104-680: Dover ( / ˈ d oʊ v ər / DOH -vər ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent , South East England . It faces France across the Strait of Dover , the narrowest part of the English Channel at 33 kilometres (21 mi) from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone . The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of
208-471: A community based radio station that broadcast from Aylesbury . The town is served by the local newspapers, Bucks Herald , Bucks Free Press and Wendover News. There are four schools in the town: Wendover Football Club currently shares the school fields of the John Colet School and a clubhouse is open each Saturday afternoon for either a first or a reserve team fixture. Wendover hosts
312-589: A fortified port. Dover has a partly preserved Roman lighthouse (the tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain) and the remains of a villa with preserved Roman wall paintings. Dover later figured in Domesday Book (1086). Forts were built above the port and lighthouses were constructed to guide passing ships. It is one of the Cinque Ports . and has served as a bastion against various attackers: notably
416-598: A higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide. 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
520-793: A mixed military school in Dover. Both grammar schools require the Dover Test or the Kent Test for admission to Year 7. Duke of York's Royal Military School is a selective secondary school with academy status and England's only military boarding school for children of service personnel (co-education ages 11–18), located next to the former site of Connaught Barracks . Non-selective secondary schools There are fjewwr ex- secondary modern mixed schools in Dover, all with academy status . Astor Secondary School federated with St Radigunds Primary School (then renamed White Cliffs Primary College for
624-520: A monument to the Buckinghamshire men who died in the Boer War. Wendover Woods on Haddington Hill and Boddington Hill belong to Forest Enterprise England . There are routes for mountain bikers, and walking trails for walkers of various abilities as well as barbecue sites and play areas for children. On Boddington Hill are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, Boddington Camp . Wendover and
728-454: A new 500m Pier to the west of the Harbour, and new Marina unveiled as part of a £330m investment in the area. It has also been a point of destination for many illegal migrant crossings. The Port of Dover provides much of the town's employment, as does tourism including to the landmark White Cliffs of Dover . There were over 368,000 tourists visiting Dover castle in the year of 2019. Dover
832-526: A project in partnership with CitizensUK . Wendover lies at approximately 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level. It occupies a prime position at the northern end of a natural crossing point through the Chiltern Hills , which wrap around the west, south and east of the town. To the north the land slopes gently downwards towards the flat, agricultural land of the Aylesbury Vale . To the west
936-623: A route in tunnel to the west of the bypass and town centre. As part of a wider campaign against the route, a Wendover lobby group was formed, with a 300 strong protest filmed by the BBC in December 2010. However, despite the opposition, the HS2 bill was passed in 2016. In 2017, construction contracts were signed. In 2019, the Wendover community launched WRAP (Wendover Resettlement Assistance Project),
1040-587: 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. For almost nine centuries, a small part of present-day East London (the North Woolwich , London E16 area), formed part of Kent. Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the Thames Estuary and the North Sea to the north, and
1144-506: A weekly market, and has had a market charter since 1464. The name is likely of Brythonic Celtic origin. The initial part of the name could be related to wyn or gwyn , as in modern Welsh, meaning white. The second part of the name "dwr" could derive from "dwfr" meaning "water". The Brythonic ancestor to the Welsh "dwr" is also the etymology of the city of Dover. The first known documentary reference to Wendover, then known as Wændofron ,
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#17327655950071248-531: Is England's second-oldest cathedral, the present building built in the Early English Style. These two dioceses ensured that every village had a parish church. Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with
1352-579: Is England's second-oldest cathedral. Located between London and the Strait of Dover , which separates England from mainland Europe, Kent has been the setting for both conflict and diplomacy, including the Battle of Britain in World War II and the Leeds Castle peace talks of 1978 and 2004. England relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of its history; the Cinque Ports in
1456-487: Is based at the Clock Tower on High Street. Facilities in the town centre include a post office , several hairdressers, a community library (run by volunteers), multiple delis and cafés, a pharmacy and a charity shop. There is a weekly open market on Thursdays. Wendover's pubs include The Red Lion, The George & Dragon, The White Swan, The King and Queen, The Pack Horse, and The Shoulder of Mutton. The Red Lion pub
1560-512: Is classified as a Large-Port Town, due to its large volumes of port traffic and low urban population. Archaeological finds have shown that there were Stone Age people in the area, and that some Iron Age finds also exist. During the Roman period , the area became part of the Roman communications network. It was connected by road to Canterbury and Watling Street and it became Portus Dubris ,
