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Property Search - KentKentKent is a county steeped in history. It was settled well before most other parts of England and has the oldest recorded place name in the British Isles. When Julius Caesar briefly invaded Kent in 55 and 54BC he found it the most civilised part of Britain and it was to Kent that Pope Gregory sent his first missionaries under Augustine who founded Caterbury Cathedral in 597AD. The Kent motto is ‘Invicta’ meaning unconquered or untamed an allusion to the belief that Kent has kept its boundaries intact since Roman times. This however is not quite the case. Since the 1750s as London has grown so Kent has had to forsake land. In 1889 the county boundary was redrawn as the present boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham became part of London joined in 1965 by the present boroughs of Bromley and Bexley and further areas lying between the A21 and M25 were added to London in 1974. As a farm based economy the Kent countryside has grown around a proliferation of pretty villages and small towns some of the prettiest being Benendon Cranbrook Goudhurst Matfield and Penshurst. Timber framed houses abound and much is now made of converting barns and one of the symbols of Kent the oast house into highly prized dwellings. Despite this variety there is a shortage of Georgian houses with their finely proportioned rooms consequently they are highly prized. Due to the Kentish custom of gavelkind or partible inheritance estates did not evolve to the eldest son but were divided equally between the male children on their father’s death. This resulted in a good supply of houses with land and small holdings. Commuting to London from Kent is best done by train with typical times of 49 minutes from Tunbridge Wells and 62 minutes from Maidstone. The road network is not so good without fast roads into the centre of London beyond the M25. It is often quickest to take the M25 to use one of the main western routes into the capital. The Channel Tunnel has served to reinforce Kent’s position as the gateway to Europe with many European companies using the county to site their offices. The proposed fast rail link from Ashford to London should also help to open the eastern parts of the county to the commuter. |
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