Rivers in Kent.

There are four rivers draining the county of Kent, England.

River Medway[link]

This is the main river, whose catchment area covers almost 25% of the county. The detailed map has a diagram of that catchment area, which includes its main tributaries: the rivers Eden, Bourne (or Shode), Teise, Beult, Loose and Len.

Tributaries of the River Medway[link]

• The River Eden
• The River Bourne begins its course west of Oldbury Hill on the Greensand Ridge in the parish of Ightham and enters the Medway upstream of East Peckham, near Tonbridge.
• The River Teise (pronounced tice or teeze) begins in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells^[1] and flows eastwards through Lamberhurst, passing Bayham Abbey. Here the small River Bewl, on which is the reservoir Bewl Water, joins the Teise. The Teise bifurcates 2 km SW of Marden, the minor stream flows directly to Twyford Bridge, Yalding, while the major stream joins the River Beult at Hunton, 1.5 km above Yalding.
• The River Beult (pronounced belt) has its several sources west of Ashford, and then flows through Headcorn and where it is joined by the major stream of the Teise. The river enters the Medway at Yalding.
• The River Loose is a relatively short river starting near Langley south east of Maidstone running west through Loose and joining the Medway at Tovil.
• The River Len has its source at a small watershed south of Lenham. A nearby stream is one of the sources of the Great Stour. The Len flows in a westerly direction and joins the Medway at Maidstone.

River Stour[link]

The River Stour is also known as the Great Stour, especially above its confluence with the Little Stour at Plucks Gutter. Its catchment area covers the eastern part of Kent.

Tributaries of the River Stour[link]

• East Stour - rising near Hythe to Ashford.
• Little Stour - north of Hythe to join the Great Stour at Plucks Gutter, north west of Canterbury.
• River Wantsum - part of the old Wantsum Channel separating the Isle of Thanet from Kent.
• Whitewater Dyke - running from Shadoxhurst to Ashford
• Ruckinge Dyke - from north of Hamstreet to Ashford
• Aylesford Stream - its source is north of Sevington to Willesborough

River Darent[link]

Its tributary is the River Cray.

River Dour[link]

A minor river from Temple Ewell to Dover

River Rother[link]

A Wealden river. It is included here since for part of its journey near Bodiam it forms the boundary between Kent and East Sussex.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Medway and tributaries.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Medway, Beult and Teise at Yalding

• Includes map of catchment area, River Medway

Coordinates: 51°12′N 0°42′E / 51.2°N 0.7°E / 51.2; 0.7

Kent
Invicta Flag of Kent Invicta
Motto of County Council: ''Invicta''
Geography
Status	Ceremonial and (smaller) non-metropolitan county
Region	South East England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 10th 3,736 km2 (1,442 sq mi) Ranked 10th 3,544 km2 (1,368 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Maidstone
ISO 3166-2	GB-KEN
ONS code	29
NUTS 3	UKJ42
Demography
Population - Total (2010 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 7th 1,684,200 451 /km2 (1,170 /sq mi) Ranked 1st 1,427,500
Ethnicity	96.9% White 1.9% Asian
Politics
"CANTIA" Kent County Council http://www.kent.gov.uk/ Medway Council http://www.medway.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Julian Brazier (C) Rehman Chishti (C) Greg Clark (C) Damian Collins (C) Tracey Crouch (C) Charlie Elphicke (C) Michael Fallon (C) Roger Gale (C) Helen Grant (C) Damian Green (C) Gordon Henderson (C) Adam Holloway (C) Gareth Johnson (C) Mark Reckless (C) Hugh Robertson (C) Laura Sandys (C) John Stanley (C)
Districts
Sevenoaks Dartford Gravesham Tonbridge and Malling Medway (Unitary) Maidstone Tunbridge Wells Swale Ashford Canterbury Shepway Thanet Dover

Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England, and one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of Medway. Kent has a nominal border with France halfway through the Channel Tunnel. Maidstone is its county town and historically Rochester and Canterbury have been accorded city status, though only the latter still holds it.

Kent's location between London and the continental Europe has led to its being in the front line of several conflicts, including the Battle of Britain during World War II. East Kent was known as Hell Fire Corner during the conflict. England has relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of the past 800 years; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance to the country's security. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from Folkestone, and the iconic White Cliffs of Dover.

