View source for Kent

{{Short description|County of England}}
{{About|the county in England}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox English county
| official_name = Kent
| locator_map = {{Switcher
| [[File: Kent UK locator map 2010.svg|250px]]<br />''Ceremonial Kent within England''<hr />
| Ceremonial Kent
| [[File:Kent - British Isles.svg|255px]]<br />Historic Kent in the British Isles<hr />
| Historic Kent
}}
| image_main = {{multiple images
|border=infobox |perrow=1 2 |total_width=250px
| image1 = White_Cliffs_of_Dover,_Kent.jpg
| image2 = Saint Thomas Becket (Samuel Caldwell, 1919) crop.jpg
| image3 = Rochester Castle Keep and Bailey 0038stcpcropped.png
 }}
| image_caption = The [[White Cliffs of Dover]], [[English Gothic stained glass windows|stained glass]] depicting [[Thomas Becket]] in [[Canterbury Cathedral]], and [[Rochester Castle]]
| motto = ''[[Invicta (motto)|Invicta]]''
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|12|N|0|42|E|region:GB-KEN_source:enwiki-osgb36(TQ9147)_type:adm2nd|display=title, inline}}
| region = [[South East England|South East]]
| established_date = [[Historic counties of England|Ancient]]
| county_town = [[Maidstone]]
| largest_town = [[Maidstone]]
| lord_lieutenant_office = Lord Lieutenant of Kent
| lord_lieutenant_name = [[Annabel Warrender|Annabel Campbell, the Lady Colgrain]]
| high_sheriff_office = High Sheriff of Kent
| high_sheriff_name = Mrs Remony Millwater<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=62943|page=5161|date=13 March 2020}}</ref> (2020/21)<br>
Jonathan Neame (2025/26)
| area_total_km2 = 3736
| area_total_rank = 10th
| ethnicity_year = [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]
| ethnicity_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/information-and-data/facts-and-figures-about-kent/summary-of-kent-facts-and-figures#tab-2|title= Summary of Kent facts and figures |publisher=Kent County Council |access-date=27 May 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/customprofiles/build/#E10000016|title= Explore local statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=27 May 2025 }}</ref>
| ethnicity = {{ubl|89.4% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
{{Tree list}}
** 83.0% [[White British]]
** 6.4% [[Other White]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|4.4% [[British Asian|Asian]]|2.6% [[Black British|Black]]|2.3% Mixed|1.2% Other}}
| county_council = [[Kent County Council]]
| admin_hq = [[Maidstone]]
| area_council_km2 = 3544
| area_council_rank = 1st
| iso_code = GB-KEN
| ons_code = 29
| gss_code = E10000016
| nuts_code = UKJ42
| districts_map = [[File:Kent numbered districts.svg|200px]]
| districts_key = {{Colorsample|#FEFE77}} Unitary {{Colorsample|#FEC1E9}} County council area
| districts_list = # [[Sevenoaks District|Sevenoaks]]
# [[Borough of Dartford|Dartford]]
# [[Gravesham]]
# {{nowrap|[[Tonbridge and Malling]]}}
# [[Medway]]
# [[Borough of Maidstone|Maidstone]]
# [[Borough of Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]]
# [[Borough of Swale|Swale]]
# [[Borough of Ashford|Ashford]]
# [[City of Canterbury]]
# [[Folkestone and Hythe District|Folkestone and Hythe]]
# [[Thanet District|Thanet]]
# [[Dover District|Dover]]
| MPs = [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent|List of MPs]]
| police = [[Kent Police]]
| website = {{URL|kent.gov.uk}}
}}

'''Kent''' is a [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] in [[South East England]]. It is bordered by [[Essex]] across the [[Thames Estuary]] to the north, the [[Strait of Dover]] to the south-east, [[East Sussex]] to the south-west, [[Surrey]] to the west, and [[Greater London]] to the north-west. 

The county has an area of {{Convert|3544|km2|sqmi}} and had population of {{English cerem counties|POP=Kent}} in {{English cerem counties|POP=|TXT=Year}}. The north-west of Kent is densely populated, with [[Dartford]] and [[Gravesend]] belonging to the Greater London conurbation and [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]], [[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]] and [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] forming a second conurbation around the [[River Medway]]; the town of [[Maidstone]] is located to their south. The remainder of the county is more rural, and its principal settlements include the city of [[Canterbury]] in the north-east, the seaside resort of [[Margate]] on the north-east coast, and the ports of [[Dover]] and [[Folkestone]] on the east coast. For local government purposes Kent consists of a [[non-metropolitan county]], 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]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Downs |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/North-Downs/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[Natural England]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The south-west of the county contains part of the [[Greensand Ridge]] and the [[Weald]], the area between the North and [[South Downs]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wealden Greensand |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/Wealden-Greensand/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[Natural England]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Low Weald |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/Low-Weald-/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[Natural England]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=High Weald |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/High-Weald/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[Natural England]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The south-east of the county contains the low-lying [[Romney Marsh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Romney Marshes |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/Romney-Marshes/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[Natural England]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[North Downs]] and [[High Weald National Landscape|High Weald]] have been designated [[National Landscape|national landscapes]]. The geography of the county lends itself to the cultivation of fruit orchards, and it has been nicknamed "the Garden of England".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |date=1 June 2006 |title=Kent loses its Garden of England title to North Yorkshire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/01/ruralaffairs.travelnews |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113130016/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/01/ruralaffairs.travelnews#article_continue |archive-date=13 January 2022 |access-date=28 May 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 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]], following the withdrawal of the Romans.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kent-county-England|title=Kent {{!}} county, England, United Kingdom |website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=1 January 2020|archive-date=22 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422234912/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kent-county-England|url-status=live}}</ref> [[History of Christianity in Britain#England|In the 6th century]], [[Augustine of Canterbury|Saint Augustine]] landed in the county to begin the [[Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England|conversion of England]] to [[Christianity]] and became the first [[archbishop of Canterbury]]; [[Canterbury Cathedral]] is now a [[World Heritage Site]]. England relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of its history; the [[Cinque Ports]] in the 10th<ref>G. O. Sayles, ''The Medieval Foundations of England'' (London 1967). p. 186.</ref>–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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2016 |title=How Dover Castle became the Key of England – the Great Siege of 1216 |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/the-great-siege-of-dover-castle-1216/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=[[English Heritage]]}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:BnF gr 1397 42r Kent in Strabo's Geographica (1.4.3).jpg|thumb|left|Kent in Strabo's ''[[Geographica]]'' (1.4.3) from a 10th century manuscript.]]
[[File:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - kentland (British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 4r).jpg|thumb|left|Kent, as it appears in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' between 11th and 12th centuries]]
The name is of [[Common Celtic|Celtic]] origin and is one of the oldest [[toponymy|place names]] of the British Isles still in use today, being first recorded in a [[periplus]] in [[ancient Greek]] of the {{circa|320s B.C.}} by [[Pytheas]]. The original work, which does not survive, he is quoted explicitly by [[Strabo]] (''[[Geographica|Geog]].'' 1.4.3)<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=grc:Γεωγραφικά |title=Geographika |url=https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc2:1.4.3/ |access-date=2025-07-02 |website=scaife.perseus.org}}</ref> and implicitly by [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] (''[[Bibliotheca historica|BH]]'' 5.21).<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=grc:Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική |title=Bibliotheca historica (Books 1–5) |url=https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.perseus-grc5:5.21/ |access-date=2025-07-02 |website=scaife.perseus.org}}</ref>

<blockquote lang="grc">ὁ δὲ πλειόνων ἢ δισμυρίων τὸ μῆκος ἀποφαίνει τῆς νήσου, καὶ τὸ '''Κάντιον''' ἡμερῶν τινων πλοῦν ἀπέχειν τῆς [[Gallia Celtica|Κελτικῆς]] φησι<ref>{{Cite web |author=Strabo |author-link=Strabo |title=Geographika |at=book 1, chapter 4, section 3 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197:book=1:chapter=4:section=3 |access-date=2025-07-02 |via=www.perseus.tufts.edu }}</ref></blockquote>

Translation:

<blockquote>Yet he [<nowiki/>[[Pytheas]]] declares that the extent of the island is more&nbsp;than 20,000 [[stadion (unit)|stadia]] and says that Kantion is several days' sail from [[Gallia Celtica|Keltike]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Geography_of_Strabo.html?id=33GFAwAAQBAJ |title=The Geography of Strabo: An English Translation, with Introduction and Notes |date=2014-05-29 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-95249-1 |pages=89 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>
As such, it has been claimed as the "oldest recorded name still in use in England".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=C. M. |title=Place-names of the English-speaking world |date=1972 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=9780297995067 |location=London |pages=3, 90}}</ref>

