KENT is bounded on the north by the German Ocean and the estuary of the Thames, which ends at the north-eastern point of the isle of Sheppey, on the west by Surrey, on the south by Sussex, the Kent water, the river Rother, and the English Channel, which also forms its south-eastern and eastern limit: it juts out from the south-eastern coast of England in the form of a cant, comer, or horn, whence its ancient Iberian or British name, Romanised into Cantium, and preserved to us in the present name of Kent: this horn runs into the sea from west to east, its seaboard dipping from north to south. The most northerly promontory is formed by Foreness and the North Foreland, the latter 1° 29' east of Greenwich; the southern promontory is Dengeness, or Dungeness, which is 0° 59' east of Greenwich: its dimensions are-from London to Dungeness (north-west to south-east) 59 miles; from the North Foreland to the junction of the three counties of Surrey, Sussex and Kent (north-east to south-west) 62 miles; from London to the North Foreland (west to east) 64 miles; from the North Foreland to Dungeness (north to south), 38 miles.

Kent is the ninth English shire in size, and contains 976,881 acres, as diminished by the creation of the “County of London,” with the addition of 1,937 acres part of Lamberhurst parish, Sussex, and the transfer of 1,453 from Broomhill added to Sussex.

Under the provisions of the “London Government Act, 1899,” by Order in Council, 1900, Penge, once a detached hamlet of Battersea, in the county of Surrey, has been transferred to Kent.

In 1700 the population was estimated at 153,800; in 1750 at 190,000; in 1801 it was returned at 308,667; in 1831, 479,558; in 1841, 549,353; in 1851, 615,766; in 1861 at 733,887; in 1871, 848,294; and in 1881, 977,706.

By the formation of the “County of London,” under the Local Government Act, 1888, the population was reduced by 335,055, having been transferred under the above Act to the County of London; the county population in 1891, in consequence of this transfer, being 808,736, and in 1901, 961,139, viz.:-males, 471,436; females, 489,703. The number of houses were-inhabited, 188,193; uninhabited, 12,001; building, 2,496.

Kent is a hilly county, with a great deal of chalk, belonging to the North Downs range: this chalk ridge runs from west to east towards the sea, and is from 3 to 6 miles in breadth. Hollingbourne Hill, in this range, between the Medway and the Stour, is 606 feet high; Knockholt, 783; Paddlesworth. near Folkestone, 626 feet; Folkestone Hill, 575 feet; Dover Castle Hill, 400 feet; and the North of Foreland, 100 to 200 feet high; a point in the range of hills near Wrotham is 770 feet above the sea. Between the chalk range and the Thames is a tertiary formation connected with the London basin, and consisting partly of plastic clay and partly of London clay: this formation includes the land between the Medway and the Thames, the isles of Graine and Sheppy the latter rich in fossils. The chief hills in this formation are Shooter’s Hill, about 400 feet high, and Sheppy, 480 feet high, both of London clay. This district yields clay for bricks and coarse pottery, river sand for mortar, Roman cement stone and copperas stone. The chalk formation affords chalk for manure and for mending walls, inferior lime for building and whiting and agricultural purposes, sand for building and likewise flints, which are much used for building and fences. South of the North Downs range we find the chalk marls and greensand of the secondary formation. The greensand contains beds of limestone, used for road-making, lime, stucco and sugar refining, for which latter purpose it is exported to the West indies.

The southern slope of the secondary formation forms the ragstone range of hills, some of which are from 600 to 800 feet high; this stone is used locally, and some-times in London, for building purposes. The next parallel belt through the middle of the county from west to east is the Valley of Weald clay, 5 miles broad, formed by the rivers Eden, Medway and Beult, and constituting the nucleus of the Weald of Kent, “weald” signifying a forest tract; and this district was formerly a great wood, frequented only by deer and wild hogs. The Wealden formation is succeeded by the iron-sand, reaching to the Sussex border; the ironsand district was, down to the 17th century, the seat of the iron manufacture, when, the application by Lord Dudley of pit-coal as fuel-instead of billet-wood, gave the superiority in cheapness, though not in quality, to the richer ores and fuel of the northern district. Goudhurst Hill is 497 feet high. The mineral products of the county are ragstone and limestone for building, clay, chalk, lime, flints, Roman cement stone (septaria from Sheppy), iron, brimstone and copperas.

Kent contains many mineral springs, some chalybeate, as at Bromley and Canterbury, but the most remarkable are those of Tunbridge Wells and the neighbourhood.

The northern part of the county along the Thames and Medway shore, is girt with a belt of marsh land, which, extends a mile or two inland. Between the main land and Thanet, marshes also exist; and the south-east of the shire is formed by the marsh islands of Romney, Oxney and Ebony. The river Medway forms the north-western boundary of the isle of Sheppy (consisting of Sheppy, Elmley and Harty), which is divided from the mainland by the Swale channel, and contains 22,401 acres, being 11 miles long and 4 broad.

The isle of Thanet, called by the Britons and Romans Taneta, and separated by the Wantsum channel, through which the river Stour runs, forms the extreme north-east end of the shire, and contains 26,021 acres, being 10 miles long from east to west, and 6 miles broad from north to south. Romney is in the marsh district to the south-east, 13 miles long and g broad, and containing 45,000 acres. Oxney adjoins Romney, and is surrounded by the Rother, is 5 miles long and 3 broad, containing 6,643 acres.

Off the coasts and in the friths are numerous sands the chief being the Margate sands off Margate and the Goodwin sands off Ramsgate, the channel between which and the mainland constitutes the great anchorage called the Downs. The Goodwin sands are supposed by the best authorities to have been an island called “Lome,” submerged in 1097; they are 10 or 11 miles long from north to south their greatest breadth being 3 or 4 miles: and they are traversed by a narrow channel called “the Swashway.” The sheltered anchorage of the Downs off Deal and Walmer is 8 miles long and 6 broad; to the north of them are the Small Downs.

Time of High Water on the Full and Change of the Moon at the following places on the Coast of Kent:—

*By the rise of the tide is meant its vertical rise above the mean low water level of spring tides.

The rivers are numerous, and the Thames and Medway open in wide friths; the Thames, bounding the shore, is the grand channel of communication and receives several feeders from Kent. The Ravens-bourne on the west border rises near Keston Common and flows past Bromley and Lewisham to Deptford: it is 10 miles long, navigable for lighters for 1 mile, turns several mills and supplies the Greenwich and Deptford waterworks. The Cray, which gives name to several villages, and to Crayford, rises near Orpington and runs 9 miles, falling into the Dart below Dartford, where it is navigable; it is famous for its trout. The Darent, or Dart, which gives its name to Darenth and Dartford, rises in Squerryes Park, near Westerham, Tuns under the North Downs, through which it forms a grand pass, and proceeds by Otford, Shoreham, Eynsford, Farningham and Sutton, to Dartford, receiving the Cray and falling into the Thames: it is 20 miles long, 3 of which are navigable and called Dartford Creek: it furnishes water power for a manufacturing district for paper and gunpowder. The Ebbsfleet is a small brook, running at Northfleet and used for watercress cultivation.

The Medway waters the western part of the county: its name seems to be Iberian, and it had a Homan station on it, called Ad Madium; it rises near East Grin-stead and Crawley, in Sussex, passes Ashurst and Penshurst, where it receives the Eden, a mill stream (which rises near Godstone and is 16 miles in length), and becomes navigable; it thence proceeds by Tonbridge to Yalding, where it receives the Teise and Beult. The Teise, rising in Sussex, runs by Lamberhurst, a course of 17 miles, and joins the Beult, which rises in the Weald of Kent and has a course of 20 miles. The Medway then flows past Maidstone (where it receives the Len, which rises at Lenham), Aylesford, Rochester, Strood and Chatham, then by Sheerness to the frith of the Thames.

The Medway is the noblest feeder of the Thames, and has a total length of 60 miles, 40 of which are navigable, and is the great outlet for Mid Kent; the tide formerly flowed a mile or two higher than Maidstone, but it is now stopped by a lock below the bridge. Lime burning is carried on upon the Lower Medway; and on the upper stream the paper trade. Ships and large vessels get up to Rochester bridge; the river is famous for its fish; at Rochester, soles, flounders and smelts are obtained, and up the numerous creeks, oysters; the shrimp is caught largely, and a small kind of crab and crayfish are found.

The Stour, either an Iberian or British name (the “Sturius” of the Romans), consists of the Greater and Lesser Stour. The Lesser Stour rises near Lyminge and passing by Elham and Barham, above which it sometimes becomes dry, proceeds by Bekesbourn and Ickham to Stourmouth. where it joins the other Stour. The Greater Stour rises near Lenham and proceeds to Ashford, where it receives another stream and proceeds by Chilham to Canterbury, and thence to the junction with its sister stream; the two then form a channel, flowing by two mouths, to the sea, so as to separate the isle of Thanet from the main land this channel, called the “Wantsum,” was formerly 3 or 4 miles over, but in the time of Bede 3 furlongs, and commonly passable only at two places, Sarre and Stonar, where ferry-boats plied. After the time of Henry VIII. it was at one time dry, but a cut being made, Thanet is again an island the channel falls into the sea near Reculver on the one side, passing through Sandwich to Pegwell Bay on the other; both streams have excellent trout and salmon trout, often of 9 lbs. weight and of a peculiar kind. The Greater Stour is navigable from Fordwich to the sea, and its length from Lenham to Pegwell Bay is 45 miles. A small stream runs into the sea at Sandwich, rising at Northbourne. The Dour river, though a very trifling stream, received its present name from the Cymric dwr,” water, and was called by the Romans “Durius”; it gives its name to Dover, in the valley of which it anciently formed the haven; the river is about 5 miles long and turns several paper mills. The Rother rises in Sussex: and for a considerable distance forms a boundary of Kent; it navigable on its entry into Kent, and was anciently called by the Britons, and Romans Limene, entering the sea at New Romney; in the time of Edward I. it deserted its channel and formed a new one fey Rye and Windhelsea. The principal canal is the Royal Military canal, which runs along the borders of. Romney marsh from the Rother to Hythe, very little above the level of the sea; but parts of this are filled up. The Gravesend and Rochester canal has beep partly used for the North Kent railway, but its basins and the portion from Gravesend to Higham still remain.

The climate is mild and genial. From the lay of the country and the nature of the cultivation it is one of the most beautiful districts in the world, abounding with pleasing scenery and rich in its agricultural productions. The soil consists of gravel, chalk and clay, with alluvial soils which are very productive. In the chalk district are extensive sheep downs; in the Weald the soil is very fertile. The isle of Thanet has a thin, light soil, made productive by skill. The county produces wheat, oats, barley, rye, hops, vegetables and fruit. Hops are planted to the extent of 31,661 acres, which is more than half the area cultivated in England, Sussex being next highest with. 7,326 acres, and Hereford following with 7,079; for purposes of classification the Kentish hops are described as from certain districts, viz. East Kent, Mid Kent and the Weald of Kent. The fruit produced comprises apples, pears, figs, plums, cherries (particularly at Polstead), damsons, bullaces, walnuts, filberts, wood nuts, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, blackberries and rhubarb (Gravesend), and in addition canary seed and radish seed (both in Thanet), seeds, spinach, watercresses (near Gravesend), white mustard, peas, asparagus (near Deptford and Gravesend), kidney beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, woad and madder (these latter near Sandwich). Market-gardening is now largely carried on, and the manufacture of jams is also a good industry. The gardening of the county was much improved by the Netherlands refugees in the 16th century. The lathe of Sutton-at-Hone is a great fruit district, and the valley of the Medway is famous for hops. Filberts are almost peculiar to Kent. The woods are extensive and produce much oak, beech, hop poles, billet wood, hoops and bark, besides timber for ship and house-building. The rich marshes include 27,000 acres on the banks of the Stour, 11,500 on the shores of the Medway, Thames and Swale, and 50,000 in Romney Marsh, feeding numbers of fine cattle and sheep. During the last few years operations have been carried on by boring at various points in the south of the county to ascertain whether coal can be profitably worked: the borings have shown the existence of a fairly good seam about 1,200 feet from the surface of the coast, and 1,400 to 1,500 feet further inland. Chalk in the county is raised to the extent of 2,365,541 tons yearly, valued at £94,100, and 125,214 tons of limestone.