Because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens, Kent is known as "The Garden of England" – a name often applied when marketing the county or its produce, although other regions have tried to lay claim to the title.^[1][2] Major industries in the north-west of Kent have included cement, papermaking, and aircraft construction, but these are now in decline. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt. South and East Kent rely on tourism and agriculture. Coal mining has also played its part in Kent's industrial heritage.

History[link]

The area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era. There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley.^[3]

The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning "rim" or "border". This describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC.^[4]

The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. It is possible that another ethnic group occupied what is now called The Weald and East Kent. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century^[5] and was known as Cantia from about 730 and as Cent in 835. The early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital.^[6]

In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed Augustine as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. The Diocese of Canterbury became Britain's first Episcopal See and has since remained Britain's centre of Christianity.^[7]

In the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning "undefeated". This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy. The Kent people's continued resistance against the Normans led to Kent's designation as a semi-autonomous County Palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William's half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland.^[8]

During the medieval and early modern period, Kent played a major role in several of England's most notable rebellions, including the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler,^[9] Jack Cade's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 against Queen Mary I.^[10]

Titlepage of William Lambard's Perambulation of Kent, being a history of the county of Kent since William the Conqueror.

The Royal Navy first used the River Medway in 1547. By the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at Chatham. By 1618, storehouses, a ropewalk, a drydock, and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham.^[11]

By the 17th century, tensions between Britain and the powers of the Netherlands and France led to increasing military build-up in the county. Forts were built all along the coast following the raid on the Medway, a successful attack by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667.^[12]

The 18th century was dominated by wars with France, during which the Medway became the primary base for a fleet that could act along the Dutch and French coasts. When the theatre of operation moved to the Atlantic, this role was assumed by Portsmouth and Plymouth, with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. As an indication of the area's military importance, the first Ordnance Survey map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801.^[13] Many of the Georgian naval buildings still stand.

In the early 19th century, smugglers were very active on the Kent coastline. Gangs such as The Aldington Gang brought spirits, tobacco and salt to the county, and transported goods such as wool across the sea to France.^[14]

In 1889, the County of London was created and the townships of Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich, Lee, Eltham, Charlton, Kidbrooke and Lewisham were transferred out of Kent and in 1900 the area of Penge was gained. Some of Kent, notably Dartford, is contiguous with Greater London.

During World War II, much of the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over the county. Between June 1944 and March 1945, over 10,000 V1 flying bombs or "Doodlebugs", were fired toward London from bases in Northern France. Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, and barrage balloons, both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs.

After the war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965 the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent.^[15][16] In 1998, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway. During this reorganisation, through an "apparent" administrative oversight, the city of Rochester lost its official city status.^[17]

Climate[link]

Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of Brogdale near Faversham the temperature reached 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom.^[18]

Here is a climate chart for Wye near Ashford.

Physical geography[link]

'The White Cliffs of Dover'

Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the River Thames and the North Sea to the north, and the Straits of Dover and the English Channel to the south. France is 34 kilometres (21 mi) across the Strait.^[19]

The major geographical features of the county are determined by a series of ridges and valleys running east-west across the county. These are the results of erosion of the Wealden dome, a dome across Kent and Sussex created by Alpine movements 10–20 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of Chalk above successive layers of Upper Greensand, Gault Clay, Lower Greensand, Weald Clay, and Wealden sandstone. The ridges and valleys formed when the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone.

Geological map of southeast England, showing a concentric circular pattern formed by the weathering of the Wealden dome.

Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Ashford, and Folkestone are built on greensand,^[20] while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are built on sandstone.^[21] Dartford, Gravesend, the Medway towns, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Canterbury, Deal, and Dover are built on chalk.^[20][21] The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by the sea, and cliffs such as the white cliffs of Dover are present where a chalk ridge known as the North Downs meets the coast. Spanning Dover and Westerham is the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.^[22]

The Wealden dome is a Mesozoic structure lying on a Palaeozoic foundation, which can often create the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The Coal Measures within the Westphalian Sandstone are deep about 250 m – 400 m (800 – 1300 ft) and subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel where similar coalfields are located.^[23]

Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the epicentres were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the Richter Scale. In 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007 there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The 2007 earthquake caused physical damage in Folkestone.^[24]

Geological cross section of Kent, showing how it relates to major towns

The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to tectonic uplift and coastal erosion. Until about 960, the Isle of Thanet was an island, separated by the Wantsum channel, formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with alluvium. Similarly Romney Marsh and Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.^[21]

Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near East Grinstead in Sussex and flows eastwards to Maidstone. Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the estuary of the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness. The Medway is some 112 kilometres (70 mi) long.^[25][26] The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge.^[25] The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the River Darent. Other rivers of Kent include the River Stour in the east.

