insideKENT Magazine Issue 43 - October 2015 | Page 95
‘new’ religion, and welcomed Augustine in 597
AD when he arrived from Rome to teach the king
about Christianity. Augustine became the first
Archbishop of Canterbury, and it was for him that
the world famous cathedral was built.
Thomas Becket
Henry VIII
All was relatively peaceful until the Normans
chose to invade Britain – William (the Conqueror)
was set on being king of England, and Harold
was in his way. He and his army invaded, landing
in Sussex where the Battle of Hastings was
fought. Despite his best efforts, William never did
conquer Kent, leading the county to adopt the
name ‘Invicta’ (meaning undefeated). The motto
is still seen today, along with Kent’s white horse,
all across the county. At the time, it meant that
Kent was seen as a somewhat independent
kingdom known as a County Palatine, ruled by
Odo of Bayeux (who was actually William’s
brother). Kent was awarded special powers, and
really ruled itself. It was as special then as it is
today.
Over the next 200 years, Canterbury became
increasingly important, and was firmly established
as a site of pilgrimage after the murder of Thomas
Beckett in 1246. The Canterbury Tales (which is
also a modern day activity in Canterbury town
centre) by Chaucer depicts a group of pilgrims
as they travel to Canterbury, each one with a
story to tell on the way. It was written between
1387 and 1400, and may never have been entirely
completed; Chaucer himself died in 1400.
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The medieval period gave rise to the infamous
Peasants’ Revolt, led by Wat Tyler who hailed
from Dartford. This revolt – and others like it –
convinced the lords that they needed better
fortifications, and they began to build castles
across the county, including the magnificent
Dover Castle, Hever Castle, and Leeds Castle.
During the 18th century, Kent played a major
part in the wars against France, and the dockyard
at Chatham was employed as a major naval
base, as well as the main shipbuilders in the
country. This is where over 400 naval ships were
built, one of which was HMS Victory (Nelson’s
flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar). Kent was felt
to be so important to the war(s) that the first ever
Ordnance Survey Map was created based solely
on the county, and it was published in 1801 after
six years of work.
The Battle of Britain in World War II was fought
over the skies of Kent and roughly the same
number of bombs fell on Kent as on London
(around 2,500), but despite this Kent was the
place where Londoners sought safety, and where
many evacuated children were sent.
The last big change to occur in Kent was the
formation of the Unitary Authority of Medway. It
was created in 1998, and includes Rochester,
Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham (this meant
that Rochester lost its city status, despite its
cathedral).