1664-502: Is controlled by the Channel Navigation Information Service based at Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Dover. MRCC Dover is also charged with co-ordination of civil maritime search and rescue within these waters. The Port of Dover is also used by cruise ships. The old Dover Marine railway station building houses one passenger terminal, together with a car park. A second, purpose-built, terminal
1768-419: Is designed to lay afloat. Built from fibre reinforced composite (FRC) the boat is lightweight yet very strong and is designed to right itself in the event of a capsize. There are seven secondary level schools serving Dover. Public schools Dover College is a mixed public school founded in 1871 by a group of local business men. Selective secondary schools There are two single-sex grammar schools and
1872-477: 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 hop gardens. In particular the county produces tree-grown fruits, strawberries and hazelnuts. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oasts are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish. Kent
1976-538: Is in the will of Ælfheah , the ealdorman of Hampshire , and dates from between 965 and 971. Prior to the Norman Conquest , the manor, which at the time measured 24 hides in area, was held by Edward the Confessor . The settlement appears to have been centred some 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the south of the present-day focus of the town, near the current location of the parish church of St Mary. By 1086,
2080-482: Is likely that around this time the focus moved north to its current location, allowing the market to cater to traffic on the road running along the Chilterns between Chinnor and Tring , as well as that crossing the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury. The current layout of the older parts of the town show clear signs of medieval town planning, especially the presence of long, narrow and rectilinear burgage plots. Both parliamentary and royalist forces visited
2184-496: Is located further out along the pier. The ferry lines using the port are (number of daily sailings in parentheses): These services have been cut in recent years: Dover's main communications artery, the A2 road replicates two former routes, connecting the town with Canterbury. The Roman road was followed for centuries until, in the late 18th century, it became a toll road . Stagecoaches were operating: one description stated that
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#17327655950072288-641: Is located in Whitfield, 4 miles north of Dover. Technical College Kent Kent is a county in the South East England region, the closest county to continental Europe . It borders Essex across the entire estuary of the River Thames to the north; the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover to the south-east; East Sussex to the south-west; Surrey to
2392-414: Is now under construction. At Wendover this route is crossed by the route of the ancient Icknield Way , running along the line of the Chilterns, that has connected Wiltshire to Norfolk since prehistoric times. Besides the town itself, the civil parish includes the hamlets of: Wendover was represented by its own parliamentary constituency , intermittently from 1300 and continuously from 1660, until
2496-649: Is of Celtic origin, and dates back to at least the 4th century BC. It is one of the earliest names recorded in Britain, known to the Greeks since the explorer Pytheas recorded it as Kantion during his voyage around the British Isles in about 325 BC. As such, it has been claimed as the "oldest recorded name still in use in England." The meaning has been explained as 'coastal district,' 'corner-land' or 'land on
2600-769: Is on the Stagecoach Diamond network providing links to Canterbury and Deal . The Western Docks at the port of Dover are served from the town centre as well as Canterbury and Deal. Dover is the start of The Wave network to New Romney via Folkestone , Hythe and Dymchurch . There are services to Lydd via Lydd Airport , and links to Sandwich . National Express runs coaches from Dover to other towns in Kent including Canterbury, Folkestone, Ashford, Kent , Maidstone , Gillingham at Hempsted Valley shopping centre and Greenhithe at Bluewater Shopping Centre for Dartford to London including Bexleyheath , Eltham , Walworth , Canary Wharf , Elephant & Castle ,
2704-530: Is sited in a gap in the Chiltern Hills and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The ancient Ridgeway National Trail , an 85-mile walking route from Avebury to Ivinghoe , passes along Wendover High Street. Apart from the Ridgeway Trail there are 33 miles of public rights of way and bridleways criss-crossing the parish and leading to the open chalk downland of Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire , home to Britain's longest surviving geocache , and
2808-534: 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 (figures are in £ millions): North Kent is heavily industrialised, with cement-making at Northfleet and Cuxton , brickmaking at Sittingbourne, shipbuilding on
2912-464: 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 . At the national level, Kent is represented in