Demographics[link]

As of the 2001 UK census,^[27] Kent, including Medway, had 1,579,206 residents and 646,308 households, of which 1,329,718 residents and 546,742 households were within the administrative boundaries. Of those households, 48.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% were co-habiting couples and 8.7% were lone parents; 28.0% of households consisted of individuals, 14.6% had someone of pensionable age living alone, and 30.4% included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males.

The ethnicity of Kent was 96.5% White, 0.9% mixed race, 0.3% Chinese, 1.7% other Asian and 0.4% Black. The place of birth for residents was 94.2% United Kingdom, 0.7% Republic of Ireland, 0.5% Germany, 0.9% other Western Europe countries, 0.3% Eastern Europe, 0.8% Africa, 0.6% Far East, 0.9% South Asia, 0.2% Middle East, 0.4% North America, 0.1% South America and 0.3% Oceania. Religion was recorded as 74.6% Christian, 0.7% Sikh, 0.6% Muslim, 0.4% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.1% Jewish, while 15.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion, and 7.8% did not state their religion.

Government[link]

Kent County Council (KCC) and its 12 district councils administer most of the county (3352 km²), while the Medway Towns Council, a unitary authority and commonly called Medway Council, administers the more densely populated remainder (192 km²).^[28] Together they have around 300 town and parish councils. Kent County Council's headquarters are in Maidstone,^[29] while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf, Chatham.

As of the 2009 county council elections, Kent County Council was controlled by the Conservatives, which won 74 of the Council's 84 seats, 7 were won by the Liberal Democrats, 2 by the Labour Party and 1 by the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association. As of the 2007 local elections, Medway Council was controlled by the Conservatives; 33 of the Council's 55 seats were held by the Conservatives, 13 by the Labour Party, 8 by the Liberal Democrats and 1 by an Independent.^[30] Currently, all of Kent's district councils are controlled by the Conservatives; the only British county that is in this position.

At the national level, Kent is represented in Parliament by 17 MPs, all of whom are Conservative. Kent is in the European Parliament constituency of South East England, which elects ten members of the European Parliament.^[31]

Economy[link]

Converted oast at Frittenden.

As of the 2001 UK census,^[27] employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide.^[27]

The average hours worked per week by residents of Kent were 43.1 for males and 30.9 for females. Their industry of employment was 17.3% retail, 12.4% manufacturing, 11.8% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 8.9% construction, 8.2% transport and communications, 7.9% education, 6.0% public administration and defence, 5.6% finance, 4.8% other community and personal service activities, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 1.6% agriculture, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.2% mining, and 0.1% private households. This is higher than the whole of England for construction and transport/communications, and lower for manufacturing.

Kent is sometimes known as the "Garden of England" for its abundance of orchards and hop gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oasts are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish.

However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilisation of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator gross value added (GVA) between 1995 and 2000 (figures are in millions of British Pounds Sterling).^[32]

North Kent is heavily industrialised with cement-making at Northfleet and Cuxton, brickmaking at Sittingbourne, shipbuilding on the Medway and Swale, engineering and aircraft design and construction at Rochester, chemicals at Dartford and papermaking at Swanley, and oil refining at Grain.^[15] A steel mini mill in Sheerness and a rolling mill in Queenborough.There are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness, although the older one, built in 1965, was closed at the end of 2006.^[33]

Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during the 19th and 20th century. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between Stone and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway.^[34]

Kent's original paper mills stood on streams like the River Darent, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the River Stour. Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at Kemsley on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own windmill or watermill, with over 400 windmills known to have stood at some time. Twenty eight survive within the county today, plus two replica mills and a further two in that part of Kent now absorbed into London. All the major rivers in the county were used to power watermills.

