111-512: Silvermere is an estate in Surrey , England named after its mere – a shallow lake of about ten acres which has a silvery appearance when seen from the surrounding slopes. It was created in the 19th century for the rich architect, William Atkinson , and subsequently became the home of the Seth Smith family, who had also become wealthy from property development. An ancient British burial mound
222-412: A few years later at least part of it was subject to Mercia, since in 673–675 further lands were given to Chertsey Abbey by Frithuwald , a local sub-king ( subregulus ) ruling under the sovereignty of Wulfhere of Mercia . A decade later Surrey passed into the hands of King Caedwalla of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686. The region remained under
333-598: 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
444-627: A national average of 11.8% and as such is one of the few counties not to recommend new woodlands in the subordinate planning authorities' plans.In 2020 the Surrey Heath district had the highest proportion of tree cover in England at 41%. Surrey also contains England's principal concentration of lowland heath , on sandy soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with an extensive network of footpaths and bridleways including
555-563: A raiding force at Thanet , but suffered heavy losses including their ealdorman , Huda. In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by Alfred
666-579: A residence for the Bishop of Winchester , while other stone castles were constructed in the same period at Bletchingley by the de Clares and at Reigate by the Warennes. During King John 's struggle with the barons , Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 at Runnymede near Egham . John's efforts to reverse this concession reignited the war, and in 1216 the barons invited Prince Louis of France to take
777-587: 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
888-582: Is a ceremonial county in South East England . It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking . The county has an area of 1,663 km (642 square miles) and a population of 1,214,540. Much of the north of the county forms part of the Greater London Built-up Area , which includes
999-479: Is a non-metropolitan county with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but excluded what is now the borough of Spelthorne , which was part of Middlesex . It is one of the home counties . The defining geographical feature of the county is the North Downs , a chalk escarpment which runs from the south-west to north-east and divides the densely populated north from
1110-531: Is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs , running east–west. The ridge is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , tributaries of the Thames, which formed the northern border of the county before modern redrawing of county boundaries, which has left part of its north bank within the county. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, forming part of the basin of the Thames. The geology of this area
1221-670: Is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. To the south of the Downs in the western part of the county are the sandstone Surrey Hills , while further east is the plain of the Low Weald , rising in the extreme southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald. The Downs and the area to the south form part of a concentric pattern of geological deposits which also extends across southern Kent and most of Sussex, predominantly composed of Wealden Clay , Lower Greensand and
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#17327720061241332-477: 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
1443-449: Is now a golf club with associated leisure facilities. The course opened in 1976 and is of par 71 difficulty. The 17th and 18th holes include shots across the lake and the green for the 18th hole is a small island. The Inn on the Lake is Silvermere's bar and bistro and holds events such as conferences and weddings throughout the year. Surrey Surrey ( / ˈ s ʌr i / )
1554-594: 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
1665-621: Is the Thames , which historically formed the boundary between the county and Middlesex . As a result of the 1965 boundary changes , many of the Surrey boroughs on the south bank of the river were transferred to Greater London , shortening the length associated with the county. The Thames now forms the Surrey– Berkshire border between Runnymede and Staines-upon-Thames , before flowing wholly within Surrey to Sunbury , from which point it marks
1776-534: 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
1887-464: 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
1998-647: The Nox gaga and Oht gaga peoples in the Tribal Hidage may refer to two groups living in the vicinity of Surrey. Together their lands were assessed at a total of 7,000 hides , equal to the assessment for Sussex or Essex . Surrey may have formed part of a larger Middle Saxon kingdom or confederacy, also including areas north of the Thames. The name Surrey is derived from Sūþrīge (or Suthrige ), meaning "southern region" (while Bede refers to it as Sudergeona ) and this may originate in its status as
