Today is Kent Day. This date was chosen because it is the feast day of Saint Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. 10 things you might not know about Kent:
- The name probably comes from a British Celtic word for 'coastal district,' 'corner-land' or 'land on the edge'. The Romans called it Cantia or Canticum. A modern nickname is 'The Garden of England'. This was coined by Henry VIII after eating a particularly delicious bowl of Cherries from Kent.
- While on the subject of fruit, the Strawberries served at Wimbledon are grown in Kent, and are selected to strict standards. Each berry must be between 25mm-45mm in diameter, fully red all over and without a single defect. Where else but the Garden of England to keep the National Fruit Collection? The world’s largest fruit collection, which comprises 4,000 trees is at Brogdale. It's part of an international project to protect plant genetic resources. Kent is the main place for Hazelnut production with the Kentish cobnut one of the most famous varieties, introduced to the area around 1830. Cheap labour and the ease at which the produce could be transported to London by train led to over 7,000 acres of hazelnut orchards in Kent by 1913.
- Herne Bay in Kent is thought to be the birthplace of the Horse, because the world's oldest horse fossil was found there. The fossil is 54 million years old.
- According to Julius Caesar, “Of all these (British tribes), by far the most civilised are they who dwell in Kent, which is entirely a maritime region, and who differ but little from the Gauls in their customs.” Caesar landed in what is modern day Kent in 55 and 54 BC.
- I found several references to Dungeness being Britain's only officially recognised desert. I found just as many saying that claim had been refuted by the Met Office. It may not be a desert but it does have largest shingle beach in Europe, which along with its plant life, has made it a place of special scientific interest.
- Kent used to have two cities: Canterbury and Rochester. Rochester lost its city status due to the merging of local councils in 1998. Other places of interest include the UK's smallest town, Fordwich, which in 2011 had a population of just 381 people, making it the smallest community to be served by a town council. Its town hall is also the smallest in the UK. Kent has one of only three towns in the UK to have been granted the prefix "Royal": Royal Tunbridge Wells. Edward VII granted the prefix in 1909 in recognition of royal connections dating back to Stuart times. (The other two, for information, are Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Wootton Bassett.) Sevenoaks is named after seven Oak trees which were on the Vine around AD 800. Today, there are actually eight, with the trees having been replaced several times over the centuries. After the storm in 1987, there was just one left standing. There are some interesting villages, too. Chiddingstone has a 'chiding stone', rumoured to have been used by ancient druids as an altar, or a place where judgments were made and punishments handed out. This is thought to be where the name comes from. The other special thing about this village is that, apart from the church and the castle, it's owned by the National Trust. Finally, Pluckley, near Ashford, once held the Guinness World Record for being the most haunted village in Britain, boasting 12 different ghosts. Guinness have discontinued this record now, so if you live in a village with 13 ghosts, too bad.
- Kentish Man or Man of Kent? Depends which side of the river Medway they live on. A Kentish Man (or Maid) is from the north side and the Man of Kent (or Maid of Kent) is from the south.
- Kent has seen many firsts in the field of transport. The first motor show in Britain (and possibly the world) was held in the Agricultural Show Grounds in 1895. It was called the Horseless Carriage Exhibition and had five exhibits including two cars, a fire engine, a steam carriage and a tricycle. In East Peckham, the first speeding fine was handed out to one Walter Arnold who was convicted of travelling at 8 miles an hour by a local very puffed out policeman who'd had to pedal after him to catch him. The fine was one shilling (5p) plus costs. The very first White lines on the road were painted on the London to Folkestone Road in Ashford, in 1914. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, fondly known as the Crab and Winkle Line was the first railway. Kent is also home to the first aircraft factory in the world. Short Brothers opened on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. They produced an initial batch of 6 aircraft, making the Short Brothers the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world to undertake volume production of an aircraft design.
- There are some literary connections, too. Aside from London, Rochester is the place which features most often in Charles Dickens's books. John Buchan wrote The 39 Steps in Kent while he was sick in bed with stomach ulcers, to distract himself from the pain. There were 78 steps from his villa to the beach and this is thought to have been his inspiration. It's not known why he reduced the number of steps!
- Kent is said to have more castles and historic houses than any other county in England. It also has the first Lighthouse to use Electricity. South Foreland Lighthouse near Dover first used electricity in 1859 – two decades before the lightbulb was invented. It was also where the first transmission of ship-to-shore and international radio messages took place. Also to be found in Kent is the smallest church in England that is still in regular use. St Edmund’s Chapel, in Dover was built in 1262, and is about 28 feet by 14 feet with walls two feet thick.
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