel.
Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the
epicentres 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.
A further quake on 22 May 2015 measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale. It was centred in the Sandwich area of east Kent at about ten miles below the surface. There was little if any damage reported.

The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to
tectonic uplift and
coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
. Until about 960, the
Isle of Thanet was an island, separated by the
Wantsum channel, formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with
alluvium
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
. Similarly
Romney Marsh and
Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.
Kent's principal river, the
River Medway, rises near
East Grinstead
East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...
in Sussex and flows eastwards to
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
. Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the estuary of the River Thames near
Sheerness. The Medway is some long.
The river is tidal as far as
Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
.
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.
A 2014 study found that Kent shares significant reserves of shale oil with other neighbouring counties, totalling 4.4 billion
barrels of oil, which then Business and Energy Minister
Michael Fallon said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency.
Fracking in the area is required to achieve these objectives; it has been opposed by environmental groups.
Climate
Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of
Brogdale near
Faversham
Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
the temperature reached , at that time the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the United Kingdom. The record still stands as the hottest August day ever recorded.
Governance
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...
and its twelve
district councils administer most of the county (3352 km
2), whilst the
Medway Council administers the more densely populated
Medway unitary authority (192 km
2), independently of the county council. Together they have around 300
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
and
parish councils. Kent County Council's headquarters are in
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
,
while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf,
Chatham.
For most of its history since the local government reforms instituted by the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, Kent County Council has been under
Conservative Party control; the exception was between 1993 and 1997 when the party came under
no overall control with
Labour Party leadership. At the
most recent county council election in 2021, the Conservatives won 62 out of 81 seats. Also elected were seven Labour councillors, six
Liberal Democrats, four from the
Green Party, one
Swale Independent and one
residents' association representative.
Of Kent's thirteen districts, two are under Conservative control (Sevenoaks, Dartford), four are under Labour control (Gravesham, Medway, Thanet, Dover), one is under Liberal Democrat control (Tunbridge Wells), and six are under no overall control and are administered by coalitions (Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone, Swale, Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe). Notably, Thanet is the only council in the United Kingdom to have come under
UK Independence Party (UKIP) control, which it did in
2015.
At the national level, Kent is represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
by
eighteen Members of Parliament (MPs). The county has historically been dominated by the Conservative Party at general elections. Prior to 2024, the party had won a majority of Kentish seats in every election since the local government reforms of 1974, including during Labour's
landslide victories of
1997 and
2001. In both
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2015, the Conservatives won every seat in the county. The
2024 election saw a sharp decline in support for the Conservatives, and the county is currently represented by eleven Labour MPs, six Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat.
Demography
At the
2011 census,
Kent, including Medway, had 1,727,665 residents (18.0% of which in Medway); had 711,847 households (17.5% of which in Medway) and had 743,436 dwellings (14.8% of which in Medway). 51.1% of Kent's population excluding Medway was female — as to Medway, this proportion was 50.4%.
The tables below provide statistics for the administrative county of Kent, that is, excluding Medway.
Economy
At the
2001 UK census,
employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had a higher education 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. In particular the county produces tree-grown fruits, strawberries and hazelnuts.
Distinctive hop-drying buildings called
oasts are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish. Kent is the main area for
hazelnut production in the UK.
However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilisation of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator
gross value added (GVA) between 1995 and 2003 (figures are in £ millions):
North Kent is heavily industrialised, with cement-making at
Northfleet and
Cuxton,
brickmaking
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
at Sittingbourne,
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
on the Medway and
Swale, engineering and
aircraft design and construction at Rochester,
chemicals at Dartford,
papermaking
Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is Pulp and paper industry, made using industrial machinery, while handmade pape ...
at
Swanley, and
oil refining at
Grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
.
There is a steel mini mill in
Sheerness and a rolling mill in
Queenborough. There are two
nuclear power stations at
Dungeness, although the older one, Dungeness A, built in 1965, was decommissioned in 2006.
Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during the 19th and 20th centuries. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between
Stone and
Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around
Burham on the tidal Medway.
Chalk,
gravel and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
were excavated on
Dartford Heath for centuries.
