, Kent County, England
1895 - Kent County

Kent, a county of England, forming the S.E. extremity of Great Britain, and having N. the Thames and North Sea, S.E. the Straits of Dover, S. Sussex and the English Channel. Area, 1570 square miles. Two principal ranges of hills, contiguous with the North Downs of Surrey and Hants, extend through the county from W. to E., which is elsewhere diversified with many minor ranges. In the S. are Romney Marshes and the tract termed the "Weald," formerly a part of extensive forests, and still interspersed with numerous oak woods. In the N. are the islands of Sheppey and Thanet and the mouths of the Med way, Stour, and Darent Rivers. The products are more varied than in any other county, and generally superior in quality. Wheat, barley, and other grains, turnips, hops, clover, &c., are of the finest growth. Cherry-, plum-, and filbert-orchards are extensive, and much cider is made. Garden-seeds are important products. The stock of sheep is large; and the Romney Sreed is noted for its long wool. Agriculture is in an advanced state. Estates are small, owing to the Saxon custom of gavelkind, here still maintained, by which the lands of a father dying intestate are divided among all the sons alike. Paper-making and ship building are important interests. The Southeast Railway and its branches traverse the county. The chief towns are Maidstone (the county town), Dover, Deal, Greenwich, Chatham, Woolwich, Sandwich, Ramsgate, Margate, and Gravesend. The county sends twenty-one members to the House of Commons, fifteen of whom are from its boroughs, Kent was the country of the Cantii, and was the first established kingdom of the Saxon Heptarchy. Pop, 1,142,281.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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