The meaning has been explained as 'coastal district', 'corner-land' or 'land on the edge' ({{langx|cy|cant}} 'bordering of a circle, tyre, edge'; {{langx|br|cant}} 'circle'; {{langx|nl|kant}} 'side, edge'). In Latin sources the area is called {{lang|la|Cantia}} or {{lang|la|Cantium}}, while the Anglo-Saxons referred to it as {{lang|ang|Cent}}, {{lang|ang|Cent lond}} or {{lang|ang|Centrīċe}}.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 November 1949 |title=Kent |url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Kent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916095416/http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Kent |archive-date=16 September 2017 |access-date=16 September 2017 |publisher=[[Etymonline]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Ian |title=Kent Dialect |publisher=Bradwell Books |year=2012 |isbn=9781902674346 |pages=26 |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Kent}}

The area was first occupied by [[archaic humans|early humans]], intermittently due to periods of extreme cold, during the [[Palaeolithic]] (Old Stone Age), as attested by an early Neanderthal skull found in the quarries at [[Swanscombe]]. The [[Medway megaliths]] were built during the [[Neolithic]] era. There is a rich sequence of [[Bronze Age]], Celtic [[Iron Age]], and Britto-[[Roman Empire|Roman]] era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the [[Ringlemere gold cup]] and the Roman villas of the [[River Darent|Darent valley]].<ref name="prehistoric">{{cite book |last=Ashbee |first=Paul |title=Kent in prehistoric times |publisher=Tempus |year=2005 |isbn=9780752431369 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Julius Caesar]] described the area as {{lang|la|Cantium}}, or the home of the [[Cantiaci]], in 51&nbsp;BC.<ref name="name">{{cite book |last=Glover |first=Judith |title=Place names of Kent |publisher=B. T. Batsford |year=1976 |isbn=9780713430691 |language=en}}</ref> The extreme west of the modern county was by the time of [[Roman Britain]] 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".<ref name=":0" />
[[File:FlagOfKent.svg|thumb|The [[Flag of Kent|flag]] of the historic county of Kent]]
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]]. While they expelled the native Romano-British population, some likely remained in the area, eventually assimilating with the newcomers.<ref>Susan Harrington and Stuart Brookes, ''The Kingdom of Kent and Its People, AD 400–1066'', pp. 24, 35.</ref> Of the invading tribes, the [[Jutes]] were the most prominent, and the area became [[Kingdom of Kent|a Jutish kingdom]]<ref name="kingdom">{{cite book |last=Witney| first=K. P. |title=The Kingdom of Kent |year=1982}}</ref> 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.<ref name="history">{{cite web |title=Victoria County History of Kent |publisher=KentArchaeology.org.uk |url=http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/03/03/01C/064.htm |date=May 2006 |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216115929/http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/03/03/01C/064.htm |archive-date=16 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 597, [[Pope Gregory I]] appointed the religious missionary (who became [[Augustine of Canterbury|Saint Augustine of Canterbury]] after his death) as the first [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the [[Paganism|pagan]] King [[Æthelberht of Kent]] to Christianity. The [[Diocese of Canterbury]] became England's first [[Episcopal See]] with first cathedral and has since remained England's centre of Christianity.<ref name="Archbishop">{{cite web|title=Archbishop of Canterbury |publisher=Spartacus.SchoolNet.co.uk |url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/NORarchcanterbury.htm |access-date=19 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618095157/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/NORarchcanterbury.htm |archive-date=18 June 2007 }}</ref> The second designated English cathedral was for West Kent at [[Rochester Cathedral]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Stenton |first=Frank M |title=Anglo-Saxon England |volume=II |year=1971 |series=The Oxford History of England |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-821716-9}}</ref>

Kent was traditionally [[List of hundreds of England|partitioned]] into East and West Kent, and into [[Lathe (county subdivision)|lathes]] and [[Hundred (county division)|hundreds]]. The traditional border of East and West Kent was the county's main river, the [[River Medway|Medway]]. Men and women from east of the Medway are Men (or Maids) of Kent, those from the west are Kentishmen or Kentish Maids.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name="k228500">{{cite news |last=Griffiths |first=Rhys |title=Are you a Kentish Man or a Man of Kent and which side of the Medway is the best place to be? |date=11 June 2020 |work=Kent Online |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/are-you-a-man-of-kent-or-kentish-man-228500/ |access-date=27 July 2020 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727071139/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/are-you-a-man-of-kent-or-kentish-man-228500/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Graham |first=James |date=11 April 2023 |title=The River Medway: The river of Kent or Kentish river? |url=https://britishheritage.com/travel/river-medway |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727054923/https://britishheritage.com/travel/river-medway |archive-date=27 July 2020 |access-date=27 July 2020 |publisher=British Heritage}}</ref>

In the 11th century, the people of Kent (or ''Chenth'', per the [[Domesday Book]]) adopted the motto ''[[Invicta (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]] 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]] and [[Scotland]].<ref name="odo">{{cite book |author=Bates |first=David |title=The Character and Career of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (1049/50-1097) |publisher=Speculum |year=1975 |author-link=David Bates (historian)}}</ref>

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]],<ref name="revolt">{{cite web |title=Peasants' Revolt |publisher=Britannia.com |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404234315/http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html |archive-date=4 April 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[Jack Cade]]'s Kent rebellion of 1450, and [[Thomas Wyatt the younger|Wyatt's]] Rebellion of 1554 against Queen [[Mary I of England|Mary I]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wyatt's Rebellion |url=http://www.britpolitics.co.uk/queen-mary-i-england-tudor-religion-rebellion |website=Brit Politics |publisher=Britology Ltd |access-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133827/http://www.britpolitics.co.uk/queen-mary-i-england-tudor-religion-rebellion |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:HistorieKent1576.jpg|thumb|left|Title page of [[William Lambarde]]'s ''Perambulation of Kent'' (completed in 1570 and published in 1576), a historical description of Kent and the first published [[English county histories|county history]]]]

The [[Royal Navy]] first used the [[River Medway]] in 1547.<!-- *otheus*: nonsensical>> when a storehouse was rented on 'Jyllingham Water'. --> By the reign of [[Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]]. By 1618, storehouses, a [[ropewalk]], a [[drydock]], and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham.<ref name=THDC>{{cite book |title=The Historic Dockyard Chatham&nbsp;– where legends were created |publisher=Jarrold Publishing |year=2005}}</ref>

[[File:Cantium southsexia surria meddlesexia Atlas.jpg|thumb|250px|Hand-drawn map of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Middlesex from 1575]]

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.<ref name="ruyter">{{cite web|title=The Dutch in the Medway |publisher=DeRuyter.org |url=http://www.deruyter.org/CHATHAM_Dutch_in_the_Medway.html |access-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517100655/http://www.deruyter.org/CHATHAM_Dutch_in_the_Medway.html |archive-date=17 May 2007}}</ref>

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]] and [[Plymouth]], with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. <!-- *otheus* I can't see relevance of this sentence:--><!-- In peacetime the work force at [[Chatham Dockyard]] was reduced to a quarter of its size during wartime.<ref name=THDC/> --> As an indication of the area's military importance, the first [[Ordnance Survey]] map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801.<ref name="ccs">{{cite book |last= Oliver|first=Richard| title = Ordnance Survey maps: a concise guide for historians 2nd Ed | publisher=Ordnance Survey | year = 1995 |isbn=978-1-870598-24-8}}</ref> <!-- *otheus* confusing and out-of-place; this is a history of Kent, not of the Dockyard --><!-- Chatham Dockyard built over 400 naval ships, including [[HMS Victory]] in the age of [[ship-of-the-line]], ironclads such as [[HMS Africa]], and 57 submarines. During World War II, Chatham refitted 1360 warships such as [[HMS Ajax]].<ref name=THDC/> --> Many of the [[Georgian architecture|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.<ref name="Aldington">{{cite web |title=South-East England |publisher=Smuggler's Britain |url=http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_se_14.html |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516195130/http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_se_14.html |archive-date=16 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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]], [[Woolwich]], [[Plumstead]], [[Deptford]], [[Lee, London|Lee]], [[Eltham, London|Eltham]], [[Charlton, London|Charlton]], and [[Kidbrooke]]. In 1900, however, Kent absorbed the district of [[Penge Urban District|Penge]]. Some of Kent is contiguous with the [[Greater London]] sprawl, notably parts of [[Dartford (borough)|Dartford]].

