DISCOVERKENT |
||||
DID YOU KNOW ? CONT . |
||||
|
Some time after the Romans , in 597 St Augustine brought Christianity to Great Britain via the shores of Kent . The Diocese of Canterbury became England ’ s centre for religion and has remained that way since , becoming home to the first cathedral and St Augustine ’ s Abbey . The second designated English cathedral - Rochester Cathedral - was also in Kent .
New civilisations and religions weren ’ t the only things to arrive in Kent by boat . European yellow-tailed scorpions can be found on the Isle of Sheppey , and are thought to have hitched a ride on sailing ships bringing stone to Britain during the reign of George IV . Today , the island is now home to some 15,000 spiky stowaways .
World-famous historical figure Pocahontas also arrived by boat in Gravesend in 1616 . Having voyaged from Virginia to Great Britain earlier that year , it was during her return home that she was taken ill with what is thought to have been
|
smallpox and tragically died , being laid to rest in the town . The church in which she was buried has since burned down , so the whereabouts of her remains are unknown , but you can still visit her memorial in St George ’ s Church today .
Pilgrims have flocked from all over the world for centuries to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral . It was these pilgrimages that inspired Chaucer ’ s Canterbury Tales , some of the most iconic pieces of historical literature . Chaucer was not the only literary legend to take inspiration from Kent . Hundreds of years later , the Victorian period saw Charles Dickens immortalise Kent ’ s eerie marshes and grand houses in Great Expectations and David Copperfield . In his first novel , The Pickwick Papers , Dickens drew on childhood memories from his time living at 11 Ordnance Terrace ( which can still be seen on a quiet road above Chatham station ) and includes descriptions of the view west from Rochester Bridge . Many other places
|
in Kent were frequented by Dickens throughout his life , which ended in Gads Hill Place ; this , like his home Bleak House in Broadstairs , can still be seen today .
Another Victorian that had strong connections to Kent was indeed Queen Victoria herself . One of only three Royal Spa Towns in the UK , Royal Tunbridge Wells was granted its prefix in 1909 when Victoria ’ s son , King Edward VII , officially recognised its popularity , particularly with his mother . The Pantiles also has another regal reason for its name , story has it that in 1698 Princess ( later Queen ) Anne visited the area for its Chalybeate Spring , only for her muchloved son to slip on the unpaved walkway . Princess Anne was so upset by the incident she gave £ 100 to pave the area with small clay tiles that were baked in a pan !
It is of course Kent ’ s fruitful land , awash with orchards , vineyards and hops that make it The Garden of England . However , legend has it that
|
it is down to another royal for christening the county this fitting title . King Henry VIII who , upon eating a bowl of cherries in Flanders , ordered that Britain ’ s first cherry orchard be planted in Teynham , Kent . The county was chosen for its fertile soil , and thus the famous name was given . Today , Kent is responsible for the bulk of the UK ’ s fruit growing , even supplying Wimbledon ’ s famous strawberries . Kent is also home to the Brogdale National Fruit Collection ; the world ’ s largest fruit collection . 4,000 trees can be found at Brogdale , all part of an international project , which aims to protect plant genetic resources .
Kent ’ s fertile soil means it is also the perfect location for brewing beer and making wine . Shepherd Neame , based in Faversham , is Britain ’ s oldest brewer and Biddenden Vineyard is Kent ’ s oldest commercial vineyard , having started in 1969 . However , monks , abbeys and farmers have been making wine , spirits and beer in Kent for centuries prior to this .
|
|
ST AUGUSTINE ’ S ABBEY |