2109-615: The Battle of Hastings , the Norman army advanced through Kent into Surrey, where they defeated an English force which attacked them at Southwark and then burned that suburb. Rather than try to attack London across the river, the Normans continued west through Surrey, crossed the Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire and descended on London from the north-west. As was the case across England,
2220-581: The Battle of Lewes in Sussex. Although the rebels were victorious, soon after the battle royal forces captured and destroyed Bletchingley Castle, whose owner Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester , was de Montfort's most powerful ally. By the 14th century, castles were of dwindling military importance, but remained a mark of social prestige, leading to the construction of castles at Starborough near Lingfield by Lord Cobham , and at Betchworth by John Fitzalan , whose father had recently inherited
2331-727: The Cinque Ports in 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
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#17327720061242442-660: The College of God's Gift in Dulwich with an endowment including an art collection, which was later expanded and opened to the public in 1817, becoming Britain's first public art gallery . 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
2553-517: 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,
2664-595: 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
2775-773: 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
2886-585: The North Downs Way , a scenic long-distance path . Accordingly, Surrey provides many rural and semi-rural leisure activities, with a large horse population in modern terms. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking . It is 295 m (968 ft) above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill in West Berkshire which is 297 m (974 ft). The longest river to enter Surrey
2997-832: 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
3108-727: The River Eden , a tributary of the Medway , are in Tandridge District , in east Surrey. The River Colne and its anabranch , the Wraysbury River , make a brief appearance in the north of the county to join the Thames at Staines. Like the rest of the British Isles , Surrey has a maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. The Met Office weather station at Wisley , about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to
3219-527: 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
3330-490: 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
3441-544: 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 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
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3552-817: 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
3663-498: The de Clare family. In 1088, King William II granted William de Warenne the title of Earl of Surrey as a reward for Warenne's loyalty during the rebellion that followed the death of William I . When the male line of the Warennes became extinct in the 14th century, the earldom was inherited by the Fitzalan Earls of Arundel . The Fitzalan line of Earls of Surrey died out in 1415, but after other short-lived revivals in
3774-472: The suburbs within the M25 motorway as well as Woking (103,900), Guildford (77,057), and Leatherhead (32,522). The west of the county contains part of built-up area which includes Camberley , Farnham , and Frimley and which extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are Horley (22,693) and Godalming (22,689). For local government purposes Surrey
3885-463: The 15th century the title was conferred in 1483 on the Howard family , who still hold it. However, Surrey was not a major focus of any of these families' interests. Guildford Castle , one of many fortresses originally established by the Normans to help them subdue the country, was rebuilt in stone and developed as a royal palace in the 12th century. Farnham Castle was built during the 12th century as
3996-464: The 16th century and collapsed in the 17th, harmed by falling standards and competition from more effective producers in other parts of England. The iron industry in the Weald, whose rich deposits had been exploited since prehistoric times, expanded and spread from its base in Sussex into Kent and Surrey after 1550. New furnace technology stimulated further growth in the early 17th century, but this hastened
4107-671: The 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries . Now fallen into disuse, some English counties had nicknames for those raised there such as a 'tyke' from Yorkshire , or a 'yellowbelly' from Lincolnshire . In the case of Surrey, the term was a 'Surrey capon', from Surrey's role in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets. Under the early Tudor kings, magnificent royal palaces were constructed in northeastern Surrey, conveniently close to London. At Richmond an existing royal residence
4218-417: The 17th to 19th centuries as Caesar's Camp. Charles Edward Seth-Smith (1822 -1900 ) was the first member of the family to own & reside at Silvermere. He was the eldest son of Seth Smith , a well known & prosperous property developer, who built large proportions of Belgravia & Mayfair in the 1830s, and is famous for the pantechnicon , a building which the name of the van derives from. The estate
4329-425: 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
4440-631: The 6th century with Saint Augustine . Rochester Cathedral in Medway 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;
