Portal:Kent

Introduction

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

The county has an area of 3,544 square kilometres (1,368 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,931,684 in 2024. The north-west of Kent is densely populated, with Dartford and Gravesend belonging to the Greater London conurbation and Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester forming a second conurbation around the River Medway; the town of Maidstone is to their south. The remainder of the county is more rural, and its principal settlements include the city of Canterbury in the north-east, the seaside resort of Margate on the north-east coast, and the ports of Dover and Folkestone on the east coast. For local government purposes Kent consists of a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and the unitary authority area of Medway. The county historically included south-east Greater London, and is one of the home counties. (Full article...)

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Minnis Bay

Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 10,505. Note that the village's name is actually Birchington - 'Birchington-on-Sea' is the name of the railway station, not the whole village.

The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between the seaside resorts of Herne Bay, and Westgate on Sea. As a seaside resort, the village is a tourist and retirement destination. The village's Minnis Bay is a family beach with attractions such as sailing, windsurfing, a paddling pool and coastal walking routes. Its three smaller beaches are surrounded by chalk cliffs, cliff stacks and caves.

The village was first recorded in 1240. Its parish church, All Saints', dates to the 13th century and its churchyard is the burial place of the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Quex Park, a local 19th-century manor house, is home to the Powell-Cotton Museum and a twelve-bell tower built for change ringing.

The museum contains a large collection of stuffed exotic animals collected by Major Percy Powell-Cotton on his travels in Africa, and also houses artefacts unearthed in and around Birchington by his daughter, Antoinette Powell-Cotton, a keen archaeologist. (Full article...)

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Selected images

Image 1
Credit: Tony Hobbs
Scotney Castle is a country house with gardens in the valley of the River Bewl in Kent, England.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 2
Credit: Cas Liber
.Leeds Castle dates back to 1119, though a manor house stood on the same site from the 9th century.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 3Credit: James ArmitageHever Castle, in Kent, England (in the village of Hever), was the seat of the Boleyn family, later bestowed to Anne of Cleves following her divorce from King Henry VIII of England.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 4
Credit: Baryonic Being
Chartwell, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, was the home of Sir Winston Churchill.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 5
Credit: C.Hoyle
Eastwell Park was a British stately home at Ashford, Kent, that for a time served as a royal residence.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 6
Credit: Michael Rowe
Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 7
Credit: Xtrememachineuk
The Channel Tunnel is a 31 mile long rail tunnel beneath the English Channel connecting England to France.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 8
Credit: Craig Bass
Ramsgate Harbour constructed between 1749 and 1850, has the unique distinction of being the only Royal Harbour in the United Kingdom.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 9
Credit: Michael Wilmore
The Kent & East Sussex Railway was opened by Colonel H.F. Stephens, the railway engineer, in 1900. At its fullest extent, it ran nearly 22 miles[35km] from Robertsbridge on the Tonbridge to Hastings main line to Headcorn on the main line between Tonbridge and Ashford, Kent.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 10
Credit: Adam Miller
The Swale refers to the strip of water separating North Kent from the Isle of Sheppey.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 11
Credit: Michael Rowe
Dover Castle is situated at Dover, Kent and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 12
Credit: O1ive
Dover is a major channel port in the English county of Kent
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 13
Credit: Oliver Dixon
The Pilgrims' Way is the route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 14
Credit: Michael Haslam
Howletts Wild Animal Park was set up as a private zoo in 1958 by John Aspinall in Canterbury, Kent.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 15Credit: Lancevortex (from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 16
Credit: Dave Bushell.
A Eurostar on High Speed 1 going through the Medway Towns
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 17
Credit: O1ive
Brockhill Country Park is dominated by a large grassy valley, bisected by the Brockhill Stream as it makes its way to the Royal Military Canal at Hythe.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 18
Credit: LuckyStarr
Hops are a flower used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer. The principal production centres for the UK are in Kent.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 19
Credit: Paddy Briggs
St Lawrence Ground is the home of Kent County Cricket Club and is notable as a first-class cricket ground that has a tree within the boundary.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 20
Credit: StephenDawson
The Channel Tunnel terminal at Cheriton near Folkestone in Kent, from the Pilgrims' Way on the escarpment on the southern edge of Cheriton Hill, part of the North Downs.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 21
Credit: Sdwelch1031
Rochester is a large town in Kent, England, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London. Construction of Rochester Cathedral, shown, began in about 1080.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 22
Credit: Pireotis
Rochester is a large town in Kent, England, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 23
Credit: O1ive