3016-453: Is usually between 3 °C (37 °F) and 21.1 °C (70.0 °F). In 1800, the year before Britain's first national census, Edward Hasted (1732–1812) reported that the town had a population of almost 10,000 people. At the 2001 census, the town of Dover had 28,156 inhabitants, while the population of the whole urban area of Dover, as calculated by the Office for National Statistics ,
3120-872: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , stayed a night at The Red Lion, in October 1874, which he wrote about in an essay called "An Autumn Effect". In 1913 Alfred de Rothschild invited the Royal Flying Corps to conduct manoeuvres on his land in the adjacent manor of Halton , and the land continued to be used by the British Army throughout the First World War . In 1916 the Royal Flying Corps moved its air mechanics school from Farnborough , Hampshire to Halton, and in 1917,
3224-592: The British Army of the Rhine in the event of a Soviet ground invasion of Europe. In 1974, a discovery was made at Langdon Bay off the coast near Dover. It contained bronze axes of French design and is probably the remainder of the cargo of a sunken ship. At the same time, this find also shows that trade routes across the Channel between England and France existed already in the Bronze Age , or even earlier. In 1992,
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3328-517: 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 , Eltham , Charlton , and Kidbrooke . In 1900, however, Kent absorbed the district of Penge . Some of Kent is contiguous with the Greater London sprawl, notably parts of Dartford . Originally,
3432-595: The House of Commons by 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 victories of 1997 and 2001 . In both 2010 and 2015 , the Conservatives won every seat in
3536-773: The Local Government Act 1972 , Kent County Council has been under Conservative Party control; the exception was between 1993 and 1997 when the party came under no overall control with Labour Party leadership. At the most recent county council election in 2021 , the Conservatives won 62 out of 81 seats. Also elected were seven Labour councillors, six Liberal Democrats , four from the Green Party , one Swale Independent and one residents' association representative. Of Kent's thirteen districts, two are under Conservative control (Sevenoaks, Dartford), four are under Labour control (Gravesham, Medway, Thanet, Dover), one
3640-681: The London to Aylesbury Line . Wendover has two bus routes passing through it: the 8 travels between Aylesbury and RAF Halton and the 55 travels between Aylesbury and Chesham . The 8 is run by Arriva , and the 55 is run by Red Rose Travel. Local news and television programmes are BBC South and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Oxford TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio , Heart East (formerly 97.6 Chiltern FM ), Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts (formerly Mix 96) and Red Kite Radio,
3744-772: The North Downs and The High Weald . Kent was one of the first British territories to be settled by Germanic tribes, most notably the Jutes , following the withdrawal of the Romans. Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, the oldest cathedral in England, has been the seat of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the conversion of England to Christianity that began in the 6th century with Saint Augustine . Rochester Cathedral in Medway
3848-529: The Port of Dover . Archaeological finds have revealed that the area has always been a focus for peoples entering and leaving Britain . The name derives from the River Dour that flows through it. In recent times the town has undergone transformations with a high-speed rail link to London, new retail in town with St James' area opened in 2018, and a revamped promenade and beachfront. This followed in 2019, with
3952-832: The River Darent , tributaries of the River Medway, and on the River Stour . Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose . In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at Kemsley on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own windmill or watermill , with over 400 windmills known to have stood at some time. Twenty-eight survive within
4056-527: The River Medway in 1547. By the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at Chatham . By 1618, storehouses, a ropewalk , a drydock , and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham. 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
4160-543: 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 70 miles (112 km) long. The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge . The Medway has captured
4264-647: The Saxon Shore Way and the North Downs Way . The National Trust White Cliffs can be reached by foot from the town centre, with pathways to South Foreland Lighthouse , and St Margarets Bay along the cliff top . The walking routes from Dover pass the National Trust visitor centre on the landmark chalk cliffs overlooking the English Channel with views of France visible on a clear day. Two National Cycle Network routes begin their journey at
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4368-740: The South Eastern Railway's main line connected with Folkestone in 1844, and the London, Chatham & Dover Railway opened its line from Canterbury in 1861. Southeastern trains run from Dover Priory to London Charing Cross , London Victoria or London St Pancras International stations in London, and Ramsgate or Sandwich in Kent. With the introduction of the high-speed service into St Pancras International via High Speed 1 , rail journey times between London and Dover were reduced to 55 minutes non-stop. The Chatham Main Line into Priory