Kent's original
paper mills stood on streams like the
River Darent, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the
River Stour. Two 18th century mills were on the
River Len and at
Tovil on the
River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at
Kemsley on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own
windmill or
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
, with
over 400 windmills known to have stood at some time. Twenty-eight survive within the county today, plus two replica mills and a further two in that part of Kent now absorbed into London. All the major rivers in the county were used to power watermills.
From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The
Kent Coalfield was mined during the 20th century at several collieries,
including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.
The west of the county (including Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, and Sevenoaks) has less than 50% of the average claimant count for low incomes or worklessness as the coastal districts of Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, and Thanet (chiefly three resorts: Ramsgate, Broadstairs, and Margate). West and Central Kent have long had many
City of London commuters.
Culture
Architecture

Kent's geographical location between the Straits of Dover and London has influenced its architecture, as has its
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
geology and its good farming land and fine building clays. Kent's countryside pattern was determined by a
gavelkind inheritance system that generated a proliferation of small settlements. There was no open-field system, and the large tracts were owned by the two great abbeys,
Christ Church, Canterbury and
St Augustine's Abbey, that did not pass into the hands of the king during the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
.
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
is the United Kingdom's
metropolitan cathedral; it was founded in AD 598 and displays architecture from all periods. There are nine Anglo-Saxon churches in Kent.
Rochester Cathedral is England's second-oldest cathedral, the present building built in the Early English Style.
These two dioceses ensured that every village had a parish church.
The sites of
Richborough Castle and
Dover Castle, along with two strategic sites along Watling Street, were fortified by the Romans and the Dukes of Kent. Other important sites include
Canterbury city walls and
Rochester Castle.
There remained a need to defend London and thus Kent.
Deal Castle,
Walmer Castle,
Sandown Castle (whose remains were eroded by the sea in the 1990s) were constructed in late mediaeval times, and
HM Dockyard, at Chatham and its surrounding castles and forts—
Upnor Castle,
Great Lines, and
Fort Amherst—more recently.
Kent has three unique vernacular architecture forms: the
oast house, the
Wealden hall house, and
Kentish peg-tiles.
Kent has bridge trusts to maintain its bridges, and though the great bridge (1387) at
Rochester was replaced there are medieval structures at
Aylesford,
Yalding and
Teston.
With the motorways in the late twentieth century came the
M2 motorway bridge spanning the Medway and the Dartford tunnel and the
Dartford Bridge spanning the Thames.
Literature and publishing
Kent has provided inspiration for several notable writers and artists. It has been suggested that Kent inspired many settings in Shakespeare's plays, and he described it in the line 'Sweet is the country, and is full of riches / The people liberal, active, valiant, worthy.' Canterbury's religious role gave rise to
Chaucer's ''
Canterbury Tales'', a key development in the English language. The father of novelist
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
worked at the
Chatham Dockyard; in many of his books, the celebrated novelist featured the scenery of Chatham, Rochester, and the
Cliffe marshes.
During the late 1930s, Nobel Prize-awarded novelist
William Golding worked as a teacher at
Maidstone Grammar School, where he met his future wife Ann Brookfield.
William Caxton, who first introduced the
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
to England, was born in Kent; the recent invention was key in helping many
Kent dialect words and spellings to become standard in
English.
Lord Northbourne hosted a
biodynamic agriculture conference on his estate at
Betteshanger in the summer of 1939, he coined the term '
organic farming' and published his
manifesto of
organic agriculture
Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...
the following year spawning a global movement for
sustainable agriculture and food.
[Paull, John (2021)]
Organic Agriculture - Invented in Kent
, Kent Maps Symposium, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, 5 May.
Classical music
Many notable musicians have been associated with Kent.
Walter Galpin Alcock, composer and organist, who played the organ at the coronations of Edward VII, George V and George VI, was born at
Edenbridge in 1861.
Richard Rodney Bennett, composer and pianist, was born at
Broadstairs in 1936.
Alfred Deller, counter-tenor singer, was born at Margate in 1912.
Orlando Gibbons, composer and organist, died in Canterbury on 5 June 1625 and is buried in the cathedral.