4551-574: The Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and King Verica of the Atrebates. The Atrebates were defeated, their capital captured and their lands made subject to Togodumnus , king of the Catuvellauni, ruling from Camulodunum ( Colchester ). Verica fled to Gaul and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allied with Rome during the invasion of Britain in AD ;43. During
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4662-661: The Earldom of Surrey. Though Reigate and Bletchingley remained modest settlements, the role of their castles as local centres for the two leading aristocratic interests in Surrey had enabled them to gain borough status by the early 13th century. As a result, they gained representation in Parliament when it became established towards the end of that century, alongside the more substantial urban settlements of Guildford and Southwark. Surrey's third sizeable town, Kingston, despite its size, borough status and historical association with
4773-611: The East Saxon diocese of London , indicating that it was under East Saxon rule at that time, but was later transferred to the West Saxon diocese of Winchester . Its most important religious institution throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and beyond was Chertsey Abbey , founded in 666. At this point Surrey was evidently under Kentish domination, as the abbey was founded under the patronage of King Ecgberht of Kent. However,
4884-637: The Great 's son Edward, the future King Edward the Elder , and fled across the Thames towards Essex. Surrey remained safe from attack for over a century thereafter, due to its location and to the growing power of the West Saxon, later English, kingdom. Kingston was the scene for the coronations of Æthelstan in 924 and of Æthelred the Unready in 978, and, according to later tradition, also of other 10th-century Kings of England. The renewed Danish attacks during
4995-502: The Kentish rebel army. In 1082 a Cluniac abbey was founded at Bermondsey by Alwine, a wealthy English citizen of London. Waverley Abbey near Farnham, founded in 1128, was the first Cistercian monastery in England. Over the next quarter-century monks spread out from here to found new houses, creating a network of twelve monasteries descended from Waverley across southern and central England. The 12th and early 13th centuries also saw
5106-592: 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
5217-532: The Midlands in the mid-17th century, but the manufacture of paper and gunpowder proved more enduring. For a time in the mid-17th century the Surrey mills were the main producers of gunpowder in England. A glass industry also developed in the mid-16th century on the southwestern borders of Surrey, but had collapsed by 1630, as the wood-fired Surrey glassworks were surpassed by emerging coal-fired works elsewhere in England. The Wey Navigation , opened in 1653,
5328-756: 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,
5439-436: The Roman era, the only important settlement within the historic area of Surrey was the London suburb of Southwark (now part of Greater London ), but there were small towns at Staines , Ewell , Dorking , Croydon and Kingston upon Thames . Remains of Roman rural temples have been excavated on Farley Heath and near Wanborough and Titsey , and possible temple sites at Chiddingfold , Betchworth and Godstone . The area
5550-416: The Surrey–Greater London border as far as Surbiton . The River Wey is the longest tributary of the Thames above London. Other tributaries of the Thames with their courses partially in Surrey include the Mole , the Addlestone branch and Chertsey branch of the River Bourne (which merge shortly before joining the Thames), and the Hogsmill River , which drains Epsom and Ewell . The upper reaches of
5661-541: 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
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#17327720061245772-489: 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
5883-410: 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,
5994-483: 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
6105-631: 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
6216-408: The capital boosted the wealth and population of the surrounding area, but urban development elsewhere was sapped by the overshadowing predominance of London and by the lack of direct access to the sea. Population pressure in the 12th and 13th centuries initiated the gradual clearing of the Weald , the forest spanning the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, which had hitherto been left undeveloped due to
6327-445: The chalk of the Downs. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt . It contains valued reserves of mature woodland (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill , Leith Hill , Frensham Ponds , Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons . Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22.4% coverage compared to
6438-486: 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
6549-405: The conquest of England by Cnut. Cnut's death in 1035 was followed by a period of political uncertainty, as the succession was disputed between his sons. In 1036 Alfred , son of King Æthelred, returned from Normandy , where he had been taken for safety as a child at the time of Cnut's conquest of England. It is uncertain what his intentions were, but after landing with a small retinue in Sussex he