Kent is not remarkable at present for any great manufactures, though formerly it was engaged largely in the production of woollen cloths and of iron. The paper manufacture, as given in the 1901 census, employs 2,329 persons, and is carried on in mills upon the streams in the west of the county. In weaving ribbons, calico, linen, silks, jersey flocks, shirts, woollen and cotton, about 400 persons are employed. Other manufactures are bricks, tiles, pottery, cement and lime, in which several thousand people are engaged; gunpowder (Dartford, Tonbridge and Faversham), Roman cement, pottery, sugar moulds, tobacco pipes, hop bags, sacks, copperas, glass, sugar refining; tar, whiting and Tonbridge ware are also produced, the latter being peculiar to Tunbridge Wells. The principal operatives are connected with the dockyards and shipping interest. There are, however, considerable ship-building and marine engine yards, iron foundries, breweries, mailings and tanneries. The chief seats of manufacture are Dartford, Maidstone, Northfleet and Faversham.

The fisheries of Kent are very important. Besides the deep sea fisheries of cod, herring and mackerel, they include those of the Thames and Medway, and comprise oysters, for which the county is famous by the name of “natives,” also shrimps, soles, flounders &c. The fisheries employ 1,200 persons and are carried on chiefly at Gravesend (shrimps), Queenborough (oysters), Rochester (oysters), Milton and Faversham (oysters), Whitstable (oysters), Margate and Ramsgate, Pegwell Bay (shrimps), Deal, Dover and Folkestone. The fishing boats employed for sea fishing number 436, with an aggregate tonnage of 8,919 tons, and employ about 1,700 hands.

When we contemplate Kent as a maritime county we find it taking a high rank; in the earliest times of English history the men of Kent showed themselves true to their origin, and were looked upon as the stay of our naval power. Hence the establishment of the Cinque Ports, endowed with exclusive and valuable privileges, and which, down to the 17th century, supplied the greater part of the shipping and seamen to our fleets. At the present time it contains the important establishments of Chatham and Sheerness. Chatham is an old dockyard with modern additions, and is now the head quarters of a division of marines; here many of the largest ships of war are fitted out in the extensive basins, and supplied with all recent appliances, and it is the head quarters of the steam reserve.

Sheerness constitutes a smaller establishment, well provided, and is a principal school of gunnery; Dover and Folkestone are packet stations. Stangate Creek is the great quarantine establishment. The private yards also contribute to the naval resourced, many fine vessels having been built at Northfleet and Gravesend. Northfleet was once the head dockyard for the East India Company's vessels. The proximity of the county to the port of London and to the great station for merchant shipping in the Downs, furnishes it with a large traffic. Ramsgate is a regular constituted harbour of refuge, made at a great expense; and another on a larger scale is being formed at Dover, which, when completed, will cover an area of 600 acres, protected by a breakwater and jetties. The coasts are well protected by light houses and Ships, the chief of which, are the Nore & Girdler light ships at the mouth of the Thames, floating off Sheerness; the North and South Foreland lights, at the eastern extremity of the county, with one floating light on the Goodwin Sands; and lighthouses at Margate, Ramsgate, Dover and Dungeness. Of these the most remarkable are the screwpile lighthouse on the Maplin Sands and the beacons driven by Pott’s hydraulic process.

The Central Scientific Observatory, from which the longitude is reckoned, is at Greenwich Hill; there are others in the Royal Naval School, Greenwich, and at Woolwich. At Deal is a time-ball worked from Greenwich.

Kent is also the seat of large military establishments. At Chatham is the depot of the Royal Engineers and also the school of Military Engineering; at Hythe is the School of musketry for the training of military and volunteer officers; at Shorncliffe and Lydd are camps, and at the latter large ordnance are tested and the field batteries get their annual practice. There are garrisons-at Sheerness, Chatham and Dover, with forts and establishments at Gravesend and Upnor, this latter being the principal magazine, while at Sheerness gun practice is carried on, and at Canterbury is the cavalry school and depot; and there are barracks at Maidstone and a depot at Walmer for the Royal Marines, and Dover, a fortress from Roman times, is the head quarters of the South Eastern Military District.

The ports of the coasts and rivers are numerous. The ports of entry are London, Rochester, Faversham, Ramsgate, Dover, and Folkestone, with many dependencies. Erith has a local traffic; so has Dartford, which exports paper and gunpowder. Gravesend and Northfleet are watering places and steamboat stations, and are engaged in fishing, the lime trade and the supply of provisions to shipping; all these places are on the Thames.

Rochester is the great shipping port for the Medway, Milton (on a creek of the Swale) is the port of Sittingbourne. On another creek is Faversham, with a trade in the export of gunpowder, and fisheries. Whitstable is the port of Canterbury, a steamboat station, and is engaged in the oyster fishery. Herne Bay is a watering place on the North Sea coast; Margate, a steamboat station and watering place, has also some foreign trade and communication with the Continent. Westgate, nearly adjoining Margate on the west, is an increasing watering place. On the east coast are to be found the remaining coast towns. Broadstairs is a watering place. Ramsgate is a harbour of refuge and extensive watering place, steamboat station and fishing town, having communication with the Continent and maintaining a small trade. Sandwich is a port for the Stour and the neighbouring district. Deal is engaged in the supply of shipping in the Downs and in boat-building, Dover is one of the great ports for steam navigation to France and Flanders as well as an extensive watering place, with a small, trade Folkestone is the rival of, Dover and a rising port and packet station, with a trade to France, Queenborough near Sheerness, is the station of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway for their continental trade via Flushing. Hythe, has a little trade and some fishing; formerly important, it is now inconsiderable. New Romney has also waned from its ancient importance. Besides the ports on the Thames and Medway, the following have harbours regularly maintained: Ramsgate, Sandwich, Dover and Folkestone. Herne Bay, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover and Folkestone have piers. The watering places are Erith. Greenhithe, Northfleet, Gravesend, Sheerness-on-Sea, Herne Bay, Birchington, Westgate, Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Kingsgate, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Hythe and Sandgate; and Sheemess, Chatham, Ramsgate and Dover have docks for the building and repair of shipping.

Steamboats run from London to Erith. Greenhithe, Northfleet, Gravesend, Sheerness, Southend, Whitstable, Margate, Ramsgate, Deal and Dover; from Chatham to Sheerness and Southend, and Port Victoria to Sheapness; from Margate occasionally to Qstend; from Dover to London, Ostend. Calais and Boulogne; from Folkestone to Boulogne; from Queenborough to Flushing.

The province of Canterbury includes all the south of England.

The county contains 476 entire ecclesiastical parishes, and is partly in the diocese of Canterbury and partly in those of Chichester and Rochester. The diocese of Canterbury is divided into the archdeaconries of Canterbury and Maidstone; the archdeaconry of Canterbury comprises the deaneries of East Bridge, West Bridge, Canterbury, Dover, Elham, North Lympne, South Lympne, Ospringe, Sandwich and Westbere; the archdeaconry of Maidstone contains the deaneries of East Charing, West Charing; Croydon, East Dartford, West Dartford, North Mailing, South Mailing, Shoreham, Sittingbourne, Sutton and Tonbridge. For a portion of this diocese a suffragan bishop has been appointed with the title of Bishop of Dover. That part of Rochester diocese in this county is the Rochester archdeaconry, sub-divided into the deaneries of Rochester, Cobham and Gravesend.

The ecclesiastical establishments of Kent include the seat of the Primate of the English Church at Canterbury, Christianity having been first introduced in Kent in the reign of King Ethelbert. There are two cathedrals, Canterbury and Rochester; and many fine churches, formerly collegiate or abbatial, as Maidstone, Cobham, Minster &c.

The Collegiate and Grammar schools include those of Canterbury, Rochester, Tonbridge, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Cranbrook, Ashford, Faversham and Sutton Valence. The colleges are St. Augustine’s, Canterbury (ecclesiastical) and Wye (agricultural).

The railway traffic of the county is mainly carried on by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Company, an amalgamation of the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Companies. The Company has its metropolitan stations at Cannon Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Victoria station, Pimlico, St. Paul’s, Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct, and is connected at Farringdon Street with the Metropolitan, Great Northern and Midland Railways. The Greenwich and North. Kent section runs in the north to Dartford, Gravesend and Strood; thence to Rochester and Chatham, and through Rainham and Milton to Faversham, by a branch called the Kent Coast line to Whitstable, Herne Bay, Birchington, Westgate-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, while a branch from Milton runs north to Queenborough and Sheerness; on the branch from Queenborough Junction is a light railway to Leysdown; from Strood a line runs to Maidstone and the main line at Paddock Wood. The Hundred of Hoo branch starts from the North Kent line near Gravesend and through Cliffe to Sharnal Street, and has its terminus at Port Victoria, on the Medway opposite Sheerness, The Mid Kent section passes by Lower Sydenham to Beckenham. Junction and Croydon, with a branch, to Hayes and Bickley; at Beckenham Junction there is a communication with the North Kent section. The Lewisham, Dartford and Gravesend line connects these places, passing through Eltham, Bexley and Crayford. In 1868 the South. Eastern Railway Company opened their line to Tonbridge via Sevenoaks, which shortens the distance to Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings by about 13 miles. A short line was opened January, 1878, from the Grove Park station to North Bromley, and there is another branch from Dunton, Green to, Westerham. The other main line is, in the south and proceeds from. Redhill Junction, where it communicates north through Croydon, with London; westward through Reigate, Dorking, Guildford, Farnborough and Reading; and through Tonbridge, with a branch to Tunbridget Wells and Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea; from, Robertsbridge on the Hastings branch starts the Rother Valley Light Railway to Tenterden, which is being continued to Cranbrook on the Hawkhurst branch; at Paddock, Wood the brapchtto Maidstone comes, in on the north and southward a branch, runs to Cranbrook and Hawkhurst from Ashford branches, run north-east to Canterbury. Margate, Ramsgate and Deal, and south to Rye, and from Appledore Junction to Lydd, New Romney and Dungenetss, and also, to Hastings; the main line continues to Folkestone and Dover, with a branch from Sandling Junction to Hythe and Sandgate, and a line through Canterbury to Whitstable. The Dover and Deal Railway, connecting these, towns, was opened in 1881. The line from Victoria passes by Upper Sydenham, Beckenham, Bromley South and Swanley Jiinction, where it joins the main line to Dover and Deal, with branches from Farningham Road to Gravesend, from Swanley Junction to Sevenoaks, and from Otford Junction north of Sevenoaks to Maidstone.

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway enters the county in the extreme north-west, on its route to Croydon, and passes through it again at the south-west, through Edenbridge to Groombridge, in Sussex, whence there is a branch to Tunbridge Wells.

In 1850, the first successful attempt was made to carry a submarine telegraph from Dover to Calais; another is carried from Dover to Ostend, and these communicate throughout Europe with England and Ireland.

The three principal roads in Kent are Watling Street or the Dover road, an ancient Roman road by Dartford, Gravesend, Rochester, Sittingbourne and Canterbury; the Hythe road and the Hastings road. The total length of the main roads is about 586 miles; from these lines branches lead to Whitstable, Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal, Folkestone, Tenterden and Cranbrook.

Dover has the remains of an old Roman Pharos also other Roman work in the Castle chapel.

At Rochester there is a very fine specimen of Normal military work, being the ancient square keep of the Castle, which commanded the river Medway at that point, and Tonbridge has also an old castle, while Rochester, Canterbury and Maidstone show specimens of old Domestic architecture.

