Kent

Kent is one of the oldest counties, having been a kingdom in Saxon times. (See kent, kingdom of.) It has always been of great importance because of its strategic position as gateway to the continent.

In pre-Roman times, the inhabitants were the Cantiaci, a group of tribes who offered serious resistance to Caesar's two expeditions. The main Roman port was Richborough (Rutupiae), where there remains a remarkable Roman lighthouse. A major road ran from the port to Canterbury (Durovernum) and crossed the Medway at Rochester (Durobrivae), before reaching London. It was later known as Watling Street.

In the middle of the 5th cent., the area was overrun by Jutish settlers and a kingdom established. Æthelbert pushed Kentish power to its height, occupying London and taking control of the East Saxons. He converted to Christianity and founded the sees of Canterbury (597) and Rochester (604). Later kings of Kent found it difficult to sustain their independence against powerful neighbours and fell under the domination, first of Mercia, then of Wessex.

Kentish society had a number of unusual features. The shire was divided into five large divisions or lathes and then into more than 60 small hundreds. The local custom of gavelkind supported equal inheritance and Kentish men had a reputation for independence. The east-west division of the shire, hinted at by the establishment of two bishoprics, continued strongly. There was a convention that representation in Parliament should be shared between east and west and JPs normally exercised their authority only in their own half. Quarter sessions were at Canterbury for east Kent, Maidstone for west Kent.

By Domesday in 1086, Dover had developed as an important borough, along with Canterbury and Rochester. Also of significance were Romney, Hythe, and Sandwich, subsequently recognized among the Cinque Ports, and given special privileges in exchange for heavy defence responsibilities. The close association with the continent after the Norman Conquest brought the shire considerable prosperity, and more came with the development of the royal dockyards. By 1801 the largest towns in the shire were Deptford (17, 000), Greenwich (14, 000), and Chatham (10, 000). Production for the ever-growing London market encouraged orchards, market gardens, hop-fields, and the rearing of sheep and cattle. As the remorseless growth of London continued, the balance of population in the county shifted to the north-west. Lewisham with 4, 000 people in 1801 had 174, 000 in 1921; Deptford had risen to 119, 000, Plumstead to 76, 000, Bromley to 68, 000. Another rapid development was Gillingham with 95, 000. In 1888 Kent lost a slice of London suburbia to the new London County Council, and in 1965 Erith, Bromley, Bexley, Chislehurst, and Orpington were moved out into the Greater London Council.