6660-463: The control of Caedwalla's successor Ine in the early 8th century. Its political history for most of the 8th century is unclear, although West Saxon control may have broken down around 722, but by 784–785 it had passed into the hands of King Offa of Mercia. Mercian rule continued until 825, when following his victory over the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun , King Egbert of Wessex seized control of Surrey, along with Sussex, Kent and Essex. It
6771-418: 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
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#17327720061246882-556: 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
6993-411: The county administration was moved to Newington in 1791 and to Kingston upon Thames in 1893. The county council's headquarters were outside the county's boundaries from 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within Greater London by the London Government Act 1963 , until the administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021. Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey
7104-441: The county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty : 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
7215-427: 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
7326-411: 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
7437-441: 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
7548-484: The difficulty of farming on its heavy clay soil. Surrey's most significant source of prosperity in the later Middle Ages was the production of woollen cloth, which emerged during that period as England's main export industry. The county was an early centre of English textile manufacturing, benefiting from the presence of deposits of fuller's earth , the rare mineral composite important in the process of finishing cloth, around Reigate and Nutfield . The industry in Surrey
7659-402: The disastrous reign of Æthelred led to the devastation of Surrey by the army of Thorkell the Tall , which ravaged all of southeastern England in 1009–1011. The climax of this wave of attacks came in 1016, which saw prolonged fighting between the forces of King Edmund Ironside and the Danish king Cnut , including an English victory over the Danes somewhere in northeastern Surrey, but ended with
7770-439: 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
7881-438: The establishment of Augustinian priories at Merton , Newark , Tandridge , Southwark and Reigate. A Dominican friary was established at Guildford by Henry III's widow Eleanor of Provence , in memory of her grandson who had died at Guildford in 1274. In the 15th century a Carthusian priory was founded by King Henry V at Sheen . These would all perish, along with the still important Benedictine abbey of Chertsey , in
7992-474: 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
8103-465: The extinction of the business as the mines were worked out. However, this period also saw the emergence of important new industries, centred on the valley of the Tillingbourne , south-east of Guildford, which often adapted watermills originally built for the now moribund cloth industry. The production of brass goods and wire in this area was relatively short-lived, falling victim to competitors in
8214-521: 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
8325-449: 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
8436-611: The lake where Wallis fired differently-shaped models from a catapult and Gentry then rowed to retrieve them. Later, in 1943, George Edwards , the manager of the Experimental department used the lake to demonstrate the mechanism for spinning and releasing the bombs. Lady Seth Smith was told that the project was secret and was quite agreeable about this activity, "Anything to do with beating the Germans, me boy, you can have, but don't make much noise while you are doing it." The estate
8547-427: 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
8658-440: The largest landowners in Surrey (then Sudrie ) at the end of Edward's reign were Chertsey Abbey and Harold Godwinson , Earl of Wessex and later king, followed by the estates of King Edward himself. Apart from the abbey, most of whose lands were within the shire, Surrey was not the principal focus of any major landowner's holdings, a tendency which was to persist in later periods. Given the vast and widespread landed interests and
8769-563: 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
8880-464: The monarchy, did not gain parliamentary representation until 1832. Surrey had little political or economic significance in the Middle Ages. Its agricultural wealth was limited by the infertility of most of its soils, and it was not the main power-base of any important aristocratic family, nor the seat of a bishopric. The London suburb of Southwark was a major urban settlement, and the proximity of
8991-519: The more rural south; it is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , both tributaries of the Thames . The north of the county is a lowland, part of the Thames basin. The south-east is part of the Weald , and the south-west contains the Surrey Hills and Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons , an extensive area of heath . The county has the densest woodland cover in England, at 22.4 per cent. Surrey
9102-486: 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 ,