King William the Norman burnt Romney and Dover, but confirmed to the men of Kent their privileges. These are chiefly comprised in gavelkind, or the succession of all the sons or brothers and nephews to landed property, and the right of non-forfeiture of lands, except for treason. In case of executions, this is expressed in the distich—

“The father to the bough,

The son to the plough.”

The Cinque Ports

These were originally five ports on the coasts of Sussex and Kent, viz.:-Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney and Hythe, to which in the reign of Hen. III. two others, the “ancient towns” of Rye and Winchelsea, were added, but rather as appendages than equal ports, being then members of the port of Hastings, which has always been regarded as holding the premier place. Although increased to seven, the term “Cinque Ports,” which is traceable to the 13th cent, continued to be and is still maintained. These ports are not mentioned collectively in Domesday, Dover, Sandwich and Romney, only being named as possessing exclusive privileges, afterwards extended by the Conqueror to Hythe and Hastings, but from the Charter granted to the Cinque Ports by King John, it may be inferred that charters had been granted to the ports, or some of them, from the time of the Confessor. The Ports owed their existence and importance as a corporate body to the fact that in the early history of this country there was no standing navy, and therefore, in case of threatened invasion, it was necessary to rely mainly on the ships and men furnished by towns on the seaboard, and “not merely was the protection of the whole coast opposite to France entrusted to the Cinque Ports, but also the furnishing forth of ships for the frequent expeditions, both friendly and hostile, which the Norman and Plantagenet Kings made across the Channel.” On account of these services the Cinque Ports, both individually and as a confederation, received many important franchises and privileges, most of which, however, were abolished by the Reform Act of 1832 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. No mention is made of the representation of the Cinque Ports in Parliament until 15 Edw. II. (1322) and then only by the enrolment of a writ of summons on the Close Rolls: this meagre reference is continued to 38 Edw. III. (1364—5), but in the following Parliament, 40 Edw. III. (1366), the names are for the first time given, and show that two representatives were returned for each of the seven ports. On the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832, Romney and Winchekea were wholly disfranchised as boroughs, and Hythe was reduced to a single representative; and by the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,” Rye and Sandwich were similarly disfranchised, and Dover and Hastings each lost one member. All the Cinque Ports except Winchelsea had attached to them subsidiary ports or “members,” including Seaford in Sussex and Brightlingsea in Essex, and many places on or near the coast between those points; and in 1682 the jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports admiralty extended from Shore-beacon in Essex to Redcliff near Seaford: the Ports even had the right of regulating the Yarmouth fishery and fair, and the Warden, in the reign, of Edw. I. acted as admiral of the fleet from Dover to. Cornwall. The last Charter granted to the Cinque Ports was that of 20 Chas. II. (1668—9), but all the general Charters are stated to have been surrendered to the Crown in 1685 through the Constable of Dover Castle they still, however, retain a corporate existence and some of the most important privileges thereunto belonging, including the right of holding Courts of Brotherhood and Guestling, and the supreme Court of Shepway, and also of electing yearly a President or “Speaker,” who is, under the Lord Warden, the Chief Officer of the Ports.

The Freemen of the Cinque Ports are and always have been styled “Barons,” and at all events such of them as were summoned or elected to serve in Parliament or attend the Sovereign at his Coronation were regarded as possessing a superior dignity and as equal in rank to the peers. On the assembling of Parliament and the calling over of the Roll, they were not called on the first two days with the burgesses and knights, but on the third day with the nobles. At Coronations they had and still hold the right of carrying silken canopies over the King and Queen, as far as the entrance into the choir, and as soon as the King was crowned and the peers assumed their coronets the Barons of the Cinque Ports also put on their caps, and they did so at the-recent Coronation of King Edw. VII. Anciently on being summoned, 40 days before the ceremony, to do their service, a Court of Brotherhood was convened, at which 16 or 33 Barons were elected for the purpose, according as one or two canopies had to be carried. Each canopy was supported by four silvered staves (on some occasions increased to six, as at the coronation of Jas. II.), at the top of each corner staff was affixed a small silver bell, and there were four Barons to each, staff, ie., 16 to each canopy. The dress to be worn which varied from time to time, was also settled by the Court, and at the Coronation of Jas. I. in 1603, it consisted of a scarlet gown, of civilian pattern, reaching, to the ankle, and faced with crimson satin, Gascon hose, crimson silk stockings, and crimson velvet shoes: they also wore flat caps of black velvet. The first indication of the existence of the Coronation privilege occurs in the account given by Roger de Hoveden (1204) of tire Coronation of Rich. I.: it is mentioned in a Charter of King John to Hastings, and was confirmed by Edw. I. and succeeding sovereigns to all the Cinque Ports. At the banquet in Westminster Hall which, until recent years, followed the Coronation, the Barons were entitled to sit at a table on the right hand of the Sovereign. The canopies &c. used at the Coronations were provided by the King’s Treasury, and subsequently became the perquisites of the attending Barons, who in earlier times presented them to the cathedrals of Canterbury or Chichester or to churches of the Cinque Ports, and they were then converted into vestments or ornaments, but in later times were divided up and sold. Portions of the canopies used at the Coronations of Queen Anne and Geo. I. are still preserved in the churches of All Saints and St. Clement at Hastings, and examples of the silver bells used at the coronations of Geo. II., III. and IV. are in the South Kensington Museum. The Barons have always borne the cost of their Coronation attire, but the expenses of their attendance were defrayed by the various towns they represented.

At the recent coronation of King Edw. VII. (1902), 18 Barons were in attendance, attired in court dress of the early Victorian period, and over this a scarlet robe. No canopies were carried, but the Barons were stationed on the nave side of the choir entrance, and on the procession advancing up the nave, the peers who were carrying the banners, handed these, before entering the choir, to the Barons, who held them during the remainder of the service, but it does not appear that they received these banners as their fee.

The present Lord Warden and Constable of Dover Castle is the Marquess of Salisbury E.G., G.C.V.O. The Worshipful Stafford Charles esq. Mayor of New Romney, is Speaker for 1902—3, and Sir Wollaston Knocker kt. Town Clerk of Dover, is solicitor to the Ports. The last Court of Brotherhood and Guestling was held in the Maison Diem Hall at Dover, 30 Oct. 1902.

The list of Cinque Ports are:—1st, Sandwich, which includes Sarre, Ramsgate, Deal, Walmer and Fordwich; 2nd, Dover, with Birchington, St. Peter’s, Broadstairs, Acol or Wood, Faversham, Folkestone, Margate, Minster and Ringwould; 3rd, Hythe; 4th. New Romney, with Lydd, Old Romney, Appledore, Brenzet, ivychurch, Snargate and part of Broomhill and Brooklands; 5th. Hastings (Sussex); 6th. Rye, of which Tenterden is a member, and 7th. Winchelsea, also in Sussex.

For judicial purposes the shire belongs to the South Eastern Circuit; the county is divided into 12 police districts. Maidstone is the assize town for the shire, but assizes are also held at Canterbury for the City.

The county has one court of quarter sessions at Maidstone and is divided into 16 petty sessional divisions, exclusive of the liberty of Romney Marsh, which has petty and general sessions under its charters. The shire, which contains 427 civil parishes, is divided into 5 lathes and 73 hundreds-1st, St. Augustine’s, the north-eastern, on the coast, containing 169,987 acres and 12 hundreds and 3 liberties; 2nd, Shepway, the south-eastern, on the shore, containing 14 hundreds and one liberty, 130,891 acres; 3rd, Scray, the east midland, stretching across the shire from north to south and containing 20 hundreds, 226,927 acres; 4th. Aylesford, west midland, also extending from north to south and including 15 hundreds, and parts of 3 hundreds, 246,160 acres; and 5th. Sutton-at-Hone, forming the western part of the shire, with 8 hundreds and parts of 2 hundreds, and 178,627 acres. The whole number of hundreds is 72. Canterbury is generally regarded as the capital of the shire, as it is of the eastern division. Maidstone is the capital of the western division. Sixteen boroughs have separate commissions of the peace, and 14 of them separate courts of quarter sessions. There are 23 county courts, in Nos. 47, 48 and 49 county court districts.

The municipal boroughs are Canterbury, population in 1901, 24,899; Chatham, 37,057; Deal, 10,581; Dover, 41,794; Faversham, 11,290; Folkestone, 30,650; Gravesend, 27,196; Hythe, 5,557; Lydd, 2,675; Maidstone, 33,516; Margate, 23,188; Queenborough, 1,544; Ramsgate, 27,733; Rochester, 30,590; New Romney, 1,328; Sandwich, 3,170; Tenterden, 3,243; Tunbridge Wells, 33,373.

Other towns are, Ashford, population in 1901, 12,808; Beckenham, 26,331; Bromley, 27,354; Dartford, 18,644; Sevenoaks, 8,106; Sheerness, 18,179; Sittingbourne, 6,943; Tonbridge, 12,736; Walmer, 5,614; and Whitstable, 7,086.

His Majesty’s Prison, Canterbury, a red brick building, surrounded by high walls, erected in 1808, was formerly the house of correction for East Kent, and since the transfer of prisons to the Government in 1878, it has been greatly enlarged and will now hold 199 males and 18 females; Capt. T. C. Holland, governor; Rev. John Haworth M.A. chaplain; William Pugin Thornton M.R.C.S.Eng, medical officer; E. W. Baldwin, clerk and storekeeper; William Kitchen, chief warder.

His Majesty’s Prison, at Maidstone, was begun in 1811 and completed in 1818 at a cost of £200,000; and is authorised to receive 229 males and 68 females, but is further available for 128 additional inmates.

The County Lunatic Asylum, opened 1st January, 1833, and since greatly enlarged, comprises an extensive range of stone buildings, at Barming Heath. 2 miles from Maidstone, 250 feet above the river Medway; in 1902 it contained 1,368 inmates (634 men and 734 women); Francis Pritchard Davies M.D., C.M. medical superintendent; Charles Leighton Hopkins B.A., M.B., B.C. Walter Edgar Collier M.B.C.S.Eng., L.B.C.P.Lond. Edward Swales L.R.C.P.Lond., M.B.C.S.Eng. and Henry Ernest Christian Quin L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S.Edin. assistant medical officers; Rev. Henry Sylvester Alison B.A. chaplain; Thomas William Dadd, steward and clerk; Mrs. Sarah A. Hulse, matron.

The East Kent Lunatic Asylum, erected in 1875 on Chartham Downs at a cost of £250,000, from designs by Messrs. Giles and Gough, is a red brick building, commanding a fine view of the river Stour and covering with its grounds an area of 70 acres; the buildings, which have been extended, consist of central entrance, with offices and committee rooms, two blocks on either side, six in the rear and a chapel in the centre; it will hold 500 men and 600 women; Gerald Crowfoot Fitzgerald M.D., B.C., M.R.C.S.Eng, medical superintendent; William Everett M.D., C.M. senior assistant medical officer; John Edgar Shera L.R.C.P. and L.S. and L.M.Irel. second assistant medical officer; Cecil Hubert Gostwyck Gostwyck M.B. and Ch.B.Edin. third assistant; Rev. Neville Albert Holt B.A. chaplain; Henry Fielding, Canterbury, clerk to the committee of visitors; Norman Henry Sibley, clerk and steward; Thomas S. Derrick, assistant clerk and steward; Miss Margaret McMaster, matron.

