If you think you know your county, you might be surprised by some of these facts about Kent’s history. Here are 5 interesting facts about Kent that will make for good conversation starters.
1: Pocahontas was buried in Gravesend
Pocahontas wasn’t just a Disney Princess, she was the daughter of a Native American Indian Chief, made famous by her actions to help the English colonists.
This famous and well-loved historical figure was buried in Gravesend, after moving to England with her husband John Rolfe and later dying of unknown causes. There is now a statue of Pocahontas in Gravesend in her memory.
2: The world’s first aircraft factory was opened on the Isle of Sheppey
The short brothers opened the world’s first aircraft factory on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. This paved the way for the future of air travel and aerospace engineering.
You’ve no doubt heard of the Wright Brothers, but you might not have known that they started building the Wright Flyer Aircraft at this aircraft factory on the Isle of Sheppey.
3: The first white road lines in the UK were painted on the London-Folkestone road at Ashford in 1914
Nowadays we don’t think twice when we see white lines on the road, but that it wasn’t always that way. Before 1914, they didn’t really need road markings because there weren’t that many cars on the road. So you can imagine how surprised people must have been when it was decided that white lines would be painted all over the roads.
4: Julius Caesar was quite fond of Kent and Kentish people
Julius Caesar once said ‘of all the British tribes, by far the most civilised are they who dwell in Kent’. So if you live in, or were born in Kent, you can take this fact as a compliment!
5: Kent is the biggest provider of UK-grown hazelnuts
If you’re looking for a locally grown product, hazelnuts might just be the way to go. Kent grows more hazelnuts than any other county in the UK.
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