St Mary in Castro (or St Mary de Castro) is the church at Dover Castle.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 24
Credit: Marco Sinibaldi
Around AD 50 the Romans built a lighthouse which still stands to its full height in the grounds of Dover Castle.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 25
Credit: C Hoyle
Brockhill Country Park is dominated by a large grassy valley, bisected by the Brockhill Stream as it makes its way to the Royal Military Canal at Hythe.
More about Brockhill Country Park...
(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Image 26
Credit: Hans Musil
Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site.
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(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)

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Selected biography

Blethyn in 2014

Brenda Blethyn (née Bottle; born 20 February 1946) is an English actress. Known for her character work and versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in 2003.

Blethyn pursued an administrative career before enrolling at the Guildford School of Acting in her late 20s. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre, gaining attention for her performances in plays such as Benefactors (1984), for which she received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play. She made her Broadway debut in the revival of the Marsha Norman play 'Night Mother (2004).

She made her feature film debut with a small part in Nicolas Roeg's The Witches (1990). She starred in the Mike Leigh film Secrets & Lies (1996), which earned her a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was also Oscar-nominated for her role in Little Voice (1998). Her other notable film credits include A River Runs Through It (1992), Girls' Night (1998), Saving Grace (2000), Lovely & Amazing (2001), Plots with a View (2002), Pumpkin (2002), A Way of Life (2004), Pride & Prejudice (2005), and Atonement (2007).

Blethyn made her screen debut in the Mike Leigh television film Grown-Ups (1980). She has since starred in the sitcoms Chance in a Million (1984–1986), The Labours of Erica (1989–1990), Outside Edge (1994–1996), and Kate & Koji (2020–2022). She received Primetime Emmy Award nominations playing Auguste van Pels in Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) and for her guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008). From 2011 to 2025 she starred in ITV crime drama series Vera portraying Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. (Full article...)

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Join the WikiProject Kent: Any help on the Kent project would be gratefully received, even if only on your local area of expertise. FAQ about editing Ask the project a question here

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Tasks: Here are some Kent related tasks you can do:

Clean up an article: Here are automatically generated lists of articles needing cleanup sorted alphabetically and by category.
Edit the Top and High importance articles.
Refine/polish: Ashford, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury
Expand:: List of churches in Kent, Maidstone Borough Council
NPOV: K College
Citation needed: Unreferenced Kent articles
Cleanup/Copyedit: Kingdom of Kent
Expert attention: Channel Tunnel, Bromley Civic Society
Stubs: see Kent geography stubs articles

Note: These articles may overlap with those on other related lists. If you would like to make a change, either do so yourself, or make a suggestion.

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Districts in Kent

Kent is divided into 12 local authority districts and Medway Unitary Authority.

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Did you know...

... that the present town of Ashford in Kent, England, originates from an original settlement established in 893 AD by inhabitants escaping a Danish Viking raid?
...that Charles Davis Lucas, the first person to be awarded the Victoria Cross, is buried in the churchyard of St Lawrence's Church in Mereworth, Kent?
...that the village of Chiddingstone near Sevenoaks is unique in that with the exception of church and castle it is entirely owned by the National Trust?
...that Matthew Webb, the very first person to swim the English Channel, left from Dover in 1875 ?
... that the world’s first aircraft factory was opened at Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey by the Short Brothers in 1909?
... that there were 36 Kings of Kent?
... that Herne Bay Pier was the setting for the opening sequence of Ken Russell's first feature film French Dressing?"

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The County

At the time of the 1831 census, Kent was the 10th largest county, covering 972,240 acres (3,934.5 km²), however by 1871 it had grown to 995,344 acres (4,028.01 km²) and became the 9th largest.

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