The West Kent and General Hospital, at Maidstone, established in 1832, is a building in the rusticated Italian style, and consists of a central block, including the principal entrance and a retiring wing on either side. During the year 1901 there were received 707 inpatients, 4,704 out-patients and 1,319 casualty cases; 21 patients were also sent to the seaside during the year. The children’s ward, added in 1883, holds 12 cots and 2 cradles, and in 1886 it was handsomely decorated at the expense of a lady resident in the neighbourhood. The Hollingworth memorial wing was opened in July, 1889, and a Jubilee Memorial wing and chapel added in 1898; Charles Edward Hoar M.D. John Edward Meredith B.A., M.D., M.Ch. and Charles Boyce, physicians; Adolphus Hy. Blackwood Hallowes M.R.C.S. Eng. E. Ground M.D. and Frederick Thomas Travers M.B., M.R.C.S.Eng. surgeons; Albert Edward Anderson L.D.S.F.P. and S.Glas., D.D.S. dental surgeon; Charles James Izzard Krumbholz M.B.Lond. house surgeon; William Cuthbert Lewis, sec.; Miss Isabel Jones, lady superintendent.

The Kent and Canterbury Hospital, in Longport street, Canterbury, instituted in 1793, owes its origin to the late well-known Canterbury physician, Dr. Carter, formerly fellow of Oriel College, Oxford; two additional wings have been added and it now contains 104 beds; the number of in-patients treated during the year 1901 was 749,931 out-patients and 1,476 casualties, besides 368 dental cases; H. A. Gogarty B.A., M.D. physician; James Reid F.B.C.S.Eng. and Frank Wacher M.R.C.S. Eng. consulting surgeons; Thomas Whitehead Reid L.R.C.P.Lond. John Greasley M.R.C.S.Eng. Sidney Wacher F.R.C.S.Eng. and Zachariah Prentice M.R.C.S. Eng. surgeons; Richard Sydney Newman Faro L.D.S. Eng. dental surgeon; Norman Routh Phillips M.B.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P.Lond. house surgeon; William H. Duncan L.R.C.P, and S.Edin. assistant house surgeon; Rev. Matthew Flyn Evans, chaplain; Arthur J. Lancaster, sec.; Miss M. A. Messum, matron.

The Kent County Ophthalmic Hospital, at Maidstone, founded in 1847, is a building in a simple Tudoresque style, and is entirely supported by voluntary contributions; since 1891 it has been much improved, an operation room added and a chapel built; the building is capable of receiving 42 in-patients, and during the year 1901, 250 in-patients and 3,520 out-patients were received. Ernest A. Cartwright M.A., M.B., B.Ch., L.R.C.P.Lond., D.P.H, surgeon; J. Hughlings-Jackson M.D., F.R.S.Edin. and Charles Hoar M.D., L.R.C.P. Lond. consulting physicians; Jonathan Hutchinson F.R.C.S.Eng. and Matthew Algernon Adams F.R.C.S. Eng. consulting surgeons; George Bullock Bunter, dental surgeon; George Potts L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S.Edin. house surgeon; Samuel Harman, sec.; Miss Gertrude Brown, matron.

The Royal Sea Bathing infirmary, or Royal National Hospital for Scrofula, Margate, founded in 1791, for the treatment of scrofulous disease in all its forms, has now 220 beds and is open all the year round, annually receiving 500 or 600 patients from all parts of England, of whom more than half come from London and its neighbourhood; through the liberality of the late Sir James Erasmus Wilson LL.D., F.R.S, a new wing with a chapel and tepid swimming bath was added in 1882, at a cost of about £30,000; Thomas Smith Rowe M.D., M.R.C.S. Eng. and William Knight Treves F.R.C.S.Eng. consulting surgeons; Bertram Thornton L.R.C.P.Lond., M.R.C.S. Eng. Arthur Walton Rowe M.B., M.S., M.B.C.S. Eng. and W. Greenwood Sutcliffe F.R.C.S.Eng. visiting surgeons; Charles John Harnett M.D.Lond., M.R.C.S.Eng. assistant visiting surgeon; A. Cameron Young M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P.Lond, and Charles Louis Claude Owen M.R.C.S.Eng., L.R.C.P.Lond, resident medical officers; Commander Gray R.N. superintendent; Mrs. Hannay, matron.

Parliamentary Representation of Kent

Kent formerly returned six members in three divisions, but under the provisions of the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,” it now returns eight members in eight divisions.

No. 1, the Western or Sevenoaks Division, comprises the sessional divisions of Bromley, except so much as is comprised in Division No. 2, & Sevenoaks, the parish of Mottingham, the area of the parliamentary borough of Lewisham, & so much of the area of the parliamentary borough of Deptford as is included in the county of Kent.

No. 2, the North Western or Dartford Division, comprises the sessional division of Dartford & the parishes of Foots Cray, North Cray, Orpington, St. Mary Cray & St. Paul’s Cray in Bromley sessional division, & the area of the parliamentary boroughs of Greenwich & Woolwich.

No. 3, the South Western or Tonbridge Division, comprises the sessional divisions of Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells & the parishes of Hunton, Nettlested, East Peckham & Yaiding in Mailing sessional division.

No. 4, the Mid or Medway Division, comprises the sessional divisions of Bearsted & Mailing, except so much as is comprised in division No. 3, Rochester, including the parish of Grange (non-corporate member of Hastings) & the municipal boroughs of Gravesend, Maidstone & Rochester.

No. 5. the North Eastern or Faversham Division, comprises the sessional division of Faversham & the municipal boroughs of Faversham & Queenborough.

No. 6, the Southern or Ashford Division, comprises the sessional divisions of Ashford & Cranbrook, the municipal boroughs of Lydd, New Romney & Tenterden & so much of the liberty of Romney Marsh as is not included in division.

No. 7, the Eastern or St. Augustine’s Division, comprises the sessional divisions of Elham, Home & Wingham, the municipal boroughs of Canterbury, Deal, Dover & Hythe. Bekesbourne (non-corporate member of Hastings), Ringswold & Kingsdown (non-corporate members of Dover) & Walmer (non-corporate member of Sandwich) & such parts of the parishes of Aldington, Hurst, West Hythe, Lympne, Newington-next-Hythe & Sellinge as are within the liberty of Romney Marsh.

No. 8, the isle of Thanet Division, comprises the sessional division of Ramsgate, the municipal boroughs of Margate, Ramsgate & Sandwich, Sarre (non-corporate member of Sandwich) & Birchington, Minster, St. John, St. Peter & Wood (non-corporate members of Dover).

Military

There are two District Commands in this county, viz.-VII. South Eastern & IX. Thames.

Dover is the head quarters of the South Eastern District, comprising the Cinque Ports, Kent (except those parts, included in No. IX. District) & Sussex-Major-General Sir H. M. L. Bundle R.A., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O. in command.

Chatham is the head quarters of No. IX. or Thames Military District, comprising Sheerness & Gravesend, including Tilbury Fort & Coal House Point Battery-Major-General Sir Reginald Clare Hart K.C.B., V.C., R.E. in command.Stolen from Fore-bears

At Chatham is stationed the School of Military Engineering & it is the depot & head quarters of the Corps of Royal Engineers & has besides large barracks for infantry of the line. Canterbury is the head quarters for the 2nd-Cavalry Brigade & the depot of all the cavalry regiments on service & also of Regimental District No. 3, the Buffs. (East Kent Regiment), 3rd Foot Regiment, besides the head quarters of the East Kent Militia, which forms its 3rd battalion. Maidstone is the depot of Regimental District No. 50, the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 50th & 97th Foot Regiments, also the head quarters of the West Kent Militia, which forms the 3rd battalion. At Hythe is a School of Musketry for officers.

At Shorncliffe, near Sandgate, is a camp, under the control of the officers commanding the South Eastern District at Dover.

Royal Engineers

1st Sussex; head quarters, 38 Commercial road, Eastbourne; (K Co.), High street, Tonbridge; Capt. Holman F. Stephens; Surg.-Lieut. E. S. Cardell L.R.C.P. Lond. medical officer; Rev. R. A. Bosanquet M.A. acting chaplain.

Volunteer infantry Brigades

Sussex & Kent Brigade.

Comprising: —

1st Volunteer Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment, Brighton.

2nd Volunteer Battalion Royal Sussex Regt. Worthing 1st Cinque Ports (Cinque Ports & Sussex Rifle Volunteers), Hastings.

1st Volunteer Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), Dover.

2nd (Weald of Kent) Volunteer Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), Cranbrook.

West Kent Brigade.

Comprising:

1st Volunteer Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), Tonbridge.

2nd Volunteer Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), Blackheath.

3rd Volunteer Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), Woolwich.

4th Volunteer Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), Chatham Bearer Company.

Head Quarters, Maidstone Commanding Brigade, The Officer Commanding 50th Regimental District.

Kent County Council

Local Government Act, 1888, 51 & 52 Vic. c. 41.

Under the above Act, Kent, after the 1st April, 1889, for the purposes of the Act, except such portions as is included in the “County of London,” and also with the exception of a certain borough, see below (a), became an administrative county (sec. 46), governed by a County Council, consisting of chairman, aldermen and councillors, elected in manner prescribed by the Act (sec. 2).

The chairman, by virtue of his office, is a justice of the peace for the county, without qualification (sec. 46).

The police for the county is under the control of a standing joint committee of the Quarter Sessions and the County Council, appointed as therein mentioned (sec. 9).

The coroners for the county are elected by the County Council, and the clerk of the peace appointed by such joint committee, and may be removed by them (sec. 83—2).

The clerk of the peace for the county is also clerk of the County Council (sec. 83—1).

The administrative business of the county (which would, if this Act had not been passed, have been transacted by the justices) is now transacted by the County Council.

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SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, AND EXTENT

KENT is a maritime county, situated on the south-east extremity of the island, opposite to France. Its figure is quadrilateral, and it is bounded on the north side by the river Thames, the county of Essex, and the German Ocean; on the south by the county of Sussex; on the east by the British Channel; and on the west by the county of Surrey. It is about 63 miles in length, from Deptford to the point of the North Foreland, comprehending between those extremities one degree and 29 minutes of longitude; and measures on the east side, in a direct line from the North Foreland to Dungeness Point, nearly forty miles.

The county contains about fourteen hundred square miles, or 896,000 acres; and, according to the returns under the population act in 1811, 63,734 houses, and 373,095 inhabitants.

NAME AND ANCIENT HISTORY

“Time,” observes Camden, “has not yet deprived this county of its ancient name. Cæsar, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Ptolemy, and others, call it Cantium; and the Saxons, according to Nennius, named it Cant-guar lantd, which signifies the country of the inhabitants of Kent” But whence this name was originally derived is a subject of much speculation. Mr. Lambard, the author of a description of this county, is of opinion that the name Kent is derived “from the word Calne, which in the British tongue signifies a green-leaf, and was applied to this county on account of its having been formerly much shaded with woods.” Camden, on the other hand, conjectures that it had its name from its situation and figure, being a large point or angle, into which Britain shoots out upon the south-east extremity. There is, however, much room for doubting whether our great chorographer is right in such a derivation. The word Caint, is evidently British, and is descriptive of a country abounding in open downs; which is the general characteristic of Kent. In the record termed Domesday-book the name is thus written, Chenth.