Originally, the border between Kent and Sussex (later [[East Sussex]]) ran through the towns of [[Royal Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]] and [[Lamberhurst]]. In 1894, by the [[Local Government Act 1894|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 bomb]]s, or "Doodlebugs", were fired towards London from bases in [[Pas-de-Calais|Northern France]]. Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns and [[barrage balloon]]s, both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs.<!-- What areas? --><!-- These areas became known as ''Doodlebug Alley''. --><!--<ref name="doodle">{{cite web |title=WW2 People's War |publisher=BBC |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/00/a7642000.shtml |date=9 December 2005 |access-date=19 April 2007}}</ref>-->

After the war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965, the London boroughs of [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]] and [[London Borough of Bexley|Bexley]] were created from nine towns formerly in Kent.<ref name="KHI">{{cite book |last=Jessup |first=Frank W. |title =Kent History Illustrated |publisher=Kent County Council| year=1966}}</ref><ref name="unitary">{{cite web |title=Medway |publisher=Communities and Local Government |url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1170128 |access-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427044224/http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1170128 |archive-date=27 April 2007}}</ref> In 1998, Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and [[Rainham, Kent|Rainham]] left the administrative county of Kent to form the [[unitary authority]] of [[Medway]]. Plans for another unitary authority in [[north West Kent|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.
<!--
Kent is traditionally divided into [[West Kent]] and [[East Kent]] by the River Medway. Residents east of the Medway are called "Men of Kent" and "Maids of Kent", while those to the west are called "Kentish Men" and "Kentish Maids".<ref name="man">{{cite news | first=Stephen |last=Rayner |title=Men of Kent: Sorry ... but we're joining a new tribe |work=Medway News |date=October 2004}}</ref>
-->

For almost nine centuries, a small part of present-day East London (the [[North Woolwich]], [[London E16]] area), formed part of Kent.

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Kent}}

[[File:White cliffs of dover 09 2004.jpg|thumb|right|The [[White Cliffs of Dover]]]]
[[File:France manche vue dover.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|View of the White Cliffs of Dover from France]]
[[File:A map of Romney Marsh (1662).jpg|thumb|A map of Romney Marsh "The history of imbanking and drayning" by [[William Dugdale]] (1662)]]

Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the [[Thames Estuary]] and the [[North Sea]] to the north, and the [[Straits of Dover]] and the [[English Channel]] to the south. France is {{convert|34|km|mi|0|order=flip}} across the Strait.<ref name="msn">{{cite encyclopedia|title=English Channel |publisher=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007 |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761564966 |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621192208/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761564966 |archive-date=21 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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]] of the [[Weald]]en dome, a dome across Kent and [[Sussex]] created by [[geography of the Alps|alpine]] movements 20–10&nbsp;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]], [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]], and [[Folkestone]] are built on greensand,<ref name="gswik"/> while [[Tonbridge]] and [[Tunbridge Wells]] are built on sandstone.<ref name="stamp"/> [[Dartford]], [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]], the Medway towns, [[Sittingbourne]], [[Faversham]], [[Canterbury]], [[Deal, Kent|Deal]], and [[Dover]] are built on chalk.<ref name="gswik">{{cite book |title=Greensand Way in Kent |publisher=Kent Count Council |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-873010-23-5}}</ref><ref name="stamp">Britain's Structure and Scenery, [[Laurence Dudley Stamp|L.Dudley Stamp]], Pub September 1946, Collins [[New Naturalist]] Series.</ref> 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]] meets the coast. Spanning Dover and [[Westerham]] is the [[Kent Downs AONB|Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].<ref name="downs">{{cite web |title=Kent Downs |publisher=KentDowns.org |url=http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/ |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405085109/http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/ |archive-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Wealden dome is a [[Mesozoic]] 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 {{convert|250|–|400|m|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} deep, and are subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel.<ref name="gkb">{{cite web |title=Geology of Kent and Boulonnais |publisher=The Geology Shop |url=http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/geolkb.htm |year=2000 |access-date=8 August 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091105163401/http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/geolkb.htm |archive-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the [[epicentre]]s 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 Kent earthquake|2007 earthquake]] caused physical damage in Folkestone.<ref name="gquake">{{cite news |title=Quake causes Kent families to flee homes |work=The Observer |location=London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/29/robinmckie.ameliahill |date=29 April 2007 |access-date=28 April 2007 |first1=Amelia |last1=Hill |first2=Robin |last2=McKie |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070531184452/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068090,00.html |archive-date=31 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> A further quake on 22 May 2015 measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/earthquake-hits-kent-shaking-houses-waking-residents |title=Kent hit by 4.2 earthquake, shaking houses and waking residents |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=22 May 2015 |access-date=7 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150607120858/http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/earthquake-hits-kent-shaking-houses-waking-residents |archive-date=7 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was centred in the Sandwich area of east Kent at about ten miles below the surface. There was little if any damage reported.

[[File:KentGeologyWealdenDome.svg|thumb|Geological cross-section of Kent, showing how it relates to major towns]]
The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to [[tectonic uplift]] and [[coastal erosion]]. 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]]. Similarly [[Romney Marsh]] and [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]] have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.<ref name="stamp"/>

Kent's principal river, the [[River Medway]], rises near [[East Grinstead]] in Sussex and flows eastwards to [[Maidstone]]. 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 {{convert|112|km|mi|0|order=flip}} long.<ref name = "medway"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/boating/31577.aspx |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605001515/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/boating/31577.aspx |url-status=dead |title=Environmental Agency: River Medway |archivedate=5 June 2011}}</ref> The river is tidal as far as [[Allington, Kent|Allington]] lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as [[Tonbridge]].<ref name="medway">{{cite book |last=Bowskill |first=Derek |title=Map of the River Medway}}</ref> The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the [[River Darent]]. Other [[rivers of Kent]] include the [[River Stour, Kent|River Stour]] in the east.

A 2014 study found that Kent shares significant reserves of shale oil with other neighbouring counties, totalling 4.4&nbsp;billion [[Barrel (unit)|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. [[Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom|Fracking]] in the area is required to achieve these objectives; it has been opposed by environmental groups.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/massive-oil-reserves-lie-under-commuter-belt-in-south-says-report-9424232.html |title=Massive oil reserves lie under commuter belt in South, says report |last=Prynn |first=Jonathan |date=23 May 2014 |work=[[London Evening Standard]] |page=8 |access-date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=27 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127022608/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/massive-oil-reserves-lie-under-commuter-belt-in-south-says-report-9424232.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 		 	
{{See also|List of hills of Kent}}

=== Climate ===
Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of [[Brogdale]] near [[Faversham]] the temperature reached {{convert|38.5|°C|°F|abbr=on}}, at that time the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the United Kingdom. The record still stands as the hottest August day ever recorded.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Records |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126234856/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |archive-date=26 January 2009 |access-date=10 June 2009 |publisher=BBC Weather}}</ref>
{{Weather box
| location = [[Wye, Kent|Wye]], England (1981–2010) data
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan high C = 7.4
| Feb high C = 7.4
| Mar high C = 10.3
| Apr high C = 12.9
| May high C = 16.3
| Jun high C = 19.3
| Jul high C = 21.8
| Aug high C = 21.9
| Sep high C = 18.8
| Oct high C = 14.8
| Nov high C = 10.7
| Dec high C = 7.8
| year high C = 14.1
| Jan mean C = 4.5
| Feb mean C = 4.4
| Mar mean C = 6.7
| Apr mean C = 8.7
| May mean C = 12.0
| Jun mean C = 14.7
| Jul mean C = 17.2
| Aug mean C = 17.2
| Sep mean C = 14.6
| Oct mean C = 11.2
| Nov mean C = 7.5
| Dec mean C = 5.0
| year mean C = 10.3
| Jan low C = 1.7
| Feb low C = 1.5
| Mar low C = 3.1
| Apr low C = 4.6
| May low C = 7.7
| Jun low C = 10.2
| Jul low C = 12.6
| Aug low C = 12.5
| Sep low C = 10.5
| Oct low C = 7.7
| Nov low C = 4.3
| Dec low C = 2.3
| year low C = 6.6
| Jan precipitation mm = 71.4
| Feb precipitation mm = 50.3
| Mar precipitation mm = 48.9
| Apr precipitation mm = 49.1
| May precipitation mm = 50.7
| Jun precipitation mm = 48.8
| Jul precipitation mm = 48.2
| Aug precipitation mm = 61.8
| Sep precipitation mm = 55.1
| Oct precipitation mm = 93.0
| Nov precipitation mm = 83.5
| Dec precipitation mm = 80.3
| year precipitation mm = 741.1
| Jan rain days = 12.7
| Feb rain days = 9.6
| Mar rain days = 9.5
| Apr rain days = 9.0
| May rain days = 9.2
| Jun rain days = 7.9
| Jul rain days = 7.7
| Aug rain days = 7.4
| Sep rain days = 8.1
| Oct rain days = 12.1
| Nov rain days = 12.0
| Dec rain days = 12.2
| year rain days = 117.4
| Jan sun = 59.6
| Feb sun = 79.6
| Mar sun = 115.3
| Apr sun = 174.1
| May sun = 205.2
| Jun sun = 200.1
| Jul sun = 213.7
| Aug sun = 210.3
| Sep sun = 152.2
| Oct sun = 118.2
| Nov sun = 71.9
| Dec sun = 49.8
| year sun = 1649.9
| source 1 = <ref>[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/wye.html Climate averages 1981–2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324190959/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/wye.html |date=24 March 2014 }}. Met Office (19 November 2008). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref>
}}