George Frideric Handel took the waters at Royal Tunbridge Wells in 1734 and 1735.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
, together with his father, mother and sister, stayed at
Bourne Park House near Canterbury, 25–30 July 1765. The nights of 24 and 30 July were spent in Canterbury, where they also went to the horse races.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, then an 18-year-old sea cadet, was anchored at Gravesend from November 1862 to February 1863; while there, he completed the slow movement of his First Symphony.
Malcolm Sargent, conductor, was born at Ashford in 1895.
Thomas Tallis, composer and organist, was a
lay clerk of
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
around 1541–2.
Peter Warlock, composer and writer on music, and
Ernest John Moeran, composer, resided at
Eynsford from 1925 to 1928;
Arnold Bax,
William Walton and
Constant Lambert visited them here.
Percy Whitlock, organist and composer, was born at Chatham in 1903.
Visual arts
A number of significant artists came from Kent, including
Thomas Sidney Cooper, a painter of landscapes, often incorporating farm animals,
Richard Dadd, a maker of faery paintings, and
Mary Tourtel, the creator of the children's book character,
Rupert Bear. The artist
Clive Head was also born in Kent. The landscape painter
J. M. W. Turner spent part of his childhood in the town of
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
in East Kent, and regularly returned to visit it throughout his life. The East Kent coast inspired many of his works, including some of his most famous seascapes.
Kent has also been the home to artists including
Frank Auerbach,
Tracey Emin and
Stass Paraskos
Stass Paraskos (; 17 March 1933 – 4 March 2014) was a British-Cypriot painter, sculptor, and writer. Born and raised in Cyprus, he spent much of his life working and teaching in England, where he famously became embroiled in a 1966 obscenity ...
.
Kent was also the location of the largest number of art schools in the country during the nineteenth century, estimated by the art historian David Haste, to approach two hundred. This is believed to be the result of Kent being a front line county during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. At this time, before the invention of photography, draughtsmen were used to draw maps and topographical representations of the fields of battle, and after the wars ended many of these settled permanently in the county in which they had been based. Once the idea of art schools had been established, even in small towns in Kent, the tradition continued, although most of the schools were very small one-man operations, each teaching a small number of daughters of the upper classes how to draw and make watercolour paintings. Nonetheless, some of these small art schools developed into much larger organisations, including Canterbury College of Art, founded by Thomas Sidney Cooper in 1868, which is today the
University for the Creative Arts.
Blean near
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
was home to
Smallfilms, the production company founded by
Oliver Postgate and
Peter Firmin and responsible for children's TV favourites
Noggin the Nog,
Ivor the Engine and
Bagpuss.
Performing arts
The county's largest theatre is the
Marlowe Theatre in the centre of Canterbury.
Music festivals that take place in Kent include
Chilled in a Field Festival,
Electric Gardens,
Hop Farm Festival,
In the Woods Festival,
Lounge On The Farm and the annual
Smugglers Festival near Deal. Other venues for live music include
Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone and the
Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells.
Kentish independence
Many Kentish people have long viewed themselves as Kentish first and British second, and to this day refer to themselves as either 'Men of Kent' or 'Kentish men' depending on whether they live to the East or West of the
River Medway.
After the
2016 Brexit referendum and subsequent proposals for "border checks" on the Kentish border, effectively making Kent a country within a country, this pride in being Kentish began to form into calls from some areas for an independent Kent or an autonomous republic within the UK, especially from the county's prominent newspapers, with the idea being discussed in detail in some areas – with some ideas such as mock passports and
tongue-in-cheek manifestos being created. These calls for independence can be explained by the individualistic and rebellious mentality that has always existed in the county, which can be explained by the county's position in the very south-east of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, having been a
prominent and independent kingdom for centuries as well as being the source of many major rebellions that have occurred in the United Kingdom.
Transport
Roads

With the Roman invasion, a road network was constructed to connect London to the Channel ports of Dover,
Lympne and Richborough. The London–Dover road was
Watling Street. These roads are now approximately the A2, B2068, A257, and the A28. The
A2 runs through Dartford (A207), Gravesend, Rochester, Canterbury, and Dover; the A20 through
Eltham, Wrotham, Maidstone,
Charing, Ashford.