4472-753: The Straits of Dover and the English Channel to the south. France is 21 miles (34 km) across the Strait. 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 Wealden dome, a dome across Kent and Sussex created by alpine movements 20–10 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
4576-645: The 10th –14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover . Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county and in the Vale of Holmesdale in between and to the south are most of the county's 26 castles . The county has agriculture, haulage, logistics and tourism industries. As
4680-425: 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 and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway. Chalk, gravel and clay were excavated on Dartford Heath for centuries. Kent's original paper mills stood on streams like
4784-716: The Arts) to form the Dover Federation for the Arts (DFA). Subsequently, Barton Junior School and Shatterlocks Nursery and Infant School joined the DFA. In 2014, the DFA was warned by the Department for Education about "unacceptably low standards of performance of pupils ". St Edmund's Catholic School federated with St Richards Catholic Primary School to form the Dover Federation of Catholic Schools. Dover Christ Church Academy
4888-420: The City of London and to Victoria Coach Station . The Dover lifeboat is a Severn class lifeboat based in the Western Docks. Dover Lifeboat station is based at crosswall quay in Dover Harbour. There is a Severn-class lifeboat , which is the biggest in the fleet. It belongs to the RNLI which covers all of Great Britain. The lifeboat number is 17–09 and has a lot of emergencies in the Channel. The Severn class
4992-407: The English back to Canterbury. French control of Dover lasted for three months after which English troops pushed back, forcing the French to surrender and return home. Dover is in the south-east corner of Britain. From South Foreland , the nearest point to the European mainland, Cap Gris Nez is 34 kilometres (21 mi) away across the Strait of Dover. The site of its original settlement lies in
5096-400: The French during the Napoleonic Wars and Germany during the Second World War . During the Cold War , a Regional Seat of Government was located within the White Cliffs beneath Dover Castle. This is omitted from the strategic objects appearing on the Soviet 1:10,000 city plan of Dover that was produced in 1974. The port would have served as an embarkation point for sending reinforcements to
5200-421: The Grand Union main line beside Marsworth top lock. Disused for over a century, the arm is in the course of being restored by the Wendover Arm Trust. Remote and rural for almost all its length, the canal attracts much local wildlife, including a colony of mandarin ducks . It is possible to walk along the canal for about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the centre of Wendover, to Tring. To the south of town centre lie
5304-404: The High Street, Biggin Street, Market Square, Cannon Street, Pencester Road and Castle Street. The Castleton Retail Park is to the north-west of the town centre. The new St James' Retail and Leisure Park opened in 2018 and is a southern extension of the town centre; it consists of shops, restaurants, a Travelodge Hotel and a Cineworld Cinema. The Dover Harbour Board is the responsible authority for
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#17327655950075408-476: The Medway and Swale , engineering and aircraft design and construction at Rochester, chemicals at Dartford, papermaking at Swanley , and oil refining at Grain . There is a steel mini mill in Sheerness and a rolling mill in Queenborough . There are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness , although the older one, Dungeness A, built in 1965, was decommissioned in 2006. Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during
5512-533: The Richter Scale. It was centred in the Sandwich area of east Kent at about ten miles below the surface. There was little if any damage reported. 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 have been formed by accumulation of alluvium. Kent's principal river,
5616-482: The Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club to the town of Sandwich. In Sandwich the route links with Regional route 15. Dover town centre is cycle friendly: There are dedicated cycle lanes along the seafront and cycle routes through the town's pedestrianised High Street area. The Port of Dover is a 20-minute walk from Dover Priory railway station . The port offers crossings to both Calais (DFDS, P&O and Irish Ferries) and Dunkerque (DFDS). The Dover to Dunkirk ferry route
5720-541: The Westphalian Sandstone are about 820–1,310 ft (250–400 m) deep, and are subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel. Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the epicentres 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 earthquake caused physical damage in Folkestone. A further quake on 22 May 2015 measured 4.2 on
5824-489: The area is required to achieve these objectives; it has been opposed by environmental groups. Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of Brogdale near Faversham the temperature reached 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), at that time the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the United Kingdom. The record still stands as the hottest August day ever recorded. Kent County Council and its twelve district councils administer most of
5928-410: The area's military importance, the first Ordnance Survey map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801. Many of the 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. In 1889,