== Governance ==
[[File:Arms of Kent County Council.svg|thumb|The coat of arms of Kent County Council]]
[[Kent County Council]] and its twelve [[Local government in the United Kingdom|district councils]] administer most of the county (3352&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), whilst the [[Medway Council]] administers the more densely populated [[Medway]] unitary authority (192&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), independently of the county council.<ref>Kent (Borough of Gillingham and City of Rochester upon Medway) (Structural Change) Order 1996 {{cite web |title=Kent (Borough of Gillingham and City of Rochester upon Medway) (Structural Change) Order 1996 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1876/contents/made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219141538/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1876/contents/made |archive-date=19 December 2010 |access-date=17 March 2010 |publisher=HMSO }}</ref> Together they have around 300 [[town council|town]] and [[Parish councils in England|parish councils]]. Kent County Council's headquarters are in [[Maidstone]],<ref name="kccdem">{{cite web |title=Council and democracy |url=http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206185542/http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/ |archive-date=6 February 2007 |access-date=19 April 2007 |publisher=Kent County Council}}</ref> while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf, [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]].

For most of its history since the local government reforms instituted by the [[Local Government Act 1972]], Kent County Council has used to be under [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] control until the latest election. At the [[2025 Kent County Council election|most recent county council election in 2025]], the Reform UK won the election with 57 seats. Also elected were twelve [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], five from the Conservatives, five from the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] and two  from the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party.]]

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 Thanet District Council election|2015]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Ukip Takes Control of Thanet Council the Day After Nigel Farage Lost MP Bid | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11594819/Ukip-takes-control-of-Thanet-council-the-day-after-Nigel-Farage-lost-MP-bid.html | date=9 May 2015 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph | access-date=9 May 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510233514/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11594819/Ukip-takes-control-of-Thanet-council-the-day-after-Nigel-Farage-lost-MP-bid.html | archive-date=10 May 2015 }}</ref>

At the national level, Kent is represented in the [[House of Commons (UK)|House of Commons]] by [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent|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 victory|landslide victories]] of [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] and [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]]. In both [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] and [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]], the Conservatives won every seat in the county.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Watson|first1=Christopher|last2=Uberoi|first2=Elise|last3=Loft|first3=Philip|date=17 April 2020|title=General election results from 1918 to 2019|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8647/|language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[2024 United Kingdom general election|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.

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+[[2015 United Kingdom general election|General Election 2015]]: Kent
|-
!Party
!style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Conservative
!style="background:{{party color|UKIP}}; color:white"|UKIP
!style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Labour
!style="background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"|Lib Dem
!style="background:{{party color|Green Party of England and Wales}}; color:white"|Green
!Others
!''Turnout''
|- class="nowrap"|
!Votes
|422,119 {{wbr}}'''(49.2%)'''
|174,476 {{wbr}}'''(20.3%)'''
|171,990 {{wbr}}'''(20.0%)'''
|54,151 {{wbr}}'''(6.3%)'''
|31,069 {{wbr}}'''(3.6%)'''
|4,221 {{wbr}}'''(0.5%)'''
|''858,026''
|-
!Seats
|17<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|-
|}

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+[[2017 United Kingdom general election|General Election 2017]]: Kent
|-
!Party
!style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Conservative
!style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Labour
!style="background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"|Lib Dem
!style="background:{{party color|UKIP}}; color:white"|UKIP
!style="background:{{party color|Green Party of England and Wales}}; color:white"|Green
!Others
!''Turnout''
|- class="nowrap"|
!Votes
|503,068 {{wbr}}'''(56.4%)'''<br />{{increase}}80,949
|282,296 {{wbr}}'''(31.7%)'''<br />{{increase}}110,306
|49,153 {{wbr}}'''(5.5%)'''<br />{{decrease}}4,998
|31,732 {{wbr}}'''(3.6%)'''<br />{{decrease}}142,744
|19,469 {{wbr}}'''(2.2%)'''<br />{{decrease}}11,600
|5,818 {{wbr}}'''(0.7%)'''
|''891,536''<br />{{increase}}33,510
|-
!Seats
|16<br />{{decrease}}1
|1<br />{{increase}}1
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|-
|}

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+[[2019 United Kingdom general election|General Election 2019]]: Kent
|-
!Party
!style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Conservative
!style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Labour
!style="background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"|Lib Dem
!style="background:{{party color|Green Party of England and Wales}}; color:white"|Green
!Others
!''Turnout''
|- class="nowrap"|
!Votes
|532,342 {{wbr}}'''(60.1%)'''<br />{{increase}}29,274
|221,554 {{wbr}}'''(25.0%)'''<br />{{decrease}}60,742
|91,974 {{wbr}}'''(10.4%)'''<br />{{increase}}42,821
|28,264 {{wbr}}'''(3.2%)'''<br />{{increase}}8,795
|11,063 {{wbr}}'''(1.2%)'''
|''885,197''<br />{{decrease}}6,339
|-
!Seats
|16<br />{{steady}}
|1<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|-
|}

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+[[2024 United Kingdom general election|General Election 2024]]: Kent
|-
!Party
!style="background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Conservative
!style="background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}; color:white"|Labour
!style="background:{{party color|Reform UK}}; color:white"|Reform
!style="background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"|Lib Dem
!style="background:{{party color|Green Party of England and Wales}}; color:white"|Green
!Others
!''Turnout''
|- class="nowrap"|
!Votes
|251,130 {{wbr}}'''(30.3%)'''<br />{{decrease}}281,212
|249,069 {{wbr}}'''(30.1%)'''<br />{{increase}}27,515
|168,652 {{wbr}}'''(20.4%)'''<br />''New party''
|81,309 {{wbr}}'''(9.8%)'''<br />{{decrease}}10,665
|64,303 {{wbr}}'''(7.8%)'''<br />{{increase}}36,039
|13,147 {{wbr}}'''(1.6%)'''
|''827,610''<br />{{decrease}}57,587
|-
!Seats
|6<br />{{decrease}}10
|11<br />{{increase}}10
|0<br />{{steady}}
|1<br />{{increase}}1
|0<br />{{steady}}
|0<br />{{steady}}
|-
|}