Hythe, Folkestone and Dover; the
A21 around Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and on to Hastings in East Sussex.
[
In the 1960s, two motorways were built; the M2 from Medway to Faversham, and the M20 from Swanley to Folkestone. Part of the M25 runs through Kent, from Westerham to the Dartford Crossing. The M26 motorway, built in 1980, provides a short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 near Wrotham. Kent currently has more motorways by distance than any other county in the UK, with sections of the M2, M20, M25 and M26 totalling within the extents of the ceremonial county.
In the run-up to Britain leaving the European Union, Government minister Michael Gove confirmed that the Government intended to impose a ''de facto'' border between Kent and the rest of England for freight lorries, in order to deal with expected lorry queues of 7,000 or more at Folkestone, Dover and other ports. Heavy goods vehicle operators need to apply for a 24-hour Kent Access Permit (KAP) to take a vehicle of 7.5 tonnes or more into Kent if their intention is to cross to the EU via Dover or the Eurotunnel.
]
Water
The medieval Cinque Ports, except for the Port of Dover, have all now silted up. The Medway Estuary has been an important port and naval base for 500 years. The River Medway is tidal up to Allington and navigable up to Tonbridge. Kent's two canals are the Royal Military Canal between Hythe and Rye, which still exists, and the Thames and Medway Canal between Strood and Gravesend. Built-in 1824, it was purchased in 1846 by the railways, which partially backfilled it.[ Container ports are at ]Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
and Thamesport. Following the closures across the lower Medway, and the Swale to the Isle of Sheppey, during the 20th century, the Woolwich Ferry is the only domestic ferry that runs in the broadest definition of the county.
Railways
The earliest locomotive-driven passenger-carrying railway in Britain was the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway which opened in 1830. This and the London & Greenwich Railway later merged into South Eastern Railway (SER).
By the 1850s, SER's networks had expanded to Ashford, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, and the Medway towns. SER's major London termini were London Bridge, Charing Cross, and Cannon Street. Kent also had a second major railway, the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. Originally the East Kent Railway in 1858, it linked the northeast Kent coast with London terminals at Victoria and Blackfriars.
The two companies merged in 1899, forming the South Eastern & Chatham Railway, further amalgamated with other railways by the Railways Act 1921 to form the Southern Railway.[ Britain's railways were nationalised in 1948, forming British Railways. The railways were privatised in 1996 and most Kent passenger services were franchised to Connex South Eastern. Following financial difficulties, Connex lost the franchise and was replaced by South Eastern Trains and after Southeastern.
The ]Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
was completed in 1994 and High Speed 1 in November 2007 with a London terminus at St Pancras. A new station, Ebbsfleet International, opened between Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
and Gravesend, serving northern Kent. The high speed lines will be utilised to provide a faster train service to coastal towns like Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
and Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
. This station is in addition to the existing station at Ashford International, which has suffered a massive cut in service as a result.
In addition to the "main line" railways, there are several light, heritage, and industrial railways in Kent. There are three heritage, standard gauge railways; Spa Valley Railway near Tunbridge Wells on the old Tunbridge Wells West branch, East Kent Railway on the old East Kent coalfield area and the Kent & East Sussex Railway on the Weald around Tenterden. In addition, there is the gauge, Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway on the southeast Kent coast along the Dungeness peninsula. Finally, there is the , industrial Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, previously the Bowaters Paper Railway.
Air
Charter flights are provided by Lydd Airport at Lydd.
In 2002, it was revealed that the government was considering building a new four-runway airport on the marshland near the village of Cliffe on Hoo Peninsula. This plan was dropped in 2003 following protests by cultural and environmental groups. However further plans for a Thames Estuary Airport on the Kent coast have subsequently emerged, including the Thames Hub Airport, again sited on the Isle of Grain and designed by Lord Foster, and the London Britannia Airport plan, colloquially known as " Boris Island" due to its being championed by the former Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
Boris Johnson, which would see a six runway airport built on an artificial island to be towards the Shivering Sands area, north-east of Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay.