6032-483: The area, eventually assimilating with the newcomers. Of the invading tribes, the Jutes were the most prominent, and the area became a Jutish kingdom 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. In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary (who became Saint Augustine of Canterbury after his death) as
6136-631: The border between Kent and Sussex (later East Sussex ) ran through the towns of Tunbridge Wells and Lamberhurst . In 1894, by the 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 bombs , or "Doodlebugs", were fired towards London from bases in Northern France . Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons , both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs. After
6240-433: The cliffs. Dover has an oceanic climate (Köppen classification Cfb ) similar to the rest of the United Kingdom with mild temperatures year-round and a light amount of rainfall each month. The warmest recorded temperature was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), recorded at Langdon Bay on 25 July 2019, While the lowest recorded temperature was −9.5 °C (14.9 °F), recorded at Dover RMS on 31 January 1972. The temperature
6344-486: The coast following the raid on the Medway , a successful attack by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667. 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. As an indication of
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#17327655950076448-418: The county (3352 km ), whilst the Medway Council administers the more densely populated Medway unitary authority (192 km ), independently of the county council. Together they have around 300 town and parish councils . Kent County Council's headquarters are in Maidstone , while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf, Chatham . For most of its history since the local government reforms instituted by
6552-556: 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 City of London commuters . 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
6656-427: 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, including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986. The west of
6760-411: The county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland . 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 , Jack Cade 's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 against Queen Mary I . The Royal Navy first used
6864-441: The county. The 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. At the 2011 census , 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
6968-439: The edge' (Welsh cant 'bordering of a circle, tyre, edge;' Breton cant 'circle;' Dutch kant 'side, edge'). In Latin sources the area is called Cantia or Cantium , while the Anglo-Saxons referred to it as Cent , Cent lond or Centrice . The area was first occupied by early humans , intermittently due to periods of extreme cold, during the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), as attested by an early Neanderthal skull found in
7072-419: The exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone. Sevenoaks , Maidstone , Ashford , and Folkestone are built on greensand, while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are built on sandstone. Dartford , Gravesend , the Medway towns, Sittingbourne , Faversham , Canterbury , Deal , and Dover are built on chalk. The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by
7176-521: The first Archbishop of Canterbury . In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the 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. The second designated English cathedral was for West Kent at Rochester Cathedral . Kent was traditionally partitioned into East and West Kent, and into lathes and hundreds . The traditional border of East and West Kent
7280-449: The head waters of other rivers such as the River Darent . Other rivers of Kent include the River Stour in the east. A 2014 study found that Kent shares significant reserves of shale oil with other neighbouring counties, totalling 4.4 billion 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. Fracking in
7384-455: The journey took all day to reach London, from 4 am to being "in time for supper". The other main roads, travelling west and east, are the A20 to Folkestone and thence the M20 to London, and the A258 through Deal to Sandwich. In December 2020, a long line of freight trucks formed due to sudden border closures with France, because of new strains of COVID-19 within the United Kingdom. The railway reached Dover from two directions:
7488-537: The junction of High Street and Tring Road in the centre of the town, built in 1842. The ground floor of the tower serves as the office of the parish council. The tree-lined Aylesbury Street includes the 16th-century timber framed Chiltern House and 18th-century Red House. To the north of the town centre is the terminus of the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal , which joins Tring summit level of
7592-427: The land between the capital and the wider continent, it is a high-income county. Agriculture of the county is a notable sector: "The Garden of England" is a nickname for the county, which has multiple orchards and allotments. 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. The name
7696-471: The manor of Wendovre was in the hundred of Aylesbury , with William the Conqueror as its tenant in chief. The manor remained in royal ownership until 1154, and then passed back and forth between royal and private ownership several times. Wendover was granted a market charter in 1214, and had become a borough by 1228, although it does not appear to have achieved any degree of self-government. It