==Demography==
{{see also|List of settlements in Kent by population}}

{{Location map+|Kent
  |caption = {{center|[[File:Red pog.svg|12px]] The five largest settlements in Kent/Medway unitary authority as of the 2021 UK census, as well as both settlements which have or had city status (Canterbury, Rochester). (Sources as accurate as possible to the locality's boundaries chosen, excluding surrounding towns or villages.)&nbsp;– red.<ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005466-maidstone |title=Maidstone Built Up Area - Population 113,655 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005212-chatham |title=Chatham Built Up Area - Population 84,590 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005776-ashford-ashford |title=Ashford Built Up Area - Population 73,384 excluding Kingsnorth, Great Chart (see next sources) |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e04012786-kingsnorth |title=Kingsnorth Civil Parish - Population 9,639 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005774-great-chart |title=Great Chart Built Up Area - Population 865 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005204-gillingham-medway |title=Gillingham Built Up Area - Population 67,760 excluding Rainham, Hempstead (see next sources) |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e05002259-rainham-north |title=Rainham North Electoral Ward - Population 9,206 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e05002258-rainham-central |title=Rainham Central Electoral Ward - Population 12,389 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e05002260-rainham-south |title=Rainham South Electoral Ward - Population 13,585 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e05002253-hempstead-and-wigmore |title=Hempstead and Wigmore Electoral Ward - Population 8,093 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Census Data UK |url=https://censusdata.uk/e63005058-gravesend |title=Gravesend Built Up Area - Population 60,263 |publisher=censusdata.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> <br />[[File:Green pog.svg|12px]] Four suburban settlements (most historically villages)/[[New towns in the United Kingdom|new town]] type settlements, currently undergoing significant planned expansion.&nbsp;– green.<ref>{{cite web |author=Kings Hill Official Website |url=https://www.kings-hill.com/future-plans/|title=Future Plans |publisher=kings-hill.com |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kings Hill Official Website |url=https://www.kings-hill.com/2023/11/13/award-winning-project-brings-542-new-homes-to-kings-hill/|title=Award winning project brings 542 new homes to Kings Hill |publisher=kings-hill.com |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kings Hill Civil Parish Official Website |url=https://kingshillparish.gov.uk/kings-hill/the-history-of-kings-hill/|title=The History of Kings Hill |publisher=kingshillparish.gov.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=BPTW |url=https://www.bptw.co.uk/projects/de-havilland-place-kent/#:~:text=De%20Havilland%20Place%20in%20Kent,vernacular%20architecture%20of%20West%20Malling.|title=Dehavilland Place, Kent |publisher=bptw.co.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Wards of Kent |url=https://www.wardsofkent.co.uk/about-wards-of-kent/area-guide/kings-hill/|title=Kings Hill Area Guide |publisher=wardsofkent.co.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Ebbsfleet Garden City (Official Website) |url=https://ebbsfleetgardencity.org.uk/ebbsfleet-garden-city/the-story-so-far/|title=The story so far.. |publisher=ebbsfleetgardencity.org.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Aylesham Garden Village (Official Website) |url=https://www.ayleshamgardenvillage.co.uk/|title=Welcome to Aylesham Garden Village |publisher=ayleshamgardenvillage.co.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Dover District Council |url=https://www.dover.gov.uk/Planning/Regeneration/Aylesham/Aylesham-Community-Benefits.aspx|title=Aylesham Garden Village development update |publisher=dover.gov.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Dover District Council |url=https://www.dover.gov.uk/News/Press-Releases/2023/Final-phase-of-Aylesham-Garden-Village-to-begin-with-developers-back-on-site.aspx|title=Final phase of Aylesham Garden Village to begin with developers back on site |publisher=dover.gov.uk |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kent Live |url=https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/masterplan-shows-new-village-kent-9983652|title=Masterplan shows new village for Kent with nearly 800 homes, primary school and shops |date=3 March 2025 |publisher=kentlive.news |access-date=30 March 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}
  |float   = right
  |width   = 370
  |places =
 {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|[[Maidstone]]}}
       |long    = 0.529
       |lat     = 51.272
       |position=bottom
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.5362
       |lat     = 51.361
       |position= bottom
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.8676
       |lat     = 51.1465
       |position= right
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.5498
       |lat     = 51.3792
       |position= right
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Gravesend]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.3685
       |lat     = 51.4415
       |position= right
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|'''[[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]'''}}}}
       |long    = 0.4982
       |lat     = 51.3883
       |position= left
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|'''[[Canterbury]]'''}}}}
       |long    = 1.087
       |lat     = 51.275
       |position= bottom
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|'''[[Ebbsfleet Valley|Ebbsfleet Garden City]]'''}}}}
       |long    = 0.3100
       |lat     = 51.4370
       |mark=Green pog.svg
       |position= top
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Paddock Wood]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.3744
       |lat     = 51.1845
       |mark=Green pog.svg
       |position= bottom
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Kings Hill]]}}}}
       |long    = 0.4000
       |lat     = 51.260
       |mark=Green pog.svg
       |position= left
     }}
      {{Location map~|Kent
       |label   = {{bg|white|{{nowrap|[[Aylesham]]}}}}
       |long    = 1.2160
       |lat     = 51.2235
       |mark=Green pog.svg
       |position= right
     }}
 }}

At the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]],<ref name = "Statistics.gov.uk"/> 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.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ ''Main household types''<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk"/>
|-
!Married couples with/without children||Sole occupants||[[Cohabitation|Unmarried couples]] with/without children||Lone parents||Shared homes and institutions
|-
|210,671||174,331 of which 79,310 over aged 65||63,750||60,645||77,877
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ ''Claimants of JSA or Income Support ([[Department for Work and Pensions|DWP]])''<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk"/>
|-
!rowspan=2|Unit!!colspan=2|Claimants!! rowspan=2|Population<br />(April 2011)
|-
!August 2012!!August 2001
|-
|Kent||55,100|| 89,470||1,463,740
|-
|% of 2011 Kent resident population<br />(2001 population where applicable)||'''3.8%'''||6.7% ||-
|- align=center
|colspan="4"|Three highest-ranking districts
|-
|[[Thanet District|Thanet]]||'''6.5%''' ||11.3% ||134,186
|-
|[[Folkestone and Hythe District|Folkestone and Hythe]]||4.9% |||8.9% ||107,969
|-
|[[Borough of Swale|Swale]]||4.8%||7.5%||135,835
|- align=center
|colspan="4"|Three lowest-ranking districts
|-
|[[Tonbridge and Malling]]||2.5%||4.4% ||120,805
|-
|[[Sevenoaks District|Sevenoaks]]||2.3% ||4.3% ||114,893
|-
|[[Borough of Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]]||'''2.2%'''||5.1%||115,049
|}

==Economy==
[[File:StreetFarmOastFrittendenKent(ValVannet)Apr2006.jpg|thumb|right|Converted [[oast house]]s at [[Frittenden]]]]
At the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 UK census]]{{Fix|text=out of date}},<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk">{{cite web |title=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=3567663&c=Kent&d=180&e=13&g=456741&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1367781204136&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 |access-date=5 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731061740/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=3567663&c=Kent&d=180&e=13&g=456741&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1367781204136&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk"/>

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 [[Hops|hop]] gardens. In particular the county produces tree-grown fruits,<ref>{{cite report |publisher=Kent County Council |title=Climate Change Risk and Impact Assessment for Kent and Medway – Part 2: Agriculture Sector Summary |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/111382/CCRIA-for-Kent-and-Medway-part-two-agricultural-sector-summary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307121755/https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/111382/CCRIA-for-Kent-and-Medway-part-two-agricultural-sector-summary.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2021 }}</ref> strawberries and hazelnuts.<ref name="hazelnut">{{cite web |title = Hazelnut and walnut production |publisher = Calu |url = http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/050402Cobnutsandwalnuts_5A03AFB4B3709.pdf |access-date=15 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421151214/http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/050402Cobnutsandwalnuts_5A03AFB4B3709.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2013 }}</ref> Distinctive hop-drying buildings called [[oast house|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{{Fix|text=out of date}} (figures are in £ millions):<ref name="dunge">{{cite web |title=Regional Gross Value Added |publisher=Office for National Statistics |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf |access-date=3 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728091019/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|-
! Year || Regional GVA{{ref label|rounding|A|A}} ||COLSPAN=2| Agriculture ||COLSPAN=2| Industry{{ref label|energy|B|B}} ||COLSPAN=2| Services{{ref label|financial|C|C}}
|-
|colspan=8 | County of Kent (excluding Medway)
|-
| 1995 || '''12,369''' || 379 || 3.1% || 3,886 || 31.4% || 8,104 || 65.5%
|-
| 2000 || '''15,259''' || 259 || 1.7% || 4,601 || 30.2% || 10,399 || 68.1%
|-
| 2003 || '''18,126''' || 287 || 1.6% || 5,057 || 27.9% || 12,783 || 70.5%
|-
|colspan=8 | Medway
|-
| 1995 || '''1,823''' || 21 || 3.1% || 560 || 31.4% || 1,243 || 68.2%
|-
| 2000 || '''2,348''' || 8 || 1.7% || 745 || 30.2% || 1,595 || 67.9%
|-
| 2003 || '''2,671''' || 10 || 1.6% || 802 || 27.9% || 1,859 || 69.6%
|}
{| style="margin: 1em auto;"
|-
|{{note label|rounding|A|A}} Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
|-
|{{note label|energy|B|B}} includes energy and construction
|-
|{{note label|financial|C|C}} includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
|}

North Kent is heavily industrialised, with cement-making at [[Northfleet]] and [[Cuxton]], [[brickmaking]] at Sittingbourne, [[shipbuilding]] on the Medway and [[The Swale|Swale]], engineering and [[aircraft design process|aircraft design]] and construction at Rochester, [[chemicals]] at Dartford, [[papermaking]] at [[Swanley]], and [[oil refinery|oil refining]] at [[Isle of Grain|Grain]].<ref name="KHI"/> There is a steel mini mill in [[Sheerness]] and a rolling mill in [[Queenborough]]. There are two [[Dungeness nuclear power station|nuclear power stations]] at [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]], although the older one, Dungeness A, built in 1965, was decommissioned in 2006.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |title=Closure of Dungeness Power Station |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/6203953.stm |date=31 December 2006 |access-date=3 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315211005/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/6203953.stm |archive-date=15 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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, Kent|Stone]] and [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]] bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around [[Burham]] on the tidal Medway.<ref name="ChathamNews">{{cite web |title=The Chatham News Index |publisher=Parret & Neves |url=http://www.gparrett.btinternet.co.uk/chatnews/cnidx_r2.pdf |year=1996 |access-date =19 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014102733/http://www.gparrett.btinternet.co.uk/chatnews/cnidx_r2.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2006}}</ref> Chalk, [[gravel]] and [[clay]] were excavated on [[Dartford Heath]] for centuries.