The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...
.
Both of these options were dropped in 2014 in favour of expansion at either Gatwick or Heathrow Airport, the latter finally being the chosen option following Theresa May's installation as Prime Minister in summer 2016.
Manston Airport, located near the village of Manston in the Thanet district, was a former RAF facility that also handled some civilian flights. It closed in 2014.
Education
Kent has four universities: Canterbury Christ Church University with campuses throughout East Kent; University of Kent
The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...
, with campuses in Canterbury and Medway; University of Greenwich (a London University), with sites at Woolwich, Eltham, London and Medway; the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) also has three of its five campuses in the county.
Although much of Britain adopted a comprehensive education system in the 1970s, Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Unitary Authority are among around fifteen
local authorities still providing wholly selective education through the eleven-plus examination with students allocated a place at a secondary modern school
A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...
or at a grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
.
Together, the two Kent authorities have 38 of the 164 grammar schools remaining in Britain.
Kent County Council has the largest education department of any local council in Britain,
providing school places for over 289,000 pupils.
In 2005–06, Kent County Council 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".
Kent County Council Local Education Authority maintains 96 secondary schools, of which 33 are selective schools and 63 are secondary modern
A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupils ...
schools.
Music education is provided by Kent Music (formerly Kent Music School), which has its origins in the 1940s. Kent Music provides services across the county including Kent County Youth Orchestra, Kent Youth Choirs, and an annual summer school at Benenden School.
National Challenge schools
In 2010, Kent had the highest number of National Challenge schools in England: schools which are branded 'failing' based on the British Government's floor targets that 30% of pupils achieve at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C. Of the 63 secondary modern schools, 33 missed this target; thus 52% of Kent secondary modern schools (34% out of all 96 maintained secondary schools) are 'failing'.
Sport
In association football, Kent's highest ranked football team is Gillingham FC (nicknamed 'The Gills') who play in Football League Two, having been demoted at the end of the 2021–22 season. Maidstone United was a Football League side from 1989 until going bankrupt in 1992. Kent clubs in the higher levels of non-league football include Ebbsfleet United, who were promoted in 2023. Tonbridge Angels and the current incarnation of Maidstone United currently play in National League South, the sixth tier of the English football pyramid.
Kent is represented in cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
by Kent County Cricket Club. The club was a founder member of the County Championship
The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
in 1890 and has won the competition, the major domestic first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
competition, seven times. The club is based at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury and also plays matches at the Nevill Ground in Royal Tunbridge Wells and the County Cricket Ground, Beckenham. The Kent Women cricket team has won the Women's County Championship seven times since it was established in 1997. Cricket has traditionally been a popular sport in the county and Kent is considered one of the locations in which the game first developed. Teams have represented the county since the early 18th century. The Kent Cricket League is the top level of club competition within Kent and features teams from throughout the county, including areas such as Beckenham and Bexley which were formerly part of the county.
Canterbury Hockey Club and Holcombe Hockey Club both play in the top division in both the men's and women's England Hockey Leagues. Sevenoaks Hockey Club's women first XI plays in the second tier of national competition.
The Invicta Dynamos, based in Gillingham, are a semi-professional ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team that plays in the National Ice Hockey League. They replaced the Medway Bears as the senior team in 1997. They share the home ice rink at Planet Ice Gillingham with the secondary senior team, Invicta Mustangs and the ladies ice hockey team, the Invicta Dynamics.
In rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
, Tonbridge Juddians and Canterbury RFC play in the fourth-tier of English rugby in the National League 2 South. Gravesend RFC play in the seventh-tier London 2 South-East. Blackheath FC, a club within the historic boundaries of the county, play in fourth-tier National League 2 South. Both Tonbridge Juddians and Blackheath RFC played in National league 1 (the third-tier of English rugby) up until the end of the 2021–2022 season.
In motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
, the Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
circuit near Swanley has played host to a number of national and international racing events and hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix in various years between 1964 and 1986.
