Kent (redirected from Garden of England)

Kent, county, England

Kent, county (1991 pop. 1,485,600), 1,525 sq mi (3,950 sq km), SE England. It lies between the Thames estuary and the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone. The Isle of Sheppey is separated from the north coast by the narrow Swale channel. The chalky North Downs cross the county from east to west, and to the south lie the fertile Weald and Romney Marsh. The Medway, the Stour, and the Darent are the chief rivers. The region, largely agricultural, is a market-gardening center. Crops include fruit, grain, and hops. Sheep and cattle grazing, fishing, and dairying are also prevalent. One of London's "Home Counties," Kent is increasingly important industrially because of the encroachment of the London urban area into its western portion. Since Great Britain's entry into the European Community (now the European Union) in 1973, warehousing has emerged as a growing enterprise. Paper, pottery, brick, cement, chemicals, and beer are manufactured, and there is shipbuilding and oil refining. Because of its strategic location on the path to the Continent through Dover, Kent has been important throughout English history. Julius Caesar landed at Kent in 55 B.C., and Roman roads crossed the county. In 597, St. Augustine founded a Christian mission near the Canterbury cathedral. Kent was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the Middle Ages many religious houses were established in the old kingdom of Kent, and Canterbury became the goal of numerous pilgrims such as Chaucer described in the Canterbury Tales. The region was intimately associated with the rebellions of Wat Tyler, Jack Cade, and Sir Thomas Wyatt. The coast was heavily fortified during the two World Wars. In 1974, Kent was reorganized as a nonmetropolitan county.

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Kent, cities, United States

Kent.

1 Industrial city (1990 pop. 28,835), Portage co., NE Ohio; settled in 1805 as Franklin Mills, combined with Carthage and renamed as Kent 1863, inc. as a city 1920. Machinery and processed foods are made there, and there is a liquid-crystal research center. The city is the seat of Kent State Univ., where four young people were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen during a 1970 protest of the Vietnam War.

2 City (1990 pop. 37,960), King co., W central Wash., near Puget Sound; inc. 1890. Located in a fertile agricultural area, the city has numerous food and dairy processing plants. Manufactures include chemical, metal, paper, and plastic products and electrical and transportation equipment. Kent additionally has a large aerospace industry and is a regional distribution center. The city and its population grew in the 1980s and 90s along with the developing Seattle metropolitan area.

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Kent

Administrative (pop., 2001: 1,329,653), geographic, and historic county, southeastern England. It lies along the English Channel. The Romans ruled the area from AD 43, using Canterbury as a base. It was invaded by Jutes and Saxons in the 5th century and became one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon Britain. The king of Kent welcomed St. Augustine's Christian mission in 597; St. Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury cathedral in 1170. It has long been known as the “Garden of England,” and such crops as apples, cherries, barley, and wheat are widely grown.

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Kent¹

William. ?1685--1748, English architect, landscape gardener, and interior designer

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Kent²

a county of SE England, on the English Channel: the first part of Great Britain to be colonized by the Romans; one of the seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England until absorbed by Wessex in the 9th century ad. Apart from the Downs it is mostly low-lying and agricultural, specializing in fruit and hops. The Medway towns of Rochester and Gillingham became an independent unitary authority in 1998. Administrative centre: Maidstone. Pop. (excluding Medway): 1 348 800 (2003 est.). Area (excluding Medway): 3526 sq. km (1361 sq. miles)

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Kent

a “noble and true-hearted” courtier. [Br. Lit.: King Lear]

See : Loyalty