The early history of this county involves some occurrences, of high importance in the annals of the island at large. In the 699th year after the foundation of Rome, and fifty-five years before the birth of Christ, Julius Cæsar embarked his forces at Boulogne, on the 26th of August, and made sail for the coast of Britain. The Britons being aware of his designs, made preparations for the defence of their country; and on Caesar's arrival off Dover, about ten the same morning, he found the cliffs covered with armed men, so advantageously posted that he was convinced he could not effect a landing at that point without great loss. He therefore proceeded about eight miles further, bringing up his ships on a plain and open shore, as some writers suppose, near Richborough, or Rutupiæ; but, as others contend, in the neighbourhood of the present town of Deal. The Britons, who had followed him with their army, with great courage opposed his descent, and for some time had the advantage. But Cæsar ordering some of the galleys to be stationed so as to face the Britons, the showers of darts and missive weapons discharged from the slings and engines on board the ships, obliged them to give way. At this moment the standard-bearer of the tenth legion, solemnly addressed himself to Heaven for the success of his legion, and cried aloud, “Leap down, fellow soldiers! if ye would not abandon your eagle to the enemy; for myself I am determined to do my duty to my country and general.” He then threw himself out of the ship, and advancing with the eagle against the enemy, was followed by the rest. As soon as the Romans got on dry ground they charged the Britons, and routed them; but could not pursue them, for want of cavalry. The Britons, after this defeat, immediately sent deputies to sue for peace, which Cæsar readily granted upon receiving hostages. This nominal peace was ratified four days after his landing in Britain: about the same time the ships which had the cavalry on board, being just in sight, were driven to the westward by stress of weather, and with much difficulty made the coast of Gaul. The same night, the moon being full, the tide broke into the large vessels, which were laid dry, and the wind so shattered the transports which were at anchor, that they were quite unfit for service. The British chiefs, perceiving the situation to which the Homans were reduced by these misfortunes, retracted, and determined to prevent their being supplied with proyisions. Cæsar, suspecting this, had ordered large quantities of corn to be brought into the camp; and he repaired his ships with the materials of those destroyed by the weather. In the meanwhile the Britons, surprized, and surrounded with their cavalry and chariots, the seventh legion, when out foraging But, upon Cæsar coming opportunely to their relief, the Romans recovered from their panic, and the Britons drew off, but did not disperse, having flattered themselves with kopes of recovering their independence, from the small number of the enemy, and their want of provisions. They afterwards advanced in considerable force towards the Roman camp; but Cæsar received them before it, and routed them with great slaughter. The same day they sent deputies once more to Cæsar, begging for peace, which he granted, taking however a double number of hostages, whom he ordered to be conveyed into Gaul soon after. As the autumnal equinox was now close at hand, he shortly set sail from Britain with his fleet, and returned in safety to the continent.-Such is the substance of the account which Cæsar has transmitted, through the medium of his commentaries. It will scarcely fail to be remarked, that even his own statement warrants the conclusion of his retreat being the effect of prudential forbearance, if it were not, indeed, produced by an absolute despair of success.

His conviction that he had, in this first expedition, undervalued the British power of resistance, is sufficiently proved by the augmentation of force which he judged necessary for a second invasion of the island. In the ensuing year, having fitted out a great fleet, consisting of above 800 ships, including the vessels equipped for that season by persons for their private advantage, Cæsar set sail with five legions and 2000 horse, and landed his array upon the Kentish coast, nearly in the same place as in the preceding summer. No enemy appeared, for though a large body of Britons had assembled there, the number of ships struck them with such a panic that they retreated to the higher grounds. Cæsar then encamped his array on a proper spot, and left ten cohorts and 300 horse to guard the ships. Advancing about twelve miles, he discovered the Britons stationed on the banks of a river, in a warlike posture; but being repulsed by the Roman cavalry, they retired into the woods, where they had selected a place of retreat, fortified both by nature and art. The Romans, however, forming their usual kind of covert by closing their shields, and throwing up a bank against the fortifications, made themselves masters of this fastness, and drove the Britons out of the wood. The next day Cæsar sent his troops in three divisions to pursue the Britons, but soon recalled them upon advice that the ships had suffered by a storm the preceding night, which had driven them on shore with great damage. After taking the necessary precautions for the future preservation of his ships, he returned to the place of his former victory. A considerable body of Britons was now assembled here under Cassivelaunus, who was invested with the chief command and conduct of the war. Their horse and chariots skirmished with the Romans on their march, and many were slain on both sides. After some time the Britons, perceiving the Romans busy in fortifying their camp, made a vigorous attack on the soldiers stationed before the works; but Cæsar sending two cohorts to their relief, the assailants were repulsed, although not without some difficulty. The Britons appeared next day on the hills; and at noon they fell upon three legions, and all the cavalry sent out to forage, but were defeated with great slaughter. After this they had no general engagement with the Romans. Cassivelaunus, renouncing all hopes of carrying on the war to advantage, kept with him only 4000 chariots, to watch the motions of the Romans; and as often as their cavalry straggled over the country incautiously to forage, he sent his chariots against them. Several of the British States having submitted to Cæsar, their leaders informed him that the chief town of Cassivelaunus, supposed to have been Verulam, was not far off, fortified by woods and marshes. Hereupon he attacked it on two sides, and the Britons escaped out at another; yet many of them were killed and taken in the flight. In the mean time, by order of Cassivelaunus, four petty princes of Kent, Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, and Segonax, attacked the works which the Romans had raised to secure their ships, but were repulsed in a sally, and the first of these princes was made prisoner. Cassivelaunus having suffered so many losses, and being particularly alarmed at the defection of his allies, sent deputies to Cæsar to treat concerning submission. Cæsar having determined to winter upon the continent, demanded hostages, and appointed an annual tribute to be paid by Britain. He then led off his army, as well as a great number of prisoners, at two embarkations. —Such is the account which we derive from Cæsar himself; but, in explanation of the politics of this distant æra, it may be proper to observe that Britain was then inhabited by two nations, or races of men; —the Celtæ, or aborigines, and the Belgæ. Both proceeded from Gaul, but the Belgæ were the later comers, and were regarded by the original inhabitants as encroaching enemies. Under the influence of a mistaken and injurious policy, the Celtæ, therefore, were contented to take the Roman invaders as allies. Cæsar eagerly embraced an opportunity of dividing the interests of the islanders; and, by means of this internal discordance of parties, the country more readily sank beneath the sway of the Roman arms.

About ninety years after Cæsar’s second invasion, and in the year 43 after the birth of Christ, the Romans, under Aulus Plautius, then praetor in Gaul, landed without opposition in this country. Plautius was at first successful, but being in the end obliged to retreat, he fortified himself in a strong camp on the Kentish side of the Thames, where he waited the arrival of the Emperor Claudius, who had assembled a considerable army for the reduction of Britain. Claudius having landed, immediately marched to the camp of Plautius, and crossing the Thames attacked the Britons, and defeated them with great slaughter. After this event the Roman power over the southern parts of Britain was speedily established on a firm basis; and this county in particular becoming attached to the Roman government, was included by Constantine in the division called Britannia Prima.

During the Saxon Heptarchy, of which Kent was the earliest kingdom, it was governed by numerous kings; the first was Hengist, the last Baldred, who being conquered by Egbert, Kent became part of the west Saxon Kingdom, and so continued until the general union of all the petty states beneath the English crown.

The inhabitants of this county are said to have been the first in England that were converts to Christianity; and by their courage and resolution they retained some privileges which the inhabitants of every other county lost under William the Conqueror, particularly a tenure called Gavelkind, by virtue of which, first, every man possessed of lands is in a manner a freeholder, not being bound by copyhold, customary tenure, or tenant right, as in other parts of England. Secondly, the male heirs, and in default of such, the female, share all lands alike. Thirdly, the lands of a brother, if he have no legal issue, are shared by all the surviving brethren. Fourthly, an heir when fifteen years of age, is of age to sell or alienate. Fifthly, though the ancestor be convicted of felony or murder, the heirs shall enjoy his inheritance; and this is alluded to by the Kentish proverb: The father to the bough and the son to the plough.” But this privilege extends not to treason, piracy, outlawry, or abjuring the realm.

CLIMATE

The proximity of the German Ocean and the British Channel renders this county subject to cold sea-winds, which, however bracing and salutary to the animal system, are often injurious to the vegetable produce of the earth, when in an infant and tender state. The prevailing winds come from the north-east and south-west. The former frequently sets in for a considerable length of time, and the air is then exceedingly keen and sharp. The south-west part of the county is more enclosed than any other, and being also protected by an extensive range of hills, is decidedly the warmest part of this district.

RIVERS

The principal rivers of this county are the Thames, the Medway, the Greater and Lesser Stoure, the Darent, the Cray, and the Ravensbourne.

The Thames, the Tamesis of Cæsar, passes the town and Royal Hospital of Greenwich; from hence it flows in a bold sweep to Woolwich, between Erith and Long Reach. Between those places it receives the united waters of the Cray and the Darent, and continuing a winding course, flows between Tilbury and Gravesend in a broad stream, nearly a mile over. Thence it winds through the Channel called the Hope, still increasing in width as it proceeds; and, opening due east, passes the Isle of Graine, and flows into the German Ocean, at the Nore, where it also receives the waters of the river Medway.

The Medway was called Vaga by the Britons, a name descriptive of its irregular course; and the Saxons having added the word Med, Camden supposes the present name to be derived from these two words. It is formed by four streams, only one of which rises in this county, two of the others being in Sussex, and the fourth in the county of Surrey. In its progress towards Tunbridge it flows through a very beautiful country, passing Eaton Bridge, Hever Castle, and Penshurst. A little above Tunbridge the river divides into two channels; the northern-most of which is navigable, and it again unites about two miles below the town. Thence proceeding to Twyford Bridge and Yalding, it becomes considerably increased by the united waters of the Bewle and Theyse rivulets, and flowing in a winding direction to Maidstone, and in a still more irregular course to Rochester, it from thence passes Chatham, Upnor Castle, and Gillingham Fort, and at length enters the Thames between the Isles of Graine and Shepey.

The river Medway was first made navigable to Tunbridge about the middle of the last century, under the provisions of an act of parliament, passed in the year 1740, though an act had been procured for the purpose as long before as the reign of Charles II. The trade on the river is very great, including a vast variety of articles. The Medway is plentifully stocked with fish of various species, and was formerly noted for its salmon and sturgeon. On the Medway, and in the several creeks and waters belonging to it, within the jurisdiction of the corporation of Rochester, is an oyster fishery, and the mayor and citizens hold a court once a year called the admiralty-court, for regulating this fishery, and to prevent abuses in it.”

The Greater Stoure passes by Ashford, Wye, and Canterbury. Thence proceeding to the Isle of Thanet, it is soon joined by the Lesser Stoure, and thus united continues its course between the isle and the main land to Richborough and Sandwich; after passing the latter place it suddenly winds to the north, and falls into the British Channel at Pepperness.

The Lesser Stoure flows along the western skirt of Barham Downs, and passing through a beautiful country, in a line nearly parallel with the Greater Stoure, falls into that river, about a mile beyond Stourmouth.

The Rother rises at Gravel Hill, in the parish of Rotherfield, in Sussex, and flowing eastward becomes the boundary of this county below Sandhurst and Newenden; after which it skirts the south side of the Isle of Oxney, and then empties its waters into Rye Harbour.

The Darent rises on the borders of this county and Sussex, near Westerham, whence, taking a north-east course, it passes Valance, Brasted, Chipsted, and other villages, to Riverhead. It there turns to the north, and in that direction flows past Shoreham, Eynsford, and Farningham to South Darent. Hence winding to the north-west, it proceeds to Dartford, and from thence, under the new appellation of Dartford Creek, flows onward to the Thames, which it enters at Long Reach, having first had its waters increased by those of the Cray. Dartford Creek is navigable for small craft from that town to the Thames.

The Cray rises at Newell, in the parish of Orpington, and pursuing a northerly course, gives name to St. Mary’s Cray, Paul’s Cray, Foot’s Cray, North Cray, and Crayford. From this latter place it winds through Crayford Marshes, and falls into Dartford Creek.

The Ravensbourne rises on Keston Downs, near the ancient Roman camp, and taking a north-west course, passes through the parishes of Hayes, Bromley, Lewisham, and Lee, receiving in its progress the waters of various smaller streams. At Deptford it becomes navigable for lighters and small craft, and shortly afterwards falls into the Thames.

AGRICULTURE

In regard to this important branch of chorographical delineation, we shall take the freedom of profiting by the judicious and truly-valuable survey of this county made by Mr. John Boys, of Betshanger, under the direction of the Board of Agriculture. The fidelity and utility of that publication are uniformly admitted, by those who are most conversant in the subjects upon which it treats.

