The County of Kent Trivia Quiz

Answer: Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral was founded by St Augustine who arrived in Britain in AD 597. Building started shortly afterward and actually recent excavations have shown that underneath the Cathedral is an ancient Roman road. The Cathedral has been rebuilt and added to many times since the original Saxon Church, leaving us with the impressive building we have today.

Its importance was recognised by it becoming a World Heritage Site in 1988. On the archway of the West Gate leading into the Cathedral Grounds there some rude carvings hidden amongst the more traditional religious ones.

This was done by the medieval masons in protest at not being paid.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill bought Chartwell in 1922 and lived there until his death in 1965. One of the things that Winston Churchill used to do to relax at Chartwell was build brick walls in the garden. Apparently he became an accomplished brick layer.

Answer: Spitfire

Shepherd Neame's brewery in Faversham is the oldest in Britain, founded in 1698. It is still owned and run by the Neame family.

Answer: Maidstone

Maidstone first became a town in 1549 and emerged over time as the county town of Kent, due to the fact that many judicial and administrative functions were held there. Those of us of a certain age will remember watching 'No73 from Maidstone' on a Saturday morning with its catchy theme tune telling us to "Get Down to 73".

Answer: Chatham Historic Dockyard

Chatham is the most popular site in Kent for filming but Dover Castle also featured in 'Hamlet' and 'Kevin and Perry Go Large'. Just outside of Folkestone was filmed the classic 'Battle of Britain'. The Dartford Crossing makes an appearance in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'

Answer: True

If you are born West of the River Medway you are a 'Kentish Man or Maid'. Throughout Kent it is common to see pubs with these names. It is believed that this distinction of the people of Kent started some 1,500 years ago when the Jutes invaded Kent and split the county along the line of the Medway.

This division was still apparent at the time of the Norman Invasion where the Men of Kent prided themselves that they had fought longer and harder against William the Conqueror than the Kentish Men.

Answer: Garden

Kent has always been famed for its farming. Hop fields used to be common in the county and you can still see the oast houses used for drying the hops, though more often they have been converted into luxury homes.

Answer: A White Horse

Kent's White Horse is called Invicta. The Three Red Lions are from Dorset, the White Rose is from Yorkshire and the Red Rose from its great rival, Lancashire. While the white horse itself has been seen on emblems associated with Kent since the mid fifth century with the invasion of the Jutes, the name of the horse has a different history.

Invicta means 'Undefeated' and the name supposedly dates back to 1066 and the invasion of England by the Normans, where the stout people of Kent stopped William the Conqueror getting to London via Kent, forcing him to take another route. So in their eyes they have never been defeated by an enemy, which actually still holds true to this day.

Answer: Ian Fleming

The 007 bus still runs to this day past Ian Fleming's home where he wrote some of the James Bond novels. Of course, there are other theories to the origins of "007".

HG Wells came from Bromley and wrote 'The Time Machine' and Frederick Forsyth came from Ashford and his most famous work is 'The Day of the Jackal'. Oddly enough, even though he is so closely associated with Kent, Charles Dickens was actually born in Hampshire. However he spend much of his childhood in Kent and chose to return there as an adult, so we count him as one of ours.

Answer: Orlando Bloom

All the rest were Hobbits. Orlando was born in the 13th January 1977 in Canterbury in Kent. Interestingly Orlando did work experience as a schoolboy at my mother's library, where she says he was the only work experience student they had who was prepared to read stories to the children.