ABSTRACT
Kent provides diverse encounters, containing overlapping rural, suburban and exurban spaces, and experiences a range of influences and forces at work in shaping the lives of its communities. Kent's proximity to mainland Europe is of course not merely a twentieth century phenomenon. Its location has exposed Kent to all sorts of invasions and incursions, with the dilemma of whether to welcome the new arrivals or to defend the resident cultures. Kent is described traditionally as the Garden of England feeding London, but a new colleague arriving from another part of the country could find no evidence now of a flourishing garden. Kent was one of the earliest parts of England to become settled, boasting the oldest recorded place name in the British Isles. When Julius Caesar briefly invaded Kent in 55 BC he found it the most civilised part of Britain, already colonised by people from Northern France.