9213-447: The mouth of the Thames in a fleet of about 350 ships, which would have carried over 15,000 men. Having sacked Canterbury and London and defeated King Beorhtwulf of Mercia in battle, the Danes crossed the Thames into Surrey, but were slaughtered by a West Saxon army led by King Æthelwulf in the Battle of Aclea , bringing the invasion to an end. Two years later the men of Surrey marched into Kent to help their Kentish neighbours fight
9324-587: The national and international preoccupations of the monarchy and the earldom of Wessex, the Abbot of Chertsey was therefore probably the most important figure in the local elite. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the emergence of the shire's internal division into 14 hundreds , which continued until Victorian times. These were the hundreds of Blackheath , Brixton , Copthorne , Effingham Half-Hundred , Elmbridge , Farnham , Godalming , Godley , Kingston , Reigate , Tandridge , Wallington , Woking and Wotton . After
9435-493: The native ruling class of Surrey was virtually eliminated by Norman seizure of land. Only one significant English landowner, the brother of the last English Abbot of Chertsey, remained by the time the Domesday survey was conducted in 1086. At that time the largest landholding in Surrey, as in many other parts of the country, was the expanded royal estate, while the next largest holding belonged to Richard fitz Gilbert , founder of
9546-496: The north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the Greater London Built-up Area . This is an area of continuous urban sprawl linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing conurbation straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of Camberley and Farnham . Guildford is often regarded as the historic county town , although
9657-667: The north-east of Guildford, has recorded temperatures between 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) (August 2003) and −15.1 °C (4.8 °F) (January 1982). From 2006 until 2015, the Wisley weather station held the UK July record high of 36.5 °C (97.7 °F). Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people. Its largest town is Woking with a population of 105,367, followed by Guildford with 77,057, and Walton-on-Thames with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include Ewell , and Camberley . Much of
9768-592: The period, armies from Kent heading for London via Southwark passed through what were then the extreme north-eastern fringes of Surrey during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and at various stages of the Wars of the Roses in 1460, 1469 and 1471. The upheaval of 1381 also involved widespread local unrest in Surrey, as was the case all across south-eastern England, and some recruits from Surrey joined
9879-688: 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
9990-462: The rebels heading for London briefly occupied Guildford and fought a skirmish with a government detachment on Guildown outside the town, before marching on to defeat at Blackheath in Kent. The forces of Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554 passed through what was then northeastern Surrey on their way from Kent to London, briefly occupying Southwark and then crossing the Thames at Kingston after failing to storm London Bridge. Surrey's cloth industry declined in
10101-584: 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
10212-475: The social control exercised there by the local authorities of Surrey was less effective and restrictive than that of the City authorities. Bankside was the scene of the golden age of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre , with the work of playwrights including William Shakespeare , Christopher Marlowe , Ben Jonson and John Webster performed in its playhouses. The leading actor and impresario Edward Alleyn founded
10323-526: The southern portion of the Middle Saxon territory. If it ever existed, the Middle Saxon kingdom had disappeared by the 7th century, and Surrey became a frontier area disputed between the kingdoms of Kent , Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Mercia , until its permanent absorption by Wessex in 825. Despite this fluctuating situation it retained its identity as an enduring territorial unit. During the 7th century Surrey became Christian and initially formed part of
10434-520: The throne in 1042. This hostility peaked in 1051, when Godwin and his sons were driven into exile; returning the following year, the men of Surrey rose to support them, along with those of Sussex, Kent, Essex and elsewhere, helping them secure their reinstatement and the banishment of the king's Norman entourage. The repercussions of this antagonism helped bring about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Domesday Book records that
10545-449: The throne. Having landed in Kent and been welcomed in London, he advanced across Surrey to attack John, then at Winchester , occupying Reigate and Guildford castles along the way. Guildford Castle later became one of the favourite residences of King Henry III , who considerably expanded the palace there. During the baronial revolt against Henry, in 1264 the rebel army of Simon de Montfort passed southwards through Surrey on their way to
10656-577: 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