There have been multiple American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
teams based in Kent since the game was popularised in the UK. Currently, the Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
is the home of the East Kent Mavericks, the 2023 BAFA National Leagues Southern Football Conference 2 Champions, as well as teams from both universities.
Kent is home to two National League netball clubs, both based in northwest Kent: Telstars (Premier Division 2) and KCNC (Premier Division 3).
In basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, the Kent Panthers participate in Division 3 of the National Basketball League.
The 2021–2022 season has seen three Kentish clubs demoted from the third-tier of their respective sports to the fourth-tier, with rugby clubs Tonbridge Juddians and Blackheath RFC being demoted in rugby and Gillingham FC being demoted in football.
News and media
Television
Kent is served by the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's South East region, which is based in Tunbridge Wells and provides local news for the county and East Sussex. Its commercial rival is ITV Meridian Ltd, which has a newsroom at The Maidstone Studios despite the main studio being based in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
. Main transmitters providing these services are at West Hougham, near Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
and Blue Bell Hill, between Chatham and Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
. A powerful relay transmitter at Tunbridge Wells serves the town and surrounding area. Those parts of Kent closest to London such as Swanley, Westerham, Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
, Gravesend, and Sevenoaks lie within the ITV London and BBC London areas, taking their television signals from the Crystal Palace transmitter.
Radio
Kent has two county-wide stations – BBC Radio Kent, based in Tunbridge Wells; and the commercial station KMFM, owned by the KM Group. KMFM previously consisted of seven local stations which covered different areas of the county (and are still technically seven different licences) but have shared all programming since 2012
The county's first commercial station was originally known as Invicta FM and began broadcasting in 1984. After various buyouts, the station was rebranded into Heart Kent in 2009 as part of the Heart Network. The station was closed and merged with several other Heart stations in the south of England in 2019 to form Heart South, with the Kent studios in Whitstable closing and production moving to Fareham
Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...
in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
.
There are several community radio stations in Kent including:
* Academy FM (Folkestone).
* Academy FM (Thanet)
* Ashford FM (Ashford) on 107.1 FM.
* BRFM 95.6 FM (Sheppey)
* Cabin FM broadcasting to Herne Bay on 94.6FM.
* Cinque Ports Radio 100.2FM for Romney Marsh, Rye and Hythe.
* CSR 97.4FM (Canterbury) now only available via online listening.
* Deal Radio (Deal): online only.
* Dover Community Radio (DCR) Dover: currently online only; due to start broadcasting to Dover District on 104.9FM from May 2022.
* Radio Faversham (Faversham): online only.
* Maidstone Community Radio (MCR): online only.
* Miskin Radio (Dartford and Gravesend): online only.
* SFM 106.9FM (Sittingboune)
* Sheppey FM 92.2 (Sheppey)
* Shoreline Easy (Romney Marsh), online only.
* West Kent Radio (WKCR) serving Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. 95.5 and 106.7FM.
* Whitstable Bay Radio (Whitstable): online only.
Newspapers
The KM Group, KOS Media and Kent Regional News and Media all provide local newspapers for most of the large towns and cities. County-wide papers include the '' Kent Messenger'', '' Kent on Saturday'', '' Kent on Sunday'', and the '' Kent and Sussex Courier''.
See also
* Custos Rotulorum of Kent – list of Keepers of the Rolls
* Duke of Kent
* Kent (UK Parliament constituency)
Kent was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knight of the shire, knights of the shire" (Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament) to ...
– historical list of MPs for Kent constituency
* Kent Community Network
* Kent Police and Crime Commissioner
* List of churches in Kent
* List of civil parishes in Kent
* List of fire stations in Kent
* List of hills of Kent
* List of Lord Lieutenants
* List of people from Kent
* List of places in Kent
* List of tourist attractions in Kent
* Recreational walks in Kent
* Thames Gateway – includes details of regeneration projects in the northern areas of Kent
* :Towns in Kent
* :Villages in Kent
* Fergus and Judith Wilson
References
External links
Kent County Council
nbsp;– local government website
BBC – origins of Kent placenames
Images of Kent
at the English Heritage Archive
{{Authority control
Non-metropolitan counties
South East England
Home counties
Counties of England established in antiquity