From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The Kent Coalfield was mined during the 20th century at several collieries,^[35] including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.^[36]

The west of the county (including Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells & Sevenoaks) is generally more affluent than the east, especially when compared to the coastal regions of Folkestone, Dover & Thanet. This is partly due to the former's proximity to London, making it prime "commuter belt" and the latter's geographic extremities. The eagerly awaited CTRL 2009 rail service, using the high speed Channel Tunnel line to bring coastal areas' travel times to London down to around an hour, is hoped to further regeneration.

Arts[link]

Kent has provided inspiration for several notable writers and artists. Canterbury's religious role gave rise to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the English language. The father of novelist Charles Dickens worked at the Chatham Dockyard; in many of his books, the celebrated novelist featured the scenery of Chatham, Rochester, and the Cliffe marshes.^[37] The landscape painter J. M. W. Turner spent part of his childhood in the town of Margate in East Kent, and regularly returned to visit it throughout his life. The East Kent coast inspired many of his works, including some of his most famous seascapes.^[38] During the late 1930s, Nobel Prize-awarded novelist William Golding worked as a teacher at Maidstone Grammar School, where he met his future wife Ann Brookfield.^[39]

The county's largest theatre is The Marlowe Theatre, situated in the centre of Canterbury. It re-opened, after being completely rebuilt, in October 2011.^[40]

Transport[link]

Roads[link]

The M2 and High Speed 1 crossing the Medway Valley, south of Rochester.

With the Roman invasion, a road network was constructed to connect London to the Channel ports of Dover, Lympne and Richborough. The London–Dover road was Watling Street. These roads are now approximately the A2, B2068, A257, and the A28. The A2 runs through Dartford (A207), Gravesend, Rochester, Canterbury and Dover; the A20 through Eltham, Wrotham, Maidstone, Charing, Ashford. Hythe, Folkestone and Dover; the A21 around Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and on to Hastings in East Sussex.^[15] In the 1960s, two motorways were built; the M2 from Medway to Faversham, and the M20 from Swanley to Folkestone. Part of the M25 runs through Kent, from Westerham to the Kent and Essex tunnel at Dartford. The Dartford tunnel has been joined by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, together providing four lanes in each direction. The M26 motorway, built in 1980, provides a short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 near Wrotham. Kent currently has more motorways by distance than any other county in the UK, with sections of the M2, M20, M25 and M26 totalling 173 km within the extents of the ceremonial county.

Water[link]

The medieval Cinque Ports, except for Dover, have all now silted up. The Medway Estuary has been an important port and naval base for 500 years. The River Medway is tidal up to Allington and navigable up to Tonbridge. Kent's two canals are the Royal Military Canal between Hythe and Rye, which still exists, and the Thames and Medway Canal between Strood and Gravesend. Built in 1824, it was purchased in 1846 by the railways, which partially backfilled it.^[15] Container ports are located at Ramsgate and Thamesport.

Railways[link]

A Eurostar train at km 48 on HS1, the High Speed 1, near Strood

The earliest locomotive-driven passenger-carrying railway in Britain was the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway which opened in 1830.^[41] This and the London and Greenwich Railway later merged into South Eastern Railway (SER).^[42] By the 1850s, SER's networks had expanded to Ashford, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, and the Medway towns. SER's major London termini were London Bridge, Charing Cross, and Cannon Street. Kent also had a second major railway, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). Originally the East Kent Railway in 1858, it linked the northeast Kent coast with London terminals at Victoria and Blackfriars.

The two companies merged in 1899, forming the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). In the aftermath of World War I, the government's Railways Act 1921 grouped railway companies together; the SECR joined neighbouring London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) and London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to form the Southern Railway.^[42] Britain's railways were nationalised in 1948, forming British Rail. The railways were privatised in 1996 and most Kent passenger services were franchised to Connex South Eastern.^[43] Following financial difficulties, Connex lost the franchise and was replaced by South Eastern Trains and after Southeastern.^[44]

The Channel Tunnel was completed in 1994 and High Speed 1 in November 2007 with a London terminus at St Pancras. A new station, Ebbsfleet International, opened between Dartford and Gravesend, serving northern Kent.^[45] The high speed lines will be utilised to provide a faster train service to coastal towns like Ramsgate and Folkestone. This station is in addition to the existing station at Ashford International, which has suffered a massive cut in service as a result.

Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

In addition to the "mainline" railways, there are several light, heritage, and industrial railways in Kent. There are three heritage, standard gauge railways; Spa Valley Railway near Tunbridge Wells on the old Tunbridge Wells West branch, East Kent Railway on the old East Kent coalfield area and the Kent and East Sussex Railway on the Weald around Tenterden. In addition there is the 15-inch (380 mm) gauge, tourist-oriented Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway on the southeast Kent coast along the Dungeness peninsula. Finally, there is the 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m), industrial Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway.

Air[link]

A limited number of charter flights are provided by Kent's Kent International Airport at Manston, and London Ashford Airport at Lydd. However, most passengers across the South East use the larger Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports. In 2002, it was revealed that the government was considering building a new four-runway airport on the marshland near the village of Cliffe on the Hoo Peninsula.^[46] This plan was dropped in 2003 following protests by cultural and environmental groups.^[47]

Education[link]

The county has four universities; Canterbury Christ Church University with campuses throughout East Kent, University of Kent, with campuses in Canterbury and Medway, and University of Greenwich (a London University), with sites at Woolwich, Eltham, London and Medway. The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) also has three of its five campuses in the county.

Whereas much of Britain adopted a comprehensive education system in the 1970s, Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Unitary Authority are among around fifteen^[48] local authorities still providing wholly selective education through the eleven-plus examination with students allocated a place at a secondary modern school or at a grammar school. Together, the two Kent authorities have 38 of the 164 grammar schools remaining in Britain.^[48][49]

KCC has the largest education department of any local authority in Britain,^[50] providing school places for over 289,000 pupils.

For the 2005–06 school year, KCC and Medway introduced a standardised school year, based on six terms, as recommended by the Local Government Association in its 2000 report, "The Rhythms of Schooling".^[52]

Kent County Council LEA maintains 96 secondary schools, of which 33 are selective schools and 63 are secondary modern schools.

National Challenge schools[link]

Kent has the highest number of National Challenge schools in England, schools which are branded "failing" based on the British Government's floor targets that 30% of pupils achieve at least 5 GCSE grades A* to C.^[53] Of the 63 secondary modern schools, 33 achieved below this requirement meaning that 52% of Kent secondary modern schools (34% out of all 96 maintained secondary schools) are failing.^[54]

Local media[link]

Television[link]

Much of Kent is served by the BBC's South East region, which is based in Tunbridge Wells and provides local news for the county and East Sussex. Its commercial rival is ITV Meridian Ltd, which has a newsroom at The Maidstone Studios despite the main studio being based in Hampshire. Main transmitters providing these services are located at West Hougham, near Dover and Bluebell Hill, located between Chatham and Maidstone. Those parts of Kent closer to London such as Gravesend, Dartford and parts of Sevenoaks lie within the ITV London and BBC London areas, taking their television signals from the Crystal Palace transmitter.

The county is also served by two internet-based TV channels, Kent TV (part-owned by Kent County Council) and YourKentTV which is owned by KOS Media.

Radio[link]

Kent has three county-wide stations – BBC Radio Kent, based in Tunbridge Wells; and the commercial stations Heart and Gold, both based in Whitstable and London.

Most of the county is covered by local radio network KMFM, owned by the KM Group. Since March 2012, programmes are the same across all seven stations in the network:

• KMFM Ashford
• KMFM Canterbury
• KMFM Maidstone
• KMFM Medway
• KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
• KMFM Thanet
• KMFM West Kent

The county has five community radio stations.

• BRFM covers the Isle of Sheppey
• SFM covers Sittingbourne
• CSR 97.4FM covers Canterbury, as a joint production between the city's two universities
• Academy FM (Thanet) covers Thanet
• Academy FM (Folkestone) covers Folkestone

A licence has been granted for Radio Sunlight in Gillingham, but no broadcast dates have yet been set.

Dover Community Radio (DCR) offers a podcasting service for the people of Dover district on their website, hoping in the future to apply for a community radio licence to cover the town and its environs.