7800-510: 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'. 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
7904-541: The 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 ,
8008-577: The north of the town. In 1998, the Wendover bypass was built, moving the A413 road west of the town centre, paralleling the railway line. Property values rose significantly in the years after the completion of the bypass, which removed a lot of traffic from the town's narrow streets. In 2010, the proposed route the High Speed 2 rail line (HS2) from London to the Midlands was published, showing it taking
8112-526: The old Welsh spelling, dour in Breton ). The same element is present in the town's French name Douvres and the name of the river, Dour , which is also evident in other English towns such as Wendover . However, the modern Modern Welsh name Dofr is an adaptation of the English name Dover . The current name was in use at least by the time of Shakespeare's King Lear (between 1603 and 1606), in which
8216-407: The once important road along the foot of the Chilterns. The town is 35 miles (56 km) north west of London and 5 miles (8 km) south east of Aylesbury . The parish has an area of 5,832 acres (2,360 ha) and had, at the time of the 2011 census , a population of 7,399. Outside Wendover, the parish is mainly arable and also contains several hamlets in the surrounding hills. Wendover has
8320-496: The open spaces of Witchell Meadow, Hampden Meadow and Rope Walk Meadow, the latter hosting the new Wendover Community Orchard in memory of the First World War . These are bounded to the east by the Heron Stream and to the south by Hampden Pond, both feeders to the canal. On the southern side of the pond lies Wendover's parish church, which is dedicated to St Mary , and which marks the site of the original settlement. The town
8424-544: The opening of Wendover railway station on the Metropolitan Railway 's line to Aylesbury . Responsibility for the station was transferred from London Transport , who had inherited it from the Metropolitan Railway, to British Railways , in 1961. The 1841 census reveal the population that year was 1,877. Robert Louis Stevenson , the writer of famous works such as Treasure Island and
8528-636: 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 era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley . Julius Caesar described the area as Cantium , or the home of the Cantiaci , in 51 BC. The extreme west of
8632-569: The running of the Port of Dover. The English Channel , here at its narrowest point in the Straits of Dover, is the busiest shipping lane in the world. Ferries crossing between here and the Continent have to negotiate their way through the constant stream of shipping crossing their path. The Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme allots ships separate lanes when passing through the Strait. The Scheme
8736-442: The school was permanently accommodated there, in what was to become the current RAF Halton . Whilst the base is not in the parish of Wendover, its close proximity impacted on the town, and the surrounding landscape, due to the associated population increases and deforestation to provide wood for construction work. In the latter part of the twentieth century, a number of large scale residential developments appeared, particularly to
8840-584: 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 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . 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
8944-640: The seat was abolished by the Reform Act of 1832 . The town and parish now form part of the Aylesbury parliamentary constituency . This seat had elected a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1924 until 2024, when the seat was won by Laura Kyrke-Smith of the Labour Party . There are two tiers of local government covering Wendover, at parish and unitary authority level: Wendover Parish Council and Buckinghamshire Council . The parish council
9048-713: The so-called Dover boat from the Bronze Age was discovered in six metres depth underwater. This is one of the oldest finds of a seaworthy boat. Using the radiocarbon method of investigation, the boat's construction was dated to approximately 1550 BC . First recorded in its Latinised form of Portus Dubris , the name derives from the Brythonic word for water ( dwfr in Middle Welsh , dŵr in Modern Welsh apart from 'dwfrliw' (Watercolour) which has retained
9152-409: The surrounding villages including Aston Clinton , Ellesborough and Weston Turville , are widely regarded as exceptionally desirable places to reside and the town was named one of the best places to live in Britain by The Sunday Times in 2018. The town has rail access to London and is served by Wendover station which is served by Chiltern Railways services to and from London Marylebone on
9256-449: The town and its cliffs play a prominent role. Louis VIII of France landed his army, seeking to depose King Henry III , on Dover's mainland beach. Henry III ambushed Louis' army with approximately 400 bowmen atop The White Cliffs of Dover and his cavalry attacking the invaders on the beach. However, the French slaughtered the English cavalry and made their way up the cliffs to disperse the bowmen. Louis' army seized Dover village, forcing