10767-590: Was a founding shareholder of the East India Company who became the company's Governor and later Lord Mayor of London . Southwark expanded rapidly in this period, and by 1600, if considered as a separate entity, it was the second-largest urban area in England, behind only London itself. Parts of it were outside the jurisdiction of the government of the City of London , and as a result the area of Bankside became London's principal entertainment district, since
10878-634: 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
10989-590: 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
11100-570: Was focused on Guildford, which gave its name to a variety of cloth, gilforte , which was exported widely across Europe and the Middle East and imitated by manufacturers elsewhere in Europe. However, as the English cloth industry expanded, Surrey was outstripped by other growing regions of production. Though Surrey was not the scene of serious fighting in the various rebellions and civil wars of
11211-594: Was found on the land and the Silvermere Urn was found within. During World War II, the mere was used for experiments to develop and test the bouncing bomb . The estate is now a golf course and the final green is on an island in the mere. It was part of the estate of the Oatlands Palace until 1830, when the architect William Atkinson bought 170 acres of land with the lake and erected a house there. He lived there for ten years until his death, when he
11322-512: Was incorporated into Wessex as a shire and continued thereafter under the rule of the West Saxon kings, who eventually became kings of all of England. In the 9th century England was afflicted, along with the rest of northwestern Europe, by the attacks of Scandinavian Vikings . Surrey's inland position shielded it from coastal raiding, so that it was not normally troubled except by the largest and most ambitious Scandinavian armies. In 851 an exceptionally large invasion force of Danes arrived at
11433-479: Was met by Godwin, Earl of Wessex , who escorted him in apparently friendly fashion to Guildford . Having taken lodgings there, Alfred's men were attacked as they slept and killed, mutilated or enslaved by Godwin's followers, while the prince himself was blinded and imprisoned, dying shortly afterwards. This must have contributed to the antipathy between Godwin and Alfred's brother Edward the Confessor , who came to
11544-460: Was one of England's first canal systems. George Abbot , the son of a Guildford clothworker, served as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1611–1633. In 1619 he founded Abbot's Hospital , an almshouse in Guildford, which is still operating. He also made unsuccessful efforts to revitalise the local cloth industry. One of his brothers, Robert , became Bishop of Salisbury , while another, Maurice ,
11655-675: Was passed down to various members of the Seth-Smith family. During the Second World War , the estate was owned by the Seth-Smith family which had made a fortune developing Belgravia . Vickers staff from Weybridge were dispersed to this area and facilities for developing the bouncing bomb were based nearby in Foxwarren Park . In 1942, Barnes Wallis and his secretary, rowing champion Amy Gentry , rowed out onto
11766-650: Was probably largely occupied by the Atrebates tribe, centred at Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ), in the modern county of Hampshire , but eastern parts of it may have been held by the Cantiaci , based largely in Kent . The Atrebates are known to have controlled the southern bank of the Thames from Roman texts describing the tribal relations between them and the powerful Catuvellauni on the north bank. In about AD 42 King Cunobelinus (in Welsh legend Cynfelin ap Tegfan ) of
11877-467: Was rebuilt on a grand scale under King Henry VII , who also founded a Franciscan friary nearby in 1499. The still more spectacular palace of Nonsuch was later built for Henry VIII near Ewell. The palace at Guildford Castle had fallen out of use long before, but a royal hunting lodge existed outside the town. All these have since been demolished. During the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 ,
11988-479: Was removed and this was found to be a burial mound . Three burial urns were found containing bones and charcoal . They were earthenware made of light clay and about eighteen inches tall. They seemed to be ancient British of a similar antiquity to the Iron Age settlement found on nearby St George's Hill , labelled among two other knolls south of the Thames which had borne celtic artefacts at various times in
12099-437: Was succeeded by his son Henry. The land had been mostly undeveloped heath , but Atkinson was interested in horticulture . He planted a large variety of rare plants and trees, including a comprehensive collection of pines which was one of the finest in England. The farmhouse of the estate was made of peat turf and the dairy had a similar turf roof which worked well to keep it cool. To construct Atkinson's house, earth
12210-537: 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
12321-525: Was traversed by Stane Street and other Roman roads. During the 5th and 6th centuries Surrey was conquered and settled by Saxons . The names of possible tribes inhabiting the area have been conjectured on the basis of place names. These include the Godhelmingas (around Godalming ) and Woccingas (between Woking and Wokingham in Berkshire). It has also been speculated that the entries for
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