Newspapers[link]

The KM Group, KOS Media and Kent Regional News and Media all provide local newspapers for most of the large towns and cities. County-wide papers include the Kent Messenger, Kent on Saturday, Kent on Sunday, and the Kent and Sussex Courier.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Europe portal
	United Kingdom portal
	England portal
	South East England portal
32x28px	Kent portal

• Outline of England
• Duke of Kent
• List of Lord Lieutenants
• List of High Sheriffs
• Custos Rotulorum of Kent - list of Keepers of the Rolls
• Kent (UK Parliament constituency) - Historical list of MPs for Kent constituency
• Kent Community Network
• List of people from Kent
• List of places in Kent
• List of tourist attractions in Kent
• List of civil parishes in Kent
• List of fire stations in Kent
• List of windmills in Kent
• Recreational walks in Kent
• Thames Gateway – includes details of regeneration projects in the northern areas of Kent
• Thanet
• Category:Towns in Kent
• Category:Villages in Kent
• River Thames

References[link]

External links[link]

• Media related to Kent at Wikimedia Commons
• Kent at the Open Directory Project
• Kent Parishes – Forum for History, Genealogy, Ancestry and local information
• Kent County Council – local government website
• Kent Wildlife Trust – Kent Wildlife Trust is the most active conservation trust in the county
• Kent Online – a Kent Messenger Group website
• Camelot Village – Kent heritage
• Kent Downs – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty website
• CPRE Kent- Kent Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
• historic-kent.co.uk – further information on villages throughout Kent.
• BBC – origins of Kent placenames
• Kent Coast in Pictures – photographs of the coastline of Kent.
• Kent County Cricket Club
• Official Kent Tourism Guide
• Official Heart of Kent Tourism Guide
• BBC feature on the Kent eleven-plus
• Kent-Weather – A county-wide weather forecasting website.

Neighbouring English counties and French department

	Greater London	Essex	Thames Estuary
	Surrey		North Sea
		Kent    East
	West Sussex	East Sussex	English Channel Pas de Calais, France

Coordinates: 51°11′N 0°44′E / 51.19°N 0.73°E / 51.19; 0.73

Iain McDonald (born 14 August 1952) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a left winger.

McDonald began his career with Rangers and played in eleven league matches for the Ibrox side before moving to Dundee United in 1974. By 1976, McDonald had featured in thirty league games for The Terrors but injury forced the winger to retire before his 25th birthday.

References[link]

• Independent profile

This biographical article related to a Scottish midfielder is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Johnny Rivers
Rivers performing at the Mohegan Sun Casino on June 18, 2011 in Uncasville, Connecticut
Background information
Birth name	John Henry Ramistella
Born	(1942-11-07) November 7, 1942 (age 69)
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Rock and roll, garage rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Imperial Epic United Artists Atlantic RSO Soul City
Website	JohnnyRivers.com

Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella, November 7, 1942, New York City) is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material. Rivers's greatest success came in the mid- to late-1960s with a string of hit songs (including the #1 hit "Poor Side of Town", "Summer Rain", and "Secret Agent Man"), but he has continued to record and perform to the present.^[1][2]

Career[link]

1950s[link]

The Ramistella family moved from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana when Johnny's father lost his job while Johnny was still young. Without any formal music lessons, he began playing guitar, which he learned from his father and uncle, at the age of eight, and was influenced by the distinctive music of Louisiana. While in junior high school he started sitting in with a band called The Rockets led by Dick Holler who later wrote a number of songs including "Abraham, Martin and John" and "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron".^[1][2]

Ramistella formed his own band, The Spades, in junior high school and made his first record at age 14, while still a student at Baton Rouge High School.^[1] Some of their music was recorded on the Suede label as early as 1956.^[3]

On a trip back to New York in 1958, he met Alan Freed who advised him to change his name, so Johnny Ramistella had the Baton Rouge attorney Arthur J. Cobb change his name to Johnny Rivers after the Mississippi River that flows near Baton Rouge.^[1] Freed also helped Rivers score some recording contracts on the Gone label.^[2] From March 1958 to March 1959, Rivers released three records which did not sell well.^[1]

In 1959, Rivers returned to Baton Rouge. While playing throughout the American South along side Southern comedian Brother Dave Gardner, one evening in Birmingham, Rivers met Audrey Williams, the first wife of Hank Williams and she took Rivers to Nashville, where he recorded two more records. They were not successful either, but Johnny stayed in Nashville as a songwriter and demo singer for $25 a demo. While in Nashville, Rivers worked alongside Roger Miller. By this time, Rivers's self-esteem about his singing diminished, and he thought he would never make it as a singer, therefore writing, and not singing, moved to the forefront.^[1][2]