Kent's original [[paper mill]]s stood on streams like the [[River Darent]], tributaries of the River Medway, and on the [[River Stour, Kent|River Stour]]. Two 18th century mills were on the [[Rivers of Kent|River Len]] and at [[Tovil]] on the [[Loose Stream|River Loose]]. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at [[Sittingbourne|Kemsley]] on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own [[windmill]] or [[watermill]], with [[List of windmills in Kent|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,<ref name="chik">{{cite web |title=Coal fields Heritage Initiative |publisher=Dover Museum |url=http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/intro.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220005624/http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/intro.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 February 2007 |access-date=20 April 2007}}</ref> including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.<ref name="snowdown">{{cite web |title=Snowdown Colliery |publisher=FreeUK.com |url=http://home.freeuk.com/eastkent/mining/snowdown_colliery.htm |access-date=19 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311010756/http://home.freeuk.com/eastkent/mining/snowdown_colliery.htm |archive-date=11 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 [[London commuter belt|City of London commuters]].

==Culture==

===Architecture===
[[File:Canterbury Cathedral - Portal Nave Cross-spire.jpeg|thumb|[[Canterbury Cathedral]]]]
Kent's geographical location between the Straits of Dover and London has influenced its architecture, as has its [[Cretaceous]] 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]]. [[Canterbury Cathedral]] is the United Kingdom's [[Suffragan|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.<ref name="Pevsner">{{cite book |last=Newman |first=John |title=North East and East Kent|editor=Pevsner |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth, England |date=1969 |edition=3 |series=Buildings of England |page=35 |chapter=The Buildings of Kent |isbn=978-0140710397}}</ref>

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]].<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=John |title=North East and East Kent |editor=Pevsner |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth, England |date=1969 |edition=3 |series=Buildings of England |pages=36–123 |chapter=The Buildings of Kent |isbn=978-0140710397}}</ref> [[Deal Castle]], [[Walmer Castle]], [[Sandown Castle, Kent|Sandown Castle]] (whose remains were eroded by the sea in the 1990s) were constructed in late mediaeval times, and [[Chatham Historic Dockyard|HM Dockyard, at Chatham]] and its surrounding castles and forts—[[Upnor Castle]], [[Great Lines Heritage Park|Great Lines]], and [[Fort Amherst]] since then.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

Kent has three unique vernacular architecture forms: the [[oast house]], the [[Wealden hall house]], and [[peg tile#Peg tile|Kentish peg-tiles]].

Kent has bridge trusts to maintain its bridges. The great bridge (1387) at [[Rochester Bridge|Rochester]] was replaced.  There are medieval structures at [[Aylesford]], [[Yalding]] and [[Teston]].<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=John |title=North East and East Kent |editor=Pevsner |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth, England |date=1969 |edition=3 |series=Buildings of England |page=58 |chapter=The Buildings of Kent |isbn=978-0140710397}}</ref> With the motorways in the late twentieth century came the [[M2 motorway (Great Britain)|M2 motorway bridge]] spanning the Medway and the Dartford tunnel and the [[Dartford Crossing|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.'<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mee |first=Arthur |title=The King's England: Arthur Mee's Kent |publisher=The Caxton Publishing Company Ltd. |year=1936 |pages=2}}</ref> Canterbury's religious role gave rise to [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales|Canterbury Tales]]'', a key development in the English language. The father of novelist [[Charles Dickens]] worked at the [[Chatham Dockyard]]; in many of his books, the celebrated novelist featured the scenery of Chatham, Rochester, and the [[Cliffe-at-Hoo|Cliffe]] marshes.<ref name="dickens">{{cite web |title=Charles Dickens |publisher=InfoBritain |url=http://www.infobritain.co.uk/Charles_Dickens.htm |access-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417033957/http://www.infobritain.co.uk/Charles_Dickens.htm |archive-date=17 April 2007 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |title=William Golding&nbsp;– Biography |publisher=William-Golding.co.uk |url=http://www.william-golding.co.uk/p_biography.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030224034425/http://www.william-golding.co.uk/p_biography.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 February 2003 |access-date=20 June 2007}}</ref> [[William Caxton]], who first introduced the [[printing press]] to England, was born in Kent; the recent invention was key in helping many [[Kentish dialect|Kent dialect]] words and spellings to become standard in [[English language|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]] the following year spawning a global movement for [[sustainable agriculture]] and food.<ref name=Kent>Paull, John (2021). [https://www.academia.edu/48843258/Organic_Agriculture_Invented_in_Kent Organic Agriculture - Invented in Kent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514021450/https://www.academia.edu/48843258/Organic_Agriculture_Invented_in_Kent |date=14 May 2021 }}, Kent Maps Symposium, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, 5 May.</ref>

===Classical music===
Many notable musicians have been associated with Kent.<ref>Gerald Norris, A Musical Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland (David & Charles, 1981).</ref> [[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, Kent|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]], 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]] 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,<ref>Edward Strachan and Roy Bolton, ''Russia & Europe in the Nineteenth Century'' (London: Sphinx Fine Art, 2008 ) p. 46.</ref> [[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]] 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.<ref name="turner">{{cite web |title=The Turner Connection |publisher=TurnerContemporary.org |url=http://www.turnercontemporary.org/about/?p=15 |access-date=20 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723090923/http://www.turnercontemporary.org/about/?p=15 |archive-date=23 July 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kent has also been the home to artists including [[Frank Auerbach]], [[Tracey Emin]] and [[Stass Paraskos]].

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]]. 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]].<ref>David Haste, The Art Schools of Kent (London: Werther Books, 2014).</ref>

[[Blean]] near [[Canterbury]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/28/new-marlowe-theatre-canterbury |title=Marlowe theatre: curtain rises on Canterbury's £25.6m revamp |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |date=28 September 2011 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |access-date=23 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228052059/http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/28/new-marlowe-theatre-canterbury |archive-date=28 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Music festival]]s 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 Theatre, Tunbridge Wells|Assembly Hall]] in Tunbridge Wells.

==Transport==
{{Main|Transport in Kent}}

===Roads===
[[File:MedwayM2BridgeCloud0169.JPG|thumb|right| The [[M2 motorway (Great Britain)|M2]] and [[High Speed 1]] crossing the [[Medway Valley]], south of [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]]]

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 road (Great Britain)|A2]] runs through Dartford (A207), Gravesend, Rochester, Canterbury, and Dover; the A20 through [[Eltham]], Wrotham, Maidstone, [[Charing]], Ashford. [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], Folkestone and Dover; the [[A21 road (England)|A21]] around Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and on to Hastings in East Sussex.<ref name=KHI/>

In the 1960s, two motorways were built; the [[M2 motorway (Great Britain)|M2]] from [[Medway]] to Faversham, and the [[M20 motorway|M20]] from [[Swanley]] to Folkestone. Part of the [[M25 motorway|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 173 km (107 mi) within the extents of the ceremonial county. <ref>{{cite web |date=2019 |title=Kent Strategic Transport–Business Case 2019-20 |url=https://www.southeastlep.com/app/uploads/2019/01/KSCMP-Transport-Business-Case-2019_20.pdf |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=South East Local Enterprise Partnership}}</ref>

In the run-up to [[Brexit|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,<ref>{{cite news |last=McConnell |first=Ed |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/border-to-be-set-up-inside-kent-could-see-7-000-lorry-queues-234290/ |title=Worst case post-Brexit lorry havoc scenario for Kent revealed by Michael Gove to House of Commons |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927143442/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/border-to-be-set-up-inside-kent-could-see-7-000-lorry-queues-234290/ |archive-date=27 September 2020 |website=kentonline.co.uk |date=3 September 2020 |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> in order to deal with expected lorry queues of 7,000 or more<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54260470 |title=Brexit: Lorry drivers will need a permit to enter Kent after transition period |work=BBC News |date=23 September 2020 |access-date=7 January 2021 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104154956/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54260470 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |work=GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/check-hgv-border |title=Check an HGV is ready to cross the border (Kent Access Permit) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130144042/https://www.gov.uk/check-hgv-border |archive-date=30 January 2021 |access-date=7 February 2021 |date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

