during the 5th-Century A.D. (see
) and the area was later known as Cantia, around 730 A.D. and Cent in 835 A.D. The Early-
inhabitants of the County were known as The Cantwara, or Kent people, whose Capital (the only Town called a Metropolis by The Venerable Bede) was at
. Augustine is Traditionally credited with bringing Christianity to
was an ancient administration division of Kent, and may well have originated during a
colonisation of the County. These ancient divisions still exist, but have no administrative significance, today. There were seven Lathes in Kent at the time of The
, which reveals that in, 1086, Kent was divided into the seven Lathes or "Lest(um)" of:
"The Flower of Kent" Pub,
Lewisham, South-East London
(formerly Kent).
For administrative, judicial and taxation purposes, these units remained important for another 600 years, although, by 1295, the number of Lathes had reduced to five: Borough and
Eastry were merged to form The
Lathe of Saint Augustine, The Lathe of Lympne was renamed The Lathe of
Shepway, The Lathes of Milton and Wye were merged to form The
Lathe of Scray. Each of The Lathes were divided into smaller areas, called
Hundreds, although the difference between the functions of Lathes and Hundreds remains unclear.
Mediaeval Kent.
Following the invasion of Britain by King
William of Normandy in 1066, the people of Kent adopted the Motto
Invicta, meaning "undefeated", and claiming that they had frightened The
Normans away, as they merely used Kent to reach London.
Once London was reached, The Normans ignored most of East Kent, due to the peasants attacking them at every turn. As a result, Kent became a semi-autonomous
County Palatine, under William's half-brother,
Odo of Bayeux, Earl of
Kent and
Bishop of Bayeux, with the special powers otherwise reserved for Counties bordering Wales and Scotland.
"Duchess of Kent"
Steam Locomotive.
A decade after The
Norman Conquest,
Penenden Heath, near Maidstone, held a
successful trial of Odo of Bayeux. The trial, ordered by King William I at the behest of
Lanfranc,
Archbishop of Canterbury, challenged the Earl's purported landholdings in the County, an event which represented an important attempt by Saxon landowners to reassert their pre-Norman rights and privileges.
Gavelkind was one of the most interesting examples of
Customary Law in England. After The
Norman Conquest, Gavelkind was superseded by The
Feudal Law of
Primogeniture, except in South East England. In essence, Gavelkind meant that, on death, a man's property was equally divided amongst his surviving sons, which led to land being divided into ever smaller parcels. Therefore, the wasteful
Strip System of farming in open fields was never established in Kent. Gavelkind was finally abolished by The Law of Property Act in 1925.
Monument at Swanscombe, near Dartford, Kent, recording the legend of how Kent managed to extract concessions from William the Conqueror.
This Monument depicts the meeting of Men of Kent and Kentish Men with the Invader, William, Duke of Nomandy, after The Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Photo: 28 June 2006.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Gavelkind.
Gavelkind was a system of
Land Tenure associated chiefly with The County of
Kent, but also found in Ireland and Wales and some other parts of
England. Its inheritance pattern is a system of
Partible Inheritance, which bears resemblance to
Salic Patrimony: as such, it might testify in favour of a wider, probably ancient Germanic Tradition. Under this Law (Gavelkind), land was divided equally among sons or other heirs.
Over the Centuries, various Acts were passed to "De-Gavel" individual Manors, but, in England and Wales, it was The
Administration of Estates Act 1925 that finally abolished the custom.
Before abolition of Gavelkind tenure, by The
Administration of Estates Act 1925, all land in Kent was presumed to be held by Gavelkind, until the contrary was proved. It was more correctly described as
Socage tenure, subject to the custom of Gavelkind. The chief peculiarities of the custom of Gavelkind were the following:
A
tenant could pass on part or all of his lands as a
fiefdom from fifteen years of age;
On conviction for a
felony, the lands were not confiscated by
The Crown;
Generally, the tenant could always dispose of his lands in his W
ill;
In case of
Intestacy, the
Estate was passed on to all the sons, or their representatives, in equal shares,
leaving all the sons equally a Gentleman. Although females, claiming in their own right, were given second preference, they could still inherit through representation;
A
Dowager was entitled to one half of the land;
A Widow, who had no children, was entitled to inherit half the Estate, as a tenant, as long as she remained unmarried.
"Maid of Kent"
Steam Locomotive.
Gavelkind, an example of
Customary Law in England, was thought to have existed before The
Norman Conquest of 1066, but, generally, was superseded by The F
eudal Law of P
rimogeniture. Its survival (until as late as 1925) in one part of the Country, is regarded as a concession by The
Conqueror to The People of Kent.
During the Mediaeval period, Kent produced several rebellions, including The
Peasants' Revolt, led by
Wat Tyler, and, later,
Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450.
Thomas Wyatt led an army into London from Kent in 1553, against Queen
Mary I. Canterbury became a great pilgrimage site following the Martyrdom of
Thomas Becket, who was eventually Canonised in 1246. Canterbury's Religious role also gave rise to
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the rise of the written English language and ostensibly set in the countryside of Kent. Rochester had its own Martyr,
William of Perth, and, in 1256, Lawrence, Bishop of Rochester, travelled to
Rome to obtain William's Canonisation.
As well as numerous
fortified Manor Houses, Kent has a number of Traditional militarily-significant Castles, including those at
Allington,
Chilham,
Dover,
Hever,
Leeds,
Rochester, and
Walmer, built to protect the Coast, The
River Medway, or routes into
London.
"Duke of Kent"
Steam Road Locomotive.
Built in 1914.