1960s[link]

In 1960, Rivers met fellow Louisianan James Burton, the guitar player for Ricky Nelson. Burton later recommended one of Rivers's songs to Nelson, who went on to record it. In 1961, Rivers went to Los Angeles to meet Nelson, and then relocated there, working as a songwriter and studio musician. In 1963, Rivers's big break came when he temporarily filled in for a jazz combo at Bill Gazzarri's nightclub; the temporary gig became long-term due to positive customer response.^[1][2][4]

In 1963, Rivers recorded the theme song for the American broadcast of a British television series, "Danger Man," which starred Patrick McGoohan. At first, Rivers balked at the idea, feeling that he did not have the talent to make a record on an international label, but he eventually relented. The American version of the show was titled "Secret Agent", and the song "Secret Agent Man" reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1966.^[5] It sold one million copies, achieving gold disc status.^[6]

In 1964, Elmer Valentine gave Rivers a one-year contract to open in his new nightclub, Whisky a Go Go, on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.^[1][4] The Whisky a Go Go opened only three days before The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" entered the Hot 100^[2] and the subsequent British Invasion knocked almost every American artist off the top of the charts. But Rivers was so popular that producer Lou Adler decided to issue Johnny Rivers Live At The Whisky A Go Go.^[1] The live album reached #12 on the charts and the single "Memphis" reached the US Hit Parade #2 spot ^[7] in July 1964. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[6] According to Elvis Presley's friend and employee Alan Fortas, Presley played his friend (Rivers) a test pressing of "Memphis" that Elvis had made but not released. Rivers was impressed and, much to Presley's chagrin, Rivers recorded and released it, even copying the arrangement (Fortas writes: "After that, Johnny was on Elvis's shit list" and was persona non grata from then on).^[8] Rivers's version far outsold the Chuck Berry original from August 1959 which stalled at #87 in the US. (Lonnie Mack's 1963 instrumental version of "Memphis" reached the US Hit Parade top five in July;^[9] the Chuck Berry original and its British rival cover version fought it out in the UK Hit parade in November 1963).^[10]

Rivers made a successful transition from nightclub entertainer to chart-busting pop singer and had created the "Go Go sound",^{[citation needed]} part of a scene which included Go-Go dancers. In 1964 and 1965, Rivers continued to record mostly live, Go-Go style records including "Maybellene" (another Berry cover), after which came "Mountain of Love", "Midnight Special", "Seventh Son" (written by Willie Dixon) and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (written by Pete Seeger), all of which were hits.^[1][11]

Rivers wanted to try something different; he switched gears in 1966, and began to record ballads characterized by his smooth, soulful voice, and background vocalists (mostly women), producing such successful hits as "Poor Side Of Town", which would be his biggest chart hit and his only number one record. Another hit was "Secret Agent Man", the theme from the Secret Agent television series (written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri). He also started his own record company, Soul City Records, where he won a Grammy Award as the producer of The 5th Dimension, which eventually recorded "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" and "Wedding Bell Blues", two number-one hits with Rivers's label. Rivers is also credited with giving songwriter Jimmy Webb a major break, when the 5th Dimension recorded Webb's song "Up, Up, and Away".^[2]

Rivers continued to record more hits, including "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" (cover of the Four Tops) and "The Tracks of My Tears" (cover of the Miracles), both went Top 10 in 1967. In 1968, Rivers released Realization, a number-five album on the LP charts that included the #14 pop chart single "Summer Rain", written by a former member of The Mugwumps, James Hendricks. The album included some of the psychedelic influences of the time and marked a subtle change in his musical direction, with more thoughtful types of songs, included such ballads as "Look To Your Soul" and "Going Back to Big Sur".^[12]

1970s[link]

In the 1970s, Rivers continued to record more songs and albums that were a success with music critics, but did not sell as well as some of his earlier hits. L.A. Reggae (1972) reached the LP charts as a result of the #6 hit "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", a cover version of the Huey "Piano" Smith And The Clowns song. The track became Rivers's third million seller, which was acknowledged with the presentation of a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) on January 29, 1973.^[6] Other hits at that time were "Blue Suede Shoes" (cover of Carl Perkins), in 1973, which would reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[3] and "Help Me Rhonda" in 1975 (originally a #1 hit for The Beach Boys) on which Brian Wilson helped with backup vocals. His last Top 10 entry was "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)" (originally recorded by Funky Kings and written by Jack Tempchin who penned "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and Already Gone" for the Eagles), which reached #10, followed by his last Hot 100 entry, "Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)" (cover of Major Lance), both from 1977. He also sang the title song to the late night concert influenced TV show The Midnight Special.^[12]