===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, Kent|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.<ref name=KHI/> Container ports are at [[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===
[[File:StroodCTRL2.JPG|thumb|right|A {{convert|300|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} [[Eurostar]] train at km&nbsp;48 (mile&nbsp;30) on [[High Speed 1]], near [[Strood]]]]
The earliest locomotive-driven passenger-carrying railway in Britain was the [[Canterbury & Whitstable Railway]] which opened in 1830.<ref>{{cite web |title=The lost railway |author=Oppitz, Leslie |publisher = BBC | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2008/05/27/history_lost_railway_feature.shtml |access-date=1 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206053424/http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2008/05/27/history_lost_railway_feature.shtml |archive-date=6 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> This and the [[London & Greenwich Railway]] later merged into [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] (SER).<ref name=potted>{{cite web |title=History of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway |publisher=The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society |url=http://www.southeasternandchathamrailway.org.uk/webpages/History.htm |access-date=22 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101091806/http://www.southeasternandchathamrailway.org.uk/webpages/History.htm |archive-date=1 November 2006}}</ref>
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 railway station|London Bridge]], [[Charing Cross railway station|Charing Cross]], and [[Cannon Street railway station|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 [[London Victoria railway station|Victoria]] and [[Blackfriars railway station|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 (England)|Southern Railway]].<ref name=potted/> Britain's railways were nationalised in 1948, forming [[British Rail]]ways. The railways were privatised in 1996 and most Kent passenger services were [[franchising|franchised]] to [[Connex South Eastern]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Failed rail franchise 'needed time' |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3268719.stm |date=13 November 2003 |access-date=13 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040702054650/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3268719.stm |archive-date=2 July 2004 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following financial difficulties, Connex lost the franchise and was replaced by [[South Eastern Trains]] and after [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Rail workers vote to hold strikes |publisher=BBC |url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4905966.stm |date=13 April 2006 |access-date=13 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414221334/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4905966.stm |archive-date=14 April 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Channel Tunnel]] was completed in 1994 and [[High Speed 1]] in November 2007 with a London terminus at [[St Pancras railway station|St Pancras]]. A new station, [[Ebbsfleet International railway station|Ebbsfleet International]], opened between [[Dartford]] and [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]], serving northern Kent.<ref>{{cite news |title=New station means Eurostar change |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5337586.stm |date=12 September 2006 |access-date=22 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827132939/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5337586.stm |archive-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The high speed lines will be utilised to provide a faster train service to coastal towns like [[Ramsgate]] and [[Folkestone]]. This station is in addition to the existing station at [[Ashford International railway station|Ashford International]], which has suffered a massive cut in service as a result.

[[File:P9300406.JPG|thumb|left|[[Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway]]]]
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 (heritage)|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 {{convert|15|in|mm|adj=on}} gauge, [[Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway]] on the southeast Kent coast along the Dungeness peninsula. Finally, there is the {{convert|2|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}, industrial [[Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway]], previously the Bowaters Paper Railway.

===Air===
[[Charter flight]]s 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, Kent|Cliffe]] on [[Hoo Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Airport plan threatens Dickens' legacy |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2093415.stm |date=12 September 2006 |access-date=20 June 2007 |first=Matthew |last=Davis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060529201422/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2093415.stm |archive-date=29 May 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> This plan was dropped in 2003 following protests by cultural and environmental groups.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saving nature |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/related_features/love_nature/article3625154.ece |date=23 March 2008 |access-date=6 September 2009 |first=Advertisement |last=Feature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529150444/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/related_features/love_nature/article3625154.ece |archive-date=29 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Gwyn Topham and Nicholas Watt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/18/boris-island-thames-estuary-airport-grounded |title='Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to Telegraph |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714135731/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/18/boris-island-thames-estuary-airport-grounded |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="teleairport">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9111714/Nature-blow-to-plans-for-Boris-Island.html |title=Nature blow to plans for "Boris Island" |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028172248/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9111714/Nature-blow-to-plans-for-Boris-Island.html |archive-date=28 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the London Britannia Airport plan, colloquially known as "[[Boris Island]]" due to its being championed by the former [[Mayor of London]] [[Boris Johnson]], which would see a six runway airport built on an artificial island to be towards the [[Shivering Sands Army Fort|Shivering Sands]] area, north-east of [[Whitstable]].<ref name="teleairport" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24895965 |title='Boris Island' London Airport designs unveiled |work=BBC News |date=11 November 2013 |access-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709113014/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24895965 |archive-date=9 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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, Kent|Manston]] in the [[Thanet District|Thanet district]], was a former [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] facility that also handled some civilian flights. It closed in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 May 2014 |title=Threatened airport to shut next week |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-27294532 |access-date=6 July 2020 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727123741/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-27294532 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==

{{See also|List of schools in Kent}}

Kent has four universities: [[Canterbury Christ Church University]] with campuses throughout [[East Kent]]; [[University of Kent]], 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<ref name="Garner">{{cite news |title=Call for end to selective education as 'grammar school areas' fail |date=20 January 2007 |work=The Independent |location=UK |url=http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2169188.ece |access-date=14 May 2007 |first=Richard |last=Garner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127231844/http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2169188.ece |archive-date=27 January 2007}}</ref>
local authorities still providing [[Education in the United Kingdom|wholly selective education]] through the [[eleven-plus]] examination with students allocated a place at a [[secondary modern school]] or at a [[grammar school]].

Together, the two Kent authorities have 38 of the 164 grammar schools remaining in Britain.<ref name="Garner"/><ref name="grammar">{{cite news |title=Grammar schools have expanded |date=26 March 2004 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3571387.stm |access-date=3 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829114603/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3571387.stm |archive-date=29 August 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kent County Council has the largest education department of any local council in Britain,<ref>{{cite news |title=Kent's selective schools compared |date=17 January 2003 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2666605.stm |access-date=13 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214143114/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2666605.stm |archive-date=14 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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".<ref name="Kent County Council">{{cite web |title=Kent County Council |publisher=Kent County Council |url=http://www.kent.gov.uk/ |access-date=3 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225004744/http://kent.gov.uk/ |archive-date=25 February 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kent County Council Local Education Authority maintains 96 secondary schools, of which 33 are selective schools and 63 are [[secondary modern]] schools.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|-
!COLSPAN=10 | Schools in Kent (data from 2000)<ref>{{cite web |title=Department for Education and Skills |publisher=Department for Education and Skills |url=http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ |access-date=13 May 2007 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070402085841/http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ |archive-date=2 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! LEA || Nursery || Primary|| Secondary <br /> (modern) || Secondary <br /> (grammar) || [[Special school|Special]] || [[pupil referral unit|Pupil <br /> Referral <br /> Units]]||Independent|| [[City Technology College|City <br /> Technology <br /> College]] ||Total
|-
| KCC   || 1 || 475 || 74 ||32|| 34 || 11 || 83 || 1 || 711
|-
| [[Medway]] || 0 || 89 || 14 || 6 || 3 || 1 || 7 || 0 || 120
|}

Music education is provided by Kent Music (formerly Kent Music School),<ref>{{cite report |title=Kent Music & Soundhub: Annual Report 2015 |url=http://www.kent-music.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Kent-Music-and-Soundhub-Annual-Report-15.pdf |publisher=Kent Music |access-date=24 August 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824135642/http://www.kent-music.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Kent-Music-and-Soundhub-Annual-Report-15.pdf |archive-date=24 August 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7070190.stm |work=BBC News |title=Brown threatens 'failing' schools |date=31 October 2007 |access-date=4 April 2010 |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113130017/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7070190.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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'.<ref>[http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalchallenge/downloads/DataSheet.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603120956/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalchallenge/downloads/DataSheet.pdf|date=3 June 2012}}</ref>

==Sport==
[[File:Priestfield Stadium Medway Stand.jpg|thumb|[[Priestfield Stadium]] is the home of [[Gillingham FC]], Kent's only [[Football League]] team.]]
{{more citations needed|section|date=March 2025}}

In association football, Kent's highest ranked football team is [[Gillingham FC]] (nicknamed 'The Gills') who play in [[EFL League Two|Football League Two]], having been demoted at the end of the 2021–22 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Report {{!}} Gillingham 0-2 Rotherham United |url=https://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/news/2022/april/report--gills-0-2-rotherham/ |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=www.gillinghamfootballclub.com |language=en-gb}}</ref> [[Maidstone United F.C. (1897)|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 F.C.|Ebbsfleet United]], who were promoted in 2023. [[Tonbridge Angels F.C.|Tonbridge Angels]] and [[Maidstone United F.C.|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]] by [[Kent County Cricket Club]]. The club was a founder member of the [[County Championship]] in 1890 and has won the competition, the major domestic [[first-class cricket]] 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]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/18424594 We ended up with a lake – Kent CEO Jamie Clifford] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619060919/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/18424594 |date=19 June 2012}}. BBC Sport (13 June 2012). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref> 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]] have historically competed at the highest levels of English field hockey, with Holcombe's [[Men's England Hockey League|men's]] and [[Women's England Hockey League|women's]] first teams currently playing in the England Hockey Premier Divisions. Sevenoaks Hockey Club's women's first XI competes in Division 1 South, the second tier of the national league structure.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holcombe Hockey Club – Welcome |url=https://holcombe.hockey/welcome/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Holcombe Hockey Club}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sevenoaks Hockey Club – Women's 1st XI |url=https://www.sevenoakshockey.club/teams/213981 |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Sevenoaks Hockey Club}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Canterbury Hockey Club – About |url=https://canterburyhockeyclub.co.uk/about |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Canterbury Hockey Club}}</ref>