9360-521: The town during the Civil War , with looting reported by both sides. Many of the buildings in the town centre, and especially on High Street, Pound Street, and Aylesbury Road, date from the 17th century. It is not known whether this is because they needed rebuilding after civil war damage, or is an indication of the prosperity of the town at the time. In 1721, the Wendover to Buckingham Turnpike Trust
9464-457: The town is overlooked by Coombe Hill (260 metres or 850 feet) and to the east by Wendover Woods (267 metres or 876 feet). The gap through the Chilterns that Wendover sits astride has long been an important communications route. It is used by the A413 road between London and Aylesbury, the London to Aylesbury railway line , and the new high speed rail link between London and the North that
9568-470: The town. Route one goes from Dover to Canterbury. This route links with National Cycle Route 2 from Dover to St Austell, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. It passes three castles. Firstly from Dover on the steap incline past Dover Castle. Then South Foreland Lighthouse is visible from the route. Mostly traffic-free along the east coast from Kingsdown to Deal, passing Walmer Castle and Deal Castle . Follows toll road (free to cyclists) through
9672-399: The valley of the River Dour , sheltering from the prevailing south-westerly winds. This has led to the silting up of the river mouth by the action of longshore drift . The town has been forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep the port in being. These breakwaters have been extended and adapted so that the port lies almost entirely on reclaimed land. The higher land on either side of
9776-472: The valley – the Western Heights and the eastern high point on which Dover Castle stands – has been adapted to perform the function of protection against invaders. The town has gradually extended up the river valley, encompassing several villages in doing so. Little growth is possible along the coast, since the cliffs are on the sea's edge. The railway, being tunnelled and embanked, skirts the foot of
9880-577: The war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965, the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent. In 1998, Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway . Plans for another unitary authority in north-west Kent were dropped, but in 2016 consultations began between five Kent local authorities (Canterbury, Thanet, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe, and Ashford) with
9984-474: The west and Greater London to the north-west. The county town is Maidstone . It is the fifth most populous county in England, the most populous non-metropolitan county and the most populous of the Home Counties , an area influenced by the capital such as commutes and transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty :
10088-447: Was 39,078 inhabitants. With the expansion of Dover, many of the outlying ancient villages have been incorporated into the town. Originally the parishes of Dover St. Mary's and Dover St. James, since 1836 Buckland and Charlton have become part Dover, and Maxton (a hamlet to the west), River , Kearsney , Temple Ewell , and Whitfield , all to the north of the town centre, are within its conurbation. The town's main shopping streets are
10192-634: 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 metropolitan cathedral ; it was founded in AD 598 and displays architecture from all periods. There are nine Anglo-Saxon churches in Kent. Rochester Cathedral
10296-587: Was electrified under British Railways in 1959 as part of Stage 1 of Kent Coast Electrification, under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan . The line up to Ramsgate, via Deal, was subsequently electrified under stage two of Kent Coast electrification in January 1961. The line from Folkestone into Priory was electrified in June 1961. A tram system operated in the town from 1897 to 1936. Dover has two long distance footpaths :
10400-461: Was established, and Wendover became a stop for coach routes to and from London. It is likely that at this time a number of new inns and hostelries were built along the High Street. The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal was built between 1793 and 1797 and served local industries whilst also providing a water supply for the parent canal. In September 1892, the railway reached the town with
10504-590: 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. At the 2001 UK census , 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
10608-543: Was home to 'Britain's Oldest Barmaid', 100-year-old Dolly Saville, who worked at the pub for 74 years. There are 113 listed buildings in Wendover, of which five are listed at the higher grade II* and the remainder are all listed at grade II. The five grade II* buildings are the parish church, the lychgate of that church, Bank Farmhouse, the Hale and the Red House. There is a distinctive red brick, spired clock tower at
10712-622: Was originally operated by ferry operator Norfolkline . This company was later acquired by the pan European operator DFDS Seaways in July 2010. The crossing time is approximately two hours. The location of Dunkirk is also more convenient for those travelling by road transport on to countries in Northern Europe including Belgium , the Netherlands , Germany and further afield. Stagecoach in East Kent provide local bus services. Dover
10816-527: Was the county's main river, the Medway . Men and women from east of the Medway are Men (or Maids) of Kent, those from the west are Kentishmen or Kentish Maids. 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. In the 11th century, the people of Kent (or Chenth , per the Domesday Book ) adopted
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