1980s to current[link]

Rivers continued recording into the 1980s (e.g., 1980s Borrowed Time LP), although his recording career decreased. Despite his music not having reached the best seller charts for quite a while, Rivers is still touring, doing 50 to 60 shows a year. Increasingly he has returned to the blues that inspired him initially.

In 1998, Rivers reactivated his Soul City imprint and released Last Train to Memphis.

In early 2000, Rivers recorded with Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and Paul McCartney on a tribute album dedicated to Buddy Holly's backup band, "The Crickets".

In all, Rivers had nine Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 17 in the Top 40 from 1964 to 1977. In total, he has sold well over 30 million records.

Rivers is one of a small number of performers such as Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd (from 1975's Wish You Were Here onward), Queen, Genesis (though under the members' individual names and/or the pseudonym Gelring Limited) and Neil Diamond who have their name as the copyright owner on their recordings. (Most records have the recording company as the named owner of the recording.) This development was spearheaded by the Bee Gees with their $200 million lawsuit against RSO, the largest successful lawsuit against a record company by an artist or group.

On June 12, 2009, Johnny Rivers was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.^[1]

Selected discography[link]

References[link]

• "Johnny Rivers – Discography 1964–1969". JohnnyRivers.com. http://www.johnnyrivers.com/jr/discography64-69.html. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
• "Johnny Rivers – Discography 1970–Present". JohnnyRivers.com. http://johnnyrivers.com/jr/discography70+.html. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 

External links[link]

• Johnny Rivers at Allmusic
• Official website
• Official website biography
• Biography at Classicbands.com

Martin Kent

Personal information
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	-
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1974–1981	Queensland
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODIs
Matches	3	5
Runs scored	171	78
Batting average	28.50	19.50
100s/50s	-/2	-/-
Top score	54	33
Balls bowled	-	-
Wickets	-	-
Bowling average	-	-
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	-	-
Catches/stumpings	6/-	4/-
Source: Cricinfo, 12 December 2005

Martin Francis Kent (born 23 November 1953, Mossman, Queensland) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests and 5 ODIs in 1981.

This elegant right-handed batsman was unfortunate to play only three times for his country. He scored 140 on his debut for Queensland in 1974–75 season but the powerful Australian middle order of the seventies, dominated by the Chappell brothers and Doug Walters kept him out of contention for international honours. Opportunity did arise when Kerry Packer bought up most of the leading stars in 1977, but he chose World Series Cricket instead of staying with the traditional game. He would certainly have played in the 1978–79 Ashes series otherwise.

He was finally chosen to tour England in 1981 but the trip was not a happy one for Kim Hughes' side against a revitalised Ian Botham. Kent was one of Australia's few positives, coming into the side for the final three tests he scored 171 runs, including a fifty as a makeshift opener at the Oval. A serious back injury cost him his place however, he missed most of the 1981–82 season and was forced into premature retirement. In 64 first-class matches he scored a total of 3567 runs at 36.03 with a best of 171 against Tasmania. He was a fine slip catcher, taking 60 catches in all.

References[link]

• Cricinfo Profile
• Cricket Archive Statistics

v t e Queensland squad – Gillette Cup 1975/76 1 Chappell, G (c) 2 Carlson 3 Davis 4 Dymock 5 Francke 6 Kent 7 Langley 8 Maclean (wk) 9 Ogilvie 10 Schuller 11 Thomson 12 Trimble 13 Walters

v t e Australia squad – World Series Cricket 1 Chappell, I (c) 2 Bright 3 Chappell, G 4 Chappell, T 5 Davis 6 Edwards 7 Gilmour 8 Hookes 9 Kent 10 Laird 11 Langer 12 Lillee 13 McCosker 14 Malone 15 Marsh (wk) 16 Pascoe 17 Prior 18 Redpath 19 Robinson (wk) 20 Thomson 21 Walker 22 Walters 23 Wessels