In distinguishing between the different soils, and the various productions, and systems of management, in this extensive county, it has been deemed expedient to divide it into the following eight districts: the Isle of Thanet, the upland farms of East Kent, the rich flat lands in the vicinity of Favershara, Sandwich, and Deal; the hopgrounds, &c. of Canterbury and Maidstone; the Isle of Shepey; the upland farms of West Kent; the Weald of Kent, and Romney Marsh.

SOIL

Isle of Thanet. —The sub-soil of the whole island is a dry and hard rock-chalk. The tops of the ridges are about 60 feet above the level of the sea, and are covered with a dry loose chalky mould, from 6 to 8 inches deep; it has a mixture of small flints, and is, without manure, a very poor soil. The vales between the ridges, and the flat lands on the hills, have a dry loamy soil, from one to three feet, less mixed with chalk, and of much better quality.

The west end of the island, even on the hills, has a good mould, from one to two feet deep, a little inclining to stiffness; but the deepest and best soil is that which lies on the south side of the southernmost ridge, running westward from Ramsgate to Monkton; it is there a deep, rich, sandy, loam, and mostly dry enough to be ploughed flat, without any water furrows. The soil of the marshes is a stiff clay, mixed with a sea-sand, and small marine shells.

The Upland Farms of East Kent. —Under this denomination is understood an open and dry tract of land, lying between the city of Canterbury and the towns of Dover and Deal; and another tract, enclosed with woods and coppice, extending from. Dover, by Eleham and Ashford, to Rochester, in length; and from the Isle of Shepey to Lenham, &c. in breadth.

The open part of the district between Canterbury, Dover, and Deal, is of various soils, no one parish or farm being perfectly similar in all its parts. The principal soils are, 1st. chalk, 2nd. loam, 3d. strong cledge, 4th. hazel mould, 5th. stiff clay. Besides these, there are some small tracts of flints, gravel, and sund. The chalks are of various depths, from three to six. inches of loose chalky mould, on a rock chalk bottom, and are mostly found on the tops and sides of the ridges of this district. The whole of these chalky soils are much neglected, and consequently of very little value; but where they happen to be improved, by paring and burning, with good manure afterwards, they become very good land for turnips, barley, clover, and wheat; and some parts produce tolerable crops of saintfoin.

The loamy soil is a very dry soft mould, which ploughs light, and may be worked at all seasons. It produces good crops of all sorts of grass.

The strong cledge is a stiff tenacious earth, with a small proportion of flints, and at some places small particles of chalk. It is very difficult to work, except when it is between wet and dry. This land produces good crops of wheat, clover, and oats; but when unkindly seasons happen, and dry summers succeed, it is very unproductive.

The hazel mould is a light soil on a clay bottom, more or less mixed with flints and sand. It is dry, and forms very profitable land for barley and wheat upon clover lays.

The stiff clay lies on the tops of the highest hills, about Dover. The wetness of this soil arises only from the rains in winter; for the springs are above 300 feet deep.

The flat rich Land in the vicinity of Faversham, Sandwich, and Deal. —The land meant to be described under this head lies nearly on a level, and within a few miles of the towns above-mentioned. It is extremely fertile, and under the most excellent system of management.

The soil consists of two sorts; namely, rich sandy loam, with a greater or less mixture of sand; and stiff clay, some of which in the lower parts is rather wet. The surface of the first is seven or eight inches deep, with a sub-soil, varying in depth, of strong loam, clay, or chalk; this soil is always ploughed with four horses, is very dry and kindly land at all seasons, and no ridges, or water furrows, are required. It produces great crops of wheat, beans, barley, oats, and peas, and sometimes canary and radish.

The stiff wet clay is that which has a strong bottom, or any substance that holds water. It lies low, and is of a close texture, so as not to admit a quick filtration of water.

The hop-grounds of this county will meet with separate consideration in a future page, and we therefore proceed to The Isle of Shepey. —Almost the whole of this isle is a deep and strong clay. Some parts are so very sticky in the winter season, that the plough-wheels get loaded with dirt in one mass, so as to form the shape of a grindstone; and the plough is often overturned with the great weight of mould collected unequally upon the wheels.

About four-fifths of this island consist of grass land, of two sorts; namely, marsh land and upland pasture. The former has a very considerable share of rich and good fatting land; but great part of the latter is very poor breeding land, that will hardly support an ewe and a half, per acre. Most of the arable land is exceedingly fertile in wheat and beans, especially towards the north side, in the parishes of Minster and East Church. The enclosures on the hills are small, and are surrounded with thick hedge-rows of elms; and the whole face of the country is exceedingly pleasant in fine weather, being interspersed with much hill and dale, and frequent houses and cottages. The roads throughout the island are very good all the year, and the prospects are very pleasing and extensive on every side.

The Upland Farms of West Kent. —The western part of this county consists of a great variety of soils and systems of management. It is much more enclosed than the eastern part, and produces more timber and underwood.

The best cultivated is the north side of the district, from Rainham to Dartford; a tract of five or six miles in breadth. Parallel to this is a space of the like breadth, of exceeding cold, stiff, flinty clay, which is generally ploughed with six horses; this is the flat top of the chalk hill, that runs from the sea, by Folkestone, to the county of Surrey, near Westerham. It is the highest land in the county, and is, from thence, by some called the Hog’s Back of Kent.

Between this hill, and the borders of the Weald, and confines of Surrey, is an enclosed country, with much gentle hill and dale. This part produces great quantities of hops and fruit, with some corn and grass, also timber and underwood, and has many pieces of common and waste land.

The upper part, or western end, of this district, also contains many coppices of timber and underwood; great part of the latter goes to the metropolis in different kinds of faggots. The corn and hay that are not consumed in the neighbourhood, go likewise for the most part to London.

The varieties of soil in this western part are, 1. Chalk, 2. Loam, 3. Clay, 4. Gravel, 5. Sand, 6. Hassock, 7. Pinnock, 8. Coomb, 9. Hazel Mould.

The chalky soils are found on the sides of hills, and at different places along the borders of the Thames between Dartford and Rochester; they are from five to seven or eight inches thick, of a loose chalky mould, on a rock chalk bottom; those of the greatest depth of surface, that are well cultivated with a due proportion of manure, are very productive in corn and seeds, and yield great crops of saintfoin.

The loamy soils are found at different places, chiefly in the valleys; this land is of light tillage, and where well managed, is very productive of corn, seeds, and hops; and is of various depths.

The clay soil is of two sorts. That which lies at the top of the chalk hills is much mixed with flints, and is so very tenacious, as to require six strong horses to plough an acre per day in winter; and when left unploughed till very dry, in summer, it is almost impossible to get through it with eight horses. This sort is from eight to twelve or fourteen inches deep on the rock chalk, and at some places a stiff yellow clay lies between.

The other sort of clay is a cold wet stiff clay, with a small mixture of rag-stone; it is chiefly found in the low grounds of these western parts of the county. Both sorts are of small value, being very expensive to cultivate, and except the seasons are very favourable, they produce but poor crops.

Gravelly soils are chiefly found about Dartford and Blackheath, and produce early green peas, turnips, winter tares, rye, oats, and some wheat. These gravels are from five to eight inches deep, with a sub-soil of rocky gravel or sand. There are other soils called gravel, in the lower part of this district, which are a mixture of the small pieces of Kentish rag, sand, and loam; the small particles of stone predominating, give it the title of gravel. This sort produces, when well cultivated, good crops of turnips, oats, clover, and wheat.

The sandy parts of this district are, in general, very poor, being mostly of the black sort, and are chiefly found on commons and heaths. There are some, however, in cultivation, which produce excellent turnips and corn.

The surface of that soil which is termed Hassock or Stone Shatter, is a mixture of sandy loam, with a great portion of small pieces of light coloured Kentish rag stone. It is from six inches to a foot or two deep: the subsoil a solid rock of stone. This land produces great quantities of hops, apples, cherries, filberts; and likewise good turnips, potatoes, seeds, and corn; also much excellent hay on old grass lands.

The land called Pinnock is very bad to till, and extremely poor. It is a sticky red clay, mixed with small stones; but although it is deemed poor for cultivation of grain, &c. yet it produces very fine chestnut-wood: and filberts likewise grow well upon it. This sort of land also lies upon the rock.

The Coomby soil of West Kent is an extremely stiff moist clay, mixed with stones and flints, of different sorts. This kind of land is found in the parts about Seal and Wrotham, and is nearly the same as described under the title of clay.

A fine hazel mould is found on the sides of the hills, and in the valleys, at different places throughout the whole of this district.

The Weald of Kent. —This district of the county was in ancient times an immense wood, or forest, inhabited only by herds of deer and hogs, and belonged wholly to the king.

By degrees it became peopled, and interspersed with villages and towns; and by prece-meal was, for the most part, cleared of its wood, and converted into tillage and pasture. There are, however, some woodlands still in their original state.

The reputed boundary of the Weald begins at the margin of Romney Marsh, and runs along the top of the Rag-stone-hill, above the churches of Kingsnorth, Great Chart, Pluckley, Sutton, Linton, Hunton, &c. across the Medway by Teston and Wateringbury. From thence it proceeds by Herts Hill, River Hill, and Idle Hill, to Wellestreet on the borders of Surrey; and then, in union with the boundary lines of the county of Sussex, taking in the Isle of Oxney, goes on to Appledore, and the borders of Romney Marsh. It is somewhat remarkable, that the sloping part of the stone-hill which separates the Weald from the Rag-stone shelf above, should be so thickly covered with villages, whose churches stand about half way up the slope of the hill, while the neighbouring chalk-hill ridge, which separates the rag-stone shelf from the hill above it, has not a single village or church upon it. This circumstance is probably owing to the great fertility of soil on the former, and the steril character of the latter elevation.

The soil of the Weald has the reputation of being an entire mass of clay; but, on examination, it is found to contain the following varieties: 1. Clay, 2. Hazel-mould, 3. Sand, 4. Rag stone gravel.

The clay is either stiff and exceedingly heavy to plough, or a wet sort which ploughs somewhat lighter. The surface of this land is seven or eight inches deep, and the subsoil is, at some places, a yellow clay, and at others a soft sand-stone rock, which is often used for mending roads. It grinds down to a soft sand.

The hazel-mould is a clay soil of a drier nature, from having a considerable mixture of sand; it ploughs light, and is the best land in the Weald.

Sandy soils are of two sorts, black and white; the black is little regarded, but the white is much improved by marl and lime. The little there is of this soil in this district, produces turnips, barley, clover, and wheat; and the subsoil is the soft sand-stone. The rag-stone gravel is found only in small patches, and is of little value in its present state, being covered with furze, heath and broom.

ROMNEY MARSH

Romney Marsh is a spacious level of exceedingly good rich marsh land, lying at the south corner of the county of Kent. Its shape is nearly that of a parallelogram, whose length, from the foot of Aldington Hill to the sea shore, between Deugeness and Rye, is about twelve miles; and breadth, from the borders of the Weald of Kent, by Warehorn, to the sea shore, between Romney and Dimchurch, is nearly eight miles. It comprises the two corporate towns of Romney and Lydd, and sixteen other parishes. The quantity of land contained in this level, which is within the county of Kent, is about forty-four thousand acres; the adjoining level of Guildford Marsh is, for the greater part, in the county of Sussex.

The land is not all equally good; some, chiefly near the sea shore, is a poor sandy gravel, which bears a little grass in the spring, that soon burns up in the summer; and some, along the foot of the hills which surround the land-side of the marsh, is wet and poor, for want of being drained. But the great mass of land, the centre of the whole Marsh, is wonderfully rich and fertile.

There are but few oxen fed on it, compared with those which other rich marsh lands usually keep; but the quantity of sheep bred and fed here, exceeds, perhaps, any district of the like extent in the kingdom.

