Kent Postcodes — England (ENG)

Kent

You'll find the county of Kent in Southeastern England. It faces the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover and shares borders with Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. Maidstone is the county seat. This county has the highest population of any home county and is the most populous non-Metropolitan county in England.

After the Romans left Britain, one of the first areas to be colonized by Germanic tribes was Kent, specifically by the Jutes.

Since Saint Augustine's initial conversion of England to Christianity in the sixth century, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury has been at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. In the county of Medway, you'll find Rochester Cathedral, the second-oldest cathedral in all of England. Kent, which lies between London and the Strait of Dover, which divides England from mainland Europe, has played host to both battles and peace talks, such as World War II's "Battle of Britain" and the peace conferences held at Leeds Castle in 1978 and 2004.

The Cinque Ports in the 10th -14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th-20th centuries were particularly important in providing warships for England. From Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover, France is visible on a clear day. Most of the county's twenty-six castles can be found in the Vale of Holmesdale, which is located between the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge in the south.

The economy of Kent is diverse, featuring multiple sectors such as agriculture, transportation, logistics, and tourism. The county of Kent is often referred to as "The Garden of England" due to its abundance of fruit orchards and backyard gardens. Aggregate mining, printing, and scientific study are just a few of the major employers in the region of northwest Kent. Kent's industrial history also includes the mining of coal. Much of Kent lies inside the London commuter zone, and the county as a whole benefits from excellent transportation links to both London and the continent. The North Downs and The High Weald together make up 28% of the county, and both are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Geography

Kent occupies a southeastern position in the United Kingdom. The north is the North Sea and the Thames Estuary, and the south is the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. In fact, France is only 21 miles (34 kilometers) away across the Strait. 

A sequence of mountains and valleys that trend in an east-west direction characterize the county's topography. The Wealden dome, which spans Kent and Sussex and was formed by alpine movements 20–10 million years ago, has been eroded to reveal these features. Upper Greensand, Gault Clay, Lower Greensand, Weald Clay, and Wealden sandstone are all found inside this dome's descending layers. These undulations are the result of differential erosion between the underlying clay and the overlying chalk, greensand, or sandstone.

Many Kentish towns, including Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Ashford, and Folkestone, are constructed on greensand, while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are laid out on sandstone.

The Kentish towns of Dartford, Gravesend, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Canterbury, Deal, and Dover were all constructed on chalk.  Where a chalk ridge called the North Downs meets the coast, cliffs like the White Cliffs of Dover can be found.The eastern portion of the Wealden dome has been washed away by the sea. The Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located between the cities of Dover and Westerham.

It is possible that the Wealden dome, a Mesozoic structure resting on a Palaeozoic base, provided the ideal circumstances for coal to originate. It's in the area of East Kent that includes Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. Coal Measures in the Westphalian Sandstone range in depth from around 250 to 400 meters (820 to 1,310 feet) and frequently experience flooding. They are located in two large troughs that run under the English Channel. 

Offshore epicentres have occasionally been detected, but seismic activity has been seen on occasion in Kent. Two earthquakes with Richter magnitudes greater than 6.0 occurred in 1382 and 1580. Quakes of about 4.3 magnitude occurred in 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007. Folkestone had actual damage in that quake back in 2007. On May 22, 2015, there was another quake that registered 4.2 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located some ten miles below the surface in the Sandwich region of east Kent. Almost no damage was reported.

Because to processes like geological uplift and coastal erosion, Kent's coastline is always shifting. The Isle of Thanet was once an island, divided from the mainland by the Wantsum channel, which was built around a deposit of chalk; however, the channels have now become silted up with alluvium. Alluvium deposition has also created Romney Marsh and Dungeness. 

The River Medway, the main river of Kent, begins at East Grinstead, Sussex, and runs east to Maidstone. It then makes a sharp bend to the north, passing past Rochester and the North Downs on its way to the Thames near Sheerness. There are about 112 kilometers (70 miles) of the Medway. Even though the river is currently tidal only up to the Allington lock, in the past cargo ships were able to travel as far upstream as Tonbridge. The Medway now receives water that once flowed in rivers like the River Darent. To the east, you'll find the River Stour, which is another of Kent's rivers

According to a study conducted in 2014, Kent and its surrounding counties have shale oil reserves totaling 4.4 billion barrels of oil. At the time, Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said that these reserves "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and would go a long way toward ensuring energy independence for the United Kingdom. In order to accomplish these goals, fracking must be conducted in the region, despite the fact that this practice has been strongly contested by environmental activists. 

The county of Kent is known as one of the UK's warmest. On August 10, 2003, the hamlet of Brogdale, located close to Faversham, reached 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3 degrees Fahrenheit), marking the hottest day in British history at the time.

Economy

Employment rates in Kent and Medway as of the 2001 UK census out of date Employment status breaks down as follows: 41.1% are working full time, 12.4% are working part time, 9.1% are self-employed, 2.9% are unemployed, 2.3% are students with jobs, 3.7% are students without jobs, 12.3% are retired, 7.3% are caring for home or family, 4.3% are permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% are economically inactive for other reasons. About one-sixth of people aged sixteen to seventy-four held a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, compared to about one-fifth of Americans in general. 

Men in Kent put in an average of 43.1 hours each week, while women put in an average of 30.9 hours. In terms of occupation, 17.3% worked in wholesale, 12.4% in manufacturing, 11.8% in real estate, 10.3% in health and social work, 8.9% in construction, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 7.9% in education, 6.0% in government, 5.6% in finance, 4.8% in hotels and restaurants, 1.6% in agriculture, 0.8% in energy and water supply, 0.2% in mining, and 0.1% in private households. Construction, transportation, and communications are all higher here, while manufacturing is lower than in all of England.

Due to its many fruit orchards and hop farms, Kent is often called "Garden of England." Specifically, the county is known for its tree-grown fruit, berry, and nut production.  Oasts, the distinctive buildings originally used for drying hops, may be seen all over the countryside; many of them have since been turned into homes. The market gardens that are located closer to London are likewise rather successful. The majority of the United Kingdom's hazelnuts come from the state of Kent.