The [[Invicta Dynamos]], based in Gillingham, are a semi-professional [[ice hockey]] 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]]<nowiki/>s, and the ladies' ice hockey team, the [[Invicta Dynamics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Invicta Dynamos Official Website |url=https://invictadynamos.co.uk/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Invicta Dynamos}}</ref>

In [[rugby union]], [[Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Football Club|Tonbridge Juddians]] and [[Canterbury RFC]] play in the fourth tier of English rugby in the National League 2 East and similar level. [[Gravesend RFC]] play in the seventh-tier [[London 2 South East|London 2 South-East]] (Regional 2 South East). [[Blackheath FC|Blackheath RFC]], a club within the historic boundaries of the county, played in the third tier ([[National League 1|National league 1]]) until being relegated at the end of the 2021–22 season. <ref>{{cite web |title=Tonbridge Juddians RFC profile |url=https://www.communityad.co.uk/exclusives/tonbridge-juddians-rfc/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=CommunityAd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Canterbury RFC – Club History |url=https://cantrugby.co.uk/club-history/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Canterbury RFC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=3 May 2022 |title=Blackheath relegated and Esher lift National Two South title |url=https://nationalleaguerugby.com/national-1/leeds-tykes-seal-safety-blackheath-relegated-and-esher-lift-national-two-south-title/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=National League Rugby}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gravesend Rugby Club – About |url=https://www.gravesendrugby.co.uk/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Gravesend RFC}}</ref>

The [[Brands Hatch]] circuit near [[Swanley]] has played host to a number of national and international racing events and hosted 12 runnings of the [[British Grand Prix]] between 1964 and 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=FIA British F4 Championship – Brands Hatch (GP) |url=https://fiaformula4.com/tracks/brands-hatch-gp/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=FIA Formula 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brands Hatch History |url=https://ukracetracks.wordpress.com/circuit-history/brands-hatch-history/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=UK Race Tracks}}</ref>

There have been multiple [[American football]] teams based in Kent since the game was popularised in the UK. Currently, [[Canterbury]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 September 2023 |title=East Kent Mavericks become National Champions |url=https://www.kentsportsnews.com/east-kent-mavericks-become-national-champions-25-09-2023/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Kent Sports News}}</ref>

Kent is home to two national-league netball clubs, both based in northwest Kent: Telstars (Premier Division 2) and KCNC (Premier Division 3).<ref>{{cite web |title=Telstars Netball Club – Presently Seniors play in EN National Premier League Div 2 |url=https://telstarsnetball.co.uk/club-history |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Telstars}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=KCNC – Kent County Netball Club |url=https://sevenoaksjuniornetballleague.com/teams/kcnc/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Sevenoaks Junior Netball League}}</ref>

In [[basketball]], the [[Kent Panthers]] participate in Division 3 of the [[National Basketball League (England)|National Basketball League]].

The 2021–2022 season saw three Kentish clubs demoted from the third tier of their respective sports to the fourth tier, with rugby clubs [[Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Football Club|Tonbridge Juddians]] and [[Blackheath F.C.|Blackheath RFC]] being relegated in rugby and [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham F.C]]. being relegated in football.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 April 2022 |title=Gillingham 0-2 Rotherham United: Millers promoted as Gills drop to League Two |url=https://www.vavel.com/en/football/1110203-gillingham-0-2-rotherham-united-millers-promoted-as-gills-drop-to-league-two.html |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=VAVEL}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=25 April 2022 |title=Leeds Tykes seal safety, Blackheath relegated and Esher lift National Two South title |url=https://nationalleaguerugby.com/national-1/leeds-tykes-seal-safety-blackheath-relegated-and-esher-lift-national-two-south-title/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=National League Rugby}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 2022 |title=Rosslyn Park Weekly Newsletter – Issue 39 |url=https://rosslynpark.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Parknews39.pdf |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Rosslyn Park}}</ref>

==News and media==

===Television===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2016}}
Kent is served by the [[BBC]]'s [[BBC South East|South East]] region, which is based in [[Tunbridge Wells]] and provides local news for the county and [[East Sussex]]. Its commercial rival is [[Meridian Broadcasting|ITV Meridian Ltd]], which has a newsroom at [[The Maidstone Studios]] despite the main studio being based in [[Hampshire]]. Main transmitters providing these services are at West Hougham, near [[Dover]] and [[Blue Bell Hill]], between [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] and [[Maidstone]]. 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]], [[Gravesend]], and [[Sevenoaks]] lie within the [[ITV London]] and [[BBC London]] areas, taking their television signals from the [[Crystal Palace transmitting station|Crystal Palace]] transmitter.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC South East |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/england/kent |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Contact Us – ITV News Meridian |url=https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2013-01-14/contact-us-at-itv-news-meridian |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=ITV News Meridian |publisher=ITV plc}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bluebell Hill Transmitting Station |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Bluebell_Hill |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=UKFree.TV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dover Transmitting Station (West Hougham) |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Dover |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=UKFree.TV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tunbridge Wells Transmitter |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Tunbridge_Wells |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=UKFree.TV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Crystal Palace Transmitting Station |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Crystal_Palace |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=UKFree.TV}}</ref>

===Radio===
Kent has two county-wide stations – [[BBC Radio Kent]], based in Tunbridge Wells; and the commercial station [[KMFM (radio network)|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<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clarkson |first1=Stuart |title=KMFM group can have one breakfast show |url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2012/02/kmfm-group-can-have-one-breakfast-show/ |website=Radio Today Industry News |access-date=5 September 2015 |date=16 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217091356/http://radiotoday.co.uk/2012/02/kmfm-group-can-have-one-breakfast-show/ |archive-date=17 February 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The county’s first commercial station was originally known as Invicta (Invicta Sound/Invicta FM) and began broadcasting on 1 October 1984. After various buy-outs it was rebranded as [[Heart Kent]] in June 2009 as part of Global’s Heart network roll-out, and in 2019 the station was merged with neighbouring Heart licences to form [[Heart South]]; Heart Kent’s Whitstable studios closed in late May 2019 with regional production consolidated elsewhere (the merged regional service broadcasts from [[Fareham]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Invicta Sound |url=https://www.localradioarchive.co.uk/invicta_sound/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Local Radio Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=27 April 2009 |title=Global completes rebranding of local radio stations as Heart |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/global-completes-rebranding-local-radio-stations-heart/897546 |access-date=24 October 2025 |work=Campaign}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=4 April 2019 |title=Global to network Capital, Heart and Smooth breakfast shows |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/02/global-to-network-capital-heart-and-smooth-breakfast-shows/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |work=RadioToday}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 June 2019 |title=Heart Kent closure makes kmfm only Kent-based commercial music station |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/changing-face-of-local-radio-206195/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |work=KentOnline}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Heart – Public File (Kent) |url=https://www.heart.co.uk/public-file/kent/ |access-date=24 October 2025 |website=Heart.co.uk}}</ref>

There are several community radio stations in Kent including:

* [[Academy FM (Folkestone)]].
* [[Academy FM (Thanet)]]
* [[AHBS Community Radio|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==
{{portal|Geography|<!-- Eurasia -->|Europe|<!-- Western Europe -->|<!-- Northern Europe -->|United Kingdom|England|South East England|Kent}}
* [[Custos Rotulorum of Kent]] – list of Keepers of the Rolls
* [[Duke of Kent]]
* [[Kent (UK Parliament constituency)]] – historical list of MPs for Kent constituency
* [[Kent Community Network]]
* [[Kent Police and Crime Commissioner]]
* [[List of churches in Kent]]
* [[List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)#Kent]]
* [[List of civil parishes in Kent]]
* [[List of fire stations in Kent]]
* [[List of hills of Kent]]
* [[Lord Lieutenant 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
* [[:Category:Towns in Kent]]
* [[:Category:Villages in Kent]]
* [[Fergus and Judith Wilson]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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{{Commons category|Kent}}
{{wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.kent.gov.uk/ Kent County Council]&nbsp;– local government website
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/places/names/index.shtml#a BBC&nbsp;– origins of Kent placenames]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121002095724/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0 Images of Kent] at the [[English Heritage Archive]]

{{Adjacent communities
|title = '''Neighbouring English counties and French department'''
|Centre    = Kent
|North     = [[Essex]]
|Northeast = ''[[Thames Estuary]]''
|East      = ''[[North Sea]]''
|Southeast = ''[[English Channel]]''<br />[[Pas de Calais]], France
|South     = [[East Sussex]]
|Southwest = [[West Sussex]]
|West      = [[Surrey]]
|Northwest = [[Greater London]]
}}

{{Kent}}
{{England counties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kent| ]]
[[Category:Non-metropolitan counties]]
[[Category:South East England]]
[[Category:Home counties]]
[[Category:Counties of England established in antiquity]]