The Marsh is defended against the sea by an immense wall of earth of great strength, the face of it next to the sea being covered with faggot-wood and poles, fastened down by oak piles and overlaths, which prevent the sea from washing away the earth. This wall is upwards of three miles in length, and is maintained by a scot over the whole level. The expense of repairing the wall and its three sluices, is about £4000 per annum.

The soil throughout nearly the whole of this spacious level of fine marsh land, is the sediment of the sea. It consists chiefly of a soft loam and clay, with a greater or less mixture of sea sand; there are, however, near the shore, some small tracts of sand and sea beach, which are of very little value.

The principal part of the soil being a fine loam, with a mixture of sea sand, and having lain lime out of mind in grass, covered with sheep, both winter and summer, its turf is wonderfully thick and fine; and the grass it produces is of a fattening quality, equal, if not superior, to any in the kingdom. The other parts, which are inferior, are those which have a less portion of sea sand, and are a stiff clay; or those which have too much sand or gravel, and are, in consequence, apt to burn in dry summers; and these are the lands which are used as breeding grounds.

The grand system of management in Romney Marsh is that of breeding, rearing, and fattening sheep; the practice of feeding lean cattle, and even that of fattening some of the smaller sorts of Welch, are only made subservient to the principal object, sheep grazing, merely to take off such grass as runs away from the sheep in a growing time. Every grazier whose business is complete, has two sorts of land, namely, breeding land and fattening land. The breeding land is stocked with ewes in the autumn, for the winter; every field has such a number placed in it as the occupier supposes it will keep; which is from two and a half to three and a half, and, in some cases, four, per acre, in proportion to the strength of the field.

The rams are usually put to the ewes, allowing one to forty or fifty, and sometimes sixty, from the twelfth to the sixteenth of November; and stay with them about five weeks. The ewes live entirely on grass, without any hay during the winter; in deep snow they scrape with their feet, and obtain a subsistence, although they then lose flesh, and sometimes become very poor by their yeaning time. This marsh produces many twins, but a great number are lost; so that most graziers consider their crop not a bad one, if they wean as many lambs as they put ewes to the ram. The lambs are weaned the first or second week in August, and very soon after put out to keep to the upland farmers of the county, where they remain till the fifth of April, at about five shillings, per score per week. When they return to the marsh, they are put on the poorest land, or such fields as the graziers think want improvement by hard stocking; which is here called tegging a field, and is held to be of great service. These young sheep are placed in the fields, in proportion to what it is judged each will maintain, from the fifth of April until August, which is at the rate of from four to eight per acre.

The wether tegs in the autumn are removed to the fatting, and the ewe tegs to the breeding grounds, among the two and three yearling ewes. The wethers remain till July or August following, when, as they become fat, they are drawn out and sold to the butchers at the Marsh Markets, or are sent to Smithfield.

In kindly growing summers it is particularly necessary to keep a strict watch on the grass, that it may not run away from the sheep, and to prevent it by adding more sheep, or any other slock that can be had to keep it under; for if it is suffered to run from the sheep, they are much injured, and the grass gets coarse; upon such occasions, cattle are generally taken in to keep, at very low prices. The young cattle that are fed in the Marsh are chiefly taken in to keep for the summer, from the upland farmers, and are placed among the sheep, to eat the coarse spots of grass.

Some graziers, for this purpose, buy Welch calves in the autumn, put them out to keep in the farm-yards, for the winter, and in the spring place them among their sheep, where they get fat in a few months, and weigh from eighteen to twenty-two score each.

But few oxen are fattened, which are bought in from the plough teams of the Wealds of Kent and Sussex. They are very large, and have a reserve of the best grass to themselves. From their size they require a longer time to get fat than the smaller sorts, and they usually weigh from forty-five to seventy score each.

MODES OF MANAGEMENT IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTY

The general routine of crops, on the light soils of the Isle of Thanet, is fallow, barley, clover, and wheat. Some judicious, but partial variations, have, however, been lately introduced. Where the round-tilth course is pursued, in the rich sandy loam lands, the general routine is beans, wheat, and barley. Canary seeds are likewise grown here in considerable quantities. These are sown in the first dry weeks of spring, and are generally ripe by the beginning of September.

Upon the upland farms of East Kent, the chalky soil cannot be said to be under any settled system of management; for there are almost as many schemes of practice as there are farmers; much of it is down land, or sheep walk, some of which (although no very material part) has been so, “time out of mind;” and some tenants are restrained from breaking up those old downs.

The system of grazing in East Kent, on the upland farms, if it may be called grazing, is that of feeding flocks of lean sheep on the downs and seeds, folding them every night. These are bought in wether lambs, in August, and sold out lean, when about two years and a half old, to the fatting graziers.

The dry loamy soils in the vicinity of Faversham, Sandwich, and Deal, are cultivated in the round tilth system of East Kent; namely, barley, beans, and wheat.

A few oats are sown, instead of barley, and peas instead of beans; and, sometimes, a crop of canary is sown in the bean stubble, instead of wheat.

The stiff wet clay of the lower parts of this district, is much of it under a two course system of beans and wheat alternately. The beans are always put in rows, twenty inches apart. They are frequently planted by women who drop them by hand, while a man follows and covers them with the loose mould, which he cuts and draws from the next furrow, with an instrument called a planting hoe. Wheat is sowu broad-cast before the rainy season commences in the autumn; and this land is laid in flat ridges of half a rod or a rod in width; after sowing, the ridge furrows are opened, to let off the water in winter.

The best of these stiff wet lands are often sown with canary instead of wheat, and garden beans are planted instead of common ticks. Both the bean and canary crops are kept clean by repeated hoeings. The canary is cut in September, at the expense of six or seven shillings per acre, and is left a great while in the field, in lumps of half a sheaf at a place, before it is fit to bind and carry to the barn. The expense of threshing this seed is six or seven shillings per quarter. The chaff of Canary is the best horse food that comes out of the barns.

The general method of cultivating the arable lands of the Isle of Shepey, is to grow beans and wheat alternately; and when the laud gets foul, or the farmers think it wants rest, they substitute a fallow for the bean crop, which is done once in six or eight years. On the gravelly parts, they sow a few oats and some barley, but in very small quantities, especially the latter.

Clover is sown with great success; and the lay is the farmer’s favourite tilth for wheat. The land is ploughed in the winter for beans, with four horses, which plough about an acre in a day, with much difficulty. The beans are drilled in rows about twenty inches apart, as soon as the land will admit of it in the spring; they are horse-hoed twice, and hoed and weeded by hand once. The wheat which this island produces, is generally the best that goes to London market; it frequently weighs sixty-four pounds the Winchester bushel, and from its early harvest is of a fine colour, and the bran, of course, is very thin.

The clover that is sown in this island is mown twice; the first time for hay, and the second for seed. From the earliness of the soil, the hay is got off soon enough for the second cutting to come in good time for the seed crop. This stiff soil, with a good harvest season, produces frequently great crops of very excellent seed.

The mode of cultivation, or rotation of crops varies so much on the upland farms of West Kent, that it is impossible to lay down any particular system, as the practice of the district.

The chalky lands, when under the plough, are cropped with turnips, clover and wheat, for one, two, or three courses; and then laid to saintfoin, or rye grass for a few years; after which the same course is pursued again. This is easy tillage land with four horses.

The clay soils, where they have settled systems, and favourable seasons which admit the pursuing them, are usually fallow, wheat, clover and trefoil, then wheat again.

The arable lands of the Weald, are subject to the following course of husbandry, according to covenants inserted in the leases of the respective tenants: —1. Fallow. 2. Wheat. 3. Oats. 4. Clover, or layers, for two or three years.

LIVE STOCK

Sheep. —The sheep kept in the Isle of Thanet are of the Romney Marsh breed, which the flock-farmers buy in when lambs, at Romney Fair, in, the month of August; and when they have kept them two years, they either sell them lean to the fatting graziers, or themselves fatten them on turnips, and pea or bean straw. Oats, and cullings of garden beans, are sometimes given to finish them in the spring. The few sheep bred in these marshes are of the same sort, except some small parcels of Dorsetshire and South Down ewes, which are bought to make early fat lambs.

Almost the whole of the sheep kept on the upland farms of East Kent, are the true Romney Marsh breed, whose carcasses and bones are large, and wool is long and heavy. They are a sort of sheep that require rich land and good keep to make them fat; and when they are so, come to a great weight, with a very valuable fleece.

The sheep in the Isle of Shepey are of the Romney Marsh breed, and what are called in Smithfield “true Kents.” The soil being much inferior to Romney Marsh, the sheep are somewhat smaller; and, from the same cause, their wool is lighter and finer. The fat wethers, at three years old, weigh from twenty to twenty-four pounds per quarter.

The sheep mostly kept in West Kent are the South Down sort, bought in wether lambs, at the autumnal fairs. They are kept the first winter on stubble land, with grass and a few turnips, and on grass and seeds in summer, and frequently are fatted on turnips the next winter, before they are quite two years old.Stolen from Fore bears

There are hardly any sheep bred in the Weald of Kent, excepting a few for producing early fat lambs, of the Wiltshire and South Down sorts. Some of the Wiltshire wethers are bought in to fatten on turnips, and a few South Down wether-lambs are bought in the autumn, and kept on the driest parts until they are two years old, and then made fat for sale on turnips, or meadow lands.

HORSES AND CATTLE

Horses. —There are many very fine teams of eart horses in the hands of the farmers of the Isle of Thanet, some of which were bred here from a sort that has been long established; and others are a cross, between the old Kentish eart mares, and stallions from the midland counties, or half-bred Flemish; and, within these few years, there have been several very good mares brought from Flanders, which have cost from 25 to 40 guineas each. Black is the favourite colour, and there are but few of any other. They plough, generally, with four in winter, and work an acre and a-half in a day; and in barley season with two, and then plough two acres a day, with a male to lead the horses. The Weald is the only part of Kent in which oxen are commonly used for draught.

The cattle bought in by the grazier to fatten in the Marshes, arc from North and South Wales, which are brought by the Welch drovers to Canterbury and other markets; and the chief part of the dairy cows are selected from these droves: others are a mixture of those and home-bred cattle of various sorts and shapes. The principal object, as to a cow here, is the giving a large quantity of milk; if a cow, though ever so ugly, is a good milker, and produces a cow calf, it is often reared for the dairy.

The cattle of Shepey are almost wholly of the Welch sort, bought by the graziers out of the droves that come from the counties of Carnarvon, Denbigh, and the Isle of Anglesea, with a few from South Wales. Many Welch calves are brought in to live among the sheep in the marshes, and are of great service to the land, by taking off the rough grass, and preventing the crop from running into coarse spots.

In West Kent the dairies are small, seldom exceeding six or eight cows; and those are home bred, of mixed breeds, between the Staffordshire, Welch, and Sussex. Some of the dairies of three or four cows, have the Welch sort only. Many of these Welch cattle are fattened on the meadow-lands, with hay and grass in the winter.

The cattle in the Weald of Kent are of the Sussex breed, both for the pail and plough. These cattle are almost invariably of a deep red colour, and remarkable for a kindly soft skin. Their bone, in proportion to their great size, is small. The best of them have a great breadth of loin, and length of sirloin and rump, with a small head and neck; their horns are short and stand upwards. They have a ready disposition to fatten, and deserve the attention of the curious in cattle, as much as any sort in the kingdom. If the same care was taken here in breeding them as is done in other counties, the breed might be greatly improved.

A great portion of the land in the Weald of Kent is old pasture, and much of it very excellent. The system of management is to rear young cattle, which are put out to keep to the Romney Marsh graziers in the summer. In the autumn they are taken home to the layers and inferior grass lands and in the winter to the straw yards, or stay out on rough lands, and have straw carried to them. When they are of age to fatten, which is at four years for steers, and three for heifers, they have the best grass, with hay. That which is made of rye grass and clover is given at the first part of the winter, and the best hay of the farm is used to finish them. Old meadows are always mown for hay, to fatten the oxen.

The inferior pastures are stocked, first with milking cows to take off the head grass, and afterwards with lean cattle or working oxen. A suit of fields is thus fed in rotation during the summer.

The layers of rye grass and clover are mown for hay, which is used for the plough tennis and lean cattle, and some of the best is given to fatten bullocks in the beginning of winter. The old meadows produce great crops of hay, which is of a very fattening quality. Bullocks fed thereon frequently weigh from forty to forty-five score each, and some old working oxen attain the weight of sixty score, or sometimes much more. The fat oxen are commonly sold between the months of March and June. The sale of them is the chief dependence of the Weald farmers for payment of their rent, and other heavy expenses.

Implements of husbandry.

The Kentish turn-wrest plough is almost the only one used or known in this county. It consists of a beam of oak ten feet long, five inches deep, and four broad; behind which is a foot, 5 inches by 3 ½, and 3 ½ feet long; on the top of this the handles are placed. The foot is tenoned to the end of the beam, and mortised at the bottom to the end of the chep. Through the beam, at 2 feet 5 inches distance from the foot, is a sheath of oak, 7 inches wide and 1 ½ thick, which is mortised into the chep in an oblique direction, so that the point of the share is 22 inches distant from the beam. The chep, to which the share is fixed, is five feet long, four inches wide, and five inches deep; the share is of hammered iron, weighs about 32 pounds, is 20 inches long, and from 4 ½ to 7 inches wide at the point. The upper end of the beam rests on a carriage with two wheels, 3 feet 2 inches high. With these ploughs the soil may be turned up a great depth, and laid quite flat, without any kind of furrow being left open, which is a very great advantage in a dry soil.

Harrows consist of four beams of ash, each feet long, and 2 ½ inches square, framed together so as to be 4 ½ feet wide behind, and 4 feet before; there are 6 or 7 teeth of iron in each beam; which, when new, are 11 inches long, and weigh about 1 ¼lb. each. One boy usually leads a pair of horses, each horse drawing one harrow.

The carriages used for carrying corn to market, &c. are called hutches. They are drawn by four horses, and are generally loaded with from 7 to 12 quarters of corn, according to its weight and the distance it is carried. They are 13 feet long, and are made crooked at the sides, so that the width cannot positively be ascertained; but they are generally 3 feet wide before, and 4 behind at the bottom. They are boarded at the sides and ends, close enough to carry sand.

The dung carts are of various dimensions, but mostly about 7 feet long and 20 inches deep; 4 feet broad behind, and 3 feet 10 inches before; are usually drawn by two horses, and have broad wheels. Rolls of various kinds are used for breaking the clods; they are made 9 feet long, and from 14 to 24 inches in diameter.

Wheat is reaped with a toothed sickle. Barley and oats are mown with a long scythe and cradle. They are then bound into sheaves; being drawn together, on one foot, till the bundle is of size sufficient for a band made of two lengths of the corn twisted together.

Horse-rakes are used for dragging together the loose barley left by the binders; they are made of oak, 12 feet long, with iron-teeth, 14 inches in length, and 5 apart; the beam is cut 4 inches by 3. These rakes are drawn by one horse, led by a boy, with a man behind to lift it up every time it is filled with the corn.

Wheat stubble-rakes are used to drag that article together, made on the same principle as the last mentioned, but much heavier, and 2 feet shorter; the beam is 5 inches by 4; drawn by two horses.

THE HOP GROUNDS OF CANTERBURY AND MAIDSTONE

The Hop Plantations in the vicinity of the above places, being the principal in the county, a description of them may suffice for the whole; but as the soil, and sorts of hops, are very different in the two districts, it may be necessary to describe them separately; and first,

Canterbury

The Plantations called the City Grounds, are those surrounding the city to the distance of two or three miles, and contain between three and four thousand acres. The Hops growing there, and in East Kent, are of a very rich quality, and, if well managed, are of a good colour. They are highly esteemed by the London brewers, for their great strength, doing more execution in the copper than those of any other district.

Soil. —The best of the hop plantations of this district are those which have a good, deep, and rich loamy surface, with a deep subsoil of loamy brick earth; this kind of land forms the principal part of the plantations of East Kent.

Management. —When a piece of ground is intended to be planted, the first thing is to plough the land as deep as possible, early in October, and to harrow it level; it is then meted each way, with a four-rod chain, placing pieces of reed or stick at every tenth link, to mark the place of the hills, which arc usually 1000 per acre. When the hills are marked out, holes are dug about the size of a gallon, which are filled with fine mould, and the nursery plants placed in them. Some put three plants, others two, and some only one good one to each hole. If the land is planted with cuttings instead of nursery plants, the holes are dug in the spring, as soon as the cutting time commences; some fine mould is provided to fill up the holes, in which are placed four or five cuttings, each about three or four inches in length; they are covered about one inch deep with fine mould, and pressed down close with the hand. When the land is planted with cuttings, no sticks are required; but, if nursery plants are used, they require sticks, or small poles, six or seven feet high, the first year. In both cases the land is kept clean during the summer, by horse and hand hoeing; the next winter it is dug with a spade, and early in spring the old binds are cut smooth about an inch below the surface; a little fine mould is then drawn over the crown of the hills. As soon as the young shoots appear, so that the hills may be seen, they are stuck with small poles, from seven to ten feet long, in proportion to the length the bind is expected to run; these poles are called seconds, and three of them are placed to each hill. As soon as the bind gets about two feet in length, women are employed to tie them to the poles. The proper time for gathering them is known by the hop rubbing freely to pieces, and the seed turning brown.

The second year after planting, full size poles, from fifteen to twenty feet in length, according to the strength of the land, are placed to the hills, instead of the seconds, which are removed to younger grounds.

The average produce of the hop lands in the neighbourhood of Canterbury is about seven hundred weight per acre.

Maidstone

The hop plantations of this town and its vicinity, extend through the several parishes along the shelf of land which lies below the chalk hills, on the borders of the Weald of Kent. This plantation in some years grows great crops of hops, but the quality of them is inferior to those of Canterbury and East Kent

Soil. —The subsoil is a hard stone, commonly called Kentish Rag, which makes very good lime. The surface soil, where the hops are planted, is composed of different kinds of stone-shatter. The management of the plantations in this district, is nearly the same as in the Canterbury plantations, orchards, cuerry-gardens, and filbert plantations.

In the neighbourhood of Maidstone there are a great number of small fields, of from one to ten acres, planted with fruit of different kinds, for which the rocky soil of the neighbourhood seems particularly adapted. The easy water carriage to the metropolis, from the Medway, up the Thames, renders the growth of fruit a very profitable article of husbandry. The best method known here for raising orchards of apples and cherries, and plantations of filberts, is to plant them among hops, by which they very soon come to perfection; the constant culture of the land for the hops, with the warmth and shelter, they afford the young trees, causes them to grow with great luxuriance. It is a very common practice to plant hops, apples, cherries and filberts, all together: eight hundred hop hills, two hundred filberts, and forty apple and cherry trees, per acre. The hops stand about twelve, and the filberts about thirty years, by which time the apples, and cherries require the whole land.

Fruit orchards are considered as the most valuable estates. Tithe is very rarely paid in kind, but in lieu of it a composition of two shillings in the pound, on the price of the fruit.

WOODLANDS

The woodlands of the eastern part of Kent are disposed principally between the great road from Rochester to Dover, and the Chalk Hill that runs from Folkestone, by Charing to Detling. These woods furnish the country with fire wood, tillers for husbandry uses, and the dock-yards with timber for ship-building; but the most material part of their produce is the immense quantity of hop-poles cut out for the neighbouring plantations.

MINES AND MINERALS

There were formerly some mines of iron in this county, and there is, at present, plenty of iron-stone; but the scarcity of fuel, and the improved methods of smelting the ore in the coal countries, have rendered this article of little value in the county of Kent.

MANUFACTURES

There is hardly any county to be named where agriculture is arrived at such perfection, or where there are so few manufactures as in this. There are some, however: at Canterbury, silk has been manufactured to a considerable extent; but it is now giving way to cotton. At Dover and Maidstone are manufactories of paper of all sorts. At Stoner, near Sandwich, and the Isle of Grain, are salt-works; at Whitstable and Deptford are large copperas works. Gunpowder is made at Dartford and Faversham; and at Crayford there are large works for the printing of calicoes, and the whitening of linens.

CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS

This county is divided into five laths, which are subdivided into sixty-three hundreds. Kent contains two cities and thirty-four market-towns. It is in the province of Canterbury; and partly in that diocese, and partly in the diocese of Rochester. The number of parishes is 414. The towns of Dover, New Romney, Hythe, and Sandwich, form members of the cinque ports, a term bestowed on the five havens that were formerly of the greatest importance among those which lie opposite to the coast of France. The original Cinque Ports were Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney, and Hythe. To these have been added two other towns; Rye and Winchelsea: but the ancient denomination is still preserved. The necessity of protecting these shores from invasion, was obvious at a very early period of insular arrangements for defence. The establishment of regular military stations on the coast of Kent is traced to the Romans, who placed the whole under the superintendence of one principal officer; and this institution of our ancient and judicious conquerors, is confidently supposed to have presented the parent-germ from which the Cinque Ports emanated. The formation of their constitution was, however, a work of slow progress; and historians are not decided as to whether these ports were first incorporated by Edward the Confessor, or by William the Conqueror. It is certain that they are not collectively mentioned in the Domesday book; yet king John, in a charter granted to them, expressly says that the barons of the Ports had at that time in their possession charters of most of the preceding kings, back to Edward the Confessor.

In consequence of many valuable privileges, granted to the Cinque Ports in the reigns of our early monarchs, they were required to render the important service of fitting out a certain number of ships, with which they were to assist the state for a limited time, at their own expense. It is observed, by a modern writer on the history of Kent, that, although the naval services rendered by the Cinque Ports have now ceased, through the various alterations that have taken place in the administration and conduct of national affairs, yet those services were, for a long period, of the most eminent utility. During several reigns, the fleets fitted out by the Ports formed nearly the whole of the royal navy, and were engaged in many splendid actions. By the assistance of the ships and mariners of these havens, King John recovered his kingdom, after he had been obliged to fly to the Isle of Wight; and soon afterwards Hubert de Burgh, with ‘ forty tall ships’ belonging to the Cinque Ports, defeated a French fleet of eighty sail, which was bringing reinforcements to Lewis the Dauphin. In Edward the Third’s reign, the shipping of the Cinque Ports was of great use in conveying the armies of that warlike Monarch to France, and in protecting our own coasts; and, in the reigns of Henry the Seventh and Eighth, the ‘ Ports’ Navy’ was several times employed for similar purposes.

The offices of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle, are now constantly united in one person; but they were originally held distinct. The freemen of these ports are styled Barons; and it appears that, in former times, they enjoyed superior dignity, and ranked among the nobility of the kingdom.

QUARTER SESSIONS FOR THE COUNTY OF KENT.

The Assizes for this county are held at Maidstone, and the Justices for the western division hold their quarterly sessions and county courts at the same place, as well as all other meetings on general business. In each of the great districts of East and West Kent, into which this county is divided, a court of sessions is held four times every year; that is, twice originally and twice by adjournment. The Justices, though appointed for the whole county, generally confine their attention to that particular district in which they reside.

TITLES CONFERRED BY THE COUNTY.

In regard to Honorial History, this county affords the title of Duke to Prince Edward, the fourth son of his Majesty. The following noblemen derive their titles from partiqular places in Kent: Montagu, Earl of Sandwich; Tufton, Earl of Thanet; Pitt, Earl of Chatham; Marsham, Earl of Romney; Legge, Earl of Dartmouth. There are also numerous titles derived from places in Kent, which are now merged in superior titles: as in the instance of the Earl of Radnor, who is likewise Viscount Folkestone.