A Trivial Trip Around Kent Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Darwin

When Charles Darwin - and his wife Emma - found their London home cramped, they decided to move to a more rural location that offered good train links to London. After viewing some properties, they decided on Down House in the village of Downe, in Kent. It was at Down House that Darwin worked on his most famous piece of work, "On the Origins of Species".

During his time at Down House, Darwin renovated and developed the house and grounds.

After Darwin's death, the house eventually became a school for girls, before the British Association for the Advancement of Science purchased the house and turned it into a museum dedicated to Darwin's works.

Down House is owned by English Heritage and is open to the public.

Answer: Tonbridge

Created in 1998, Medway was formed by the merger of Rochester, Chatham, Strood, Gillingham and Rainham to become a unitary authority. It is administratively
independent from Kent County Council.

Medway as a long history dating back to Roman times, as it lay along the route of Watling Street. From Tudor times Chatham had a strong association with the Royal Navy until the closure of the dockyards in 1984.

With the growth in military activity and the arrival of the railway, towns that made up Medway grew, becoming interconnected with one another.

Famous residents of the Medway Towns include Charles Dickens, William Adams and artist Richard Dadd.

Answer: Maidstone

Situated on the River Medway, Maidstone is the administrative centre for Kent County Council.

Dating back to at least Roman times, Maidstone had grown mainly through industries such as papermaking, brewing, and car manufacturing. As these industries went into decline and left the town, Maidstone became more of a retail-based economy with a wide range of shops.

Answer: Porchester

Porchester is in Hampshire, near Portsmouth. Reculver is situated on the North Kent coast on the Thames Estuary. Stutfall (Port Lympne) lies on the hillside outside Hythe, under Lympne Castle. Richborough was built on the site of what is believed by many to be the site of the Roman invasion of Britain in A.D 43.

Answer: Bigod's Rebellion

Bigod's Rebellion took place in the North of England against Henry VIII.
Kent became a focal point of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 led by Watt Tyler, whilst Jake Cade led a rebellion against Henry VI nearly 70 years later. Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 involved Thomas Wyatt of Kent as one of its main leaders, and was in protest of the marriage of Mary I to Phillip of Spain.

Answer: RAF Biggin Hill

Built during the First World War, RAF Biggin Hill grew throughout the inter-war years. During World War II, Biggin Hill became one of the main sector station used in the defence of Britain against German air raids, and as such was bombed many times.

After WWII, Biggin Hill saw use as an RAF base until the late 1950s, when it began the process of becoming more dedicated to operating civilian flights, with the last RAF representation moving out in the early 1990s.

Answer: The Hadleigh Gang

The Hadleigh Gang took their name from the town they operated from in Suffolk.
The most notorious of all Kent smuggling gangs was the Hawkhurst Gang, operating along the south coast of England from Kent to Dorset. Their downfall eventually came after a violent confrontation with local militia in the village of Goudhurst, where a number of the gang was killed, whilst others were eventually arrested later on.

Answer: Dover Castle

Built high upon the cliffs overlooking Dover Harbour, Dover Castle has a commanding view over the Straits of Dover, part of the English Chanel. On a clear day northern France can be seen from the castle.

The site dates back to that of a pre-Roman site, and includes one of two Roman lighthouses - the other being sighted on the Western Cliffs, overlooking Dover.

Because of its strategic value, Dover Castle became vital to the defence of the realm, as such was dubbed the "Key to England". Because of this, the castle grew into one of Europe's largest castles over the centuries.

Even in World War II, the castle played a part; with its underground bunkers built in Napoleonic times, it was used as a headquarters for Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk in France. The tunnels in the cliffs under Dover Castle were also used for naval and local anti-aircraft co-ordination. Dotted around Kent are a number of farm buildings called Oast Houses.

Answer: Drying Hops

Picking hops use to be a major business in Kent and Sussex, and as such, many farms had oast houses, built for the drying of hops for the brewing industry. Such was the scale of work that hop picking involved, many people from towns and cities used to spend the summer going to farms for the hop-picking season.

As cheaper hops from overseas began to flood the market, hop picking went into decline, and many oast houses were converted into homes.

One large collection of oast houses near Paddock Wood in Kent have been converted to tell the history of hop picking, as well as an attraction offering a wide range of amenities.

Answer: Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

Built in the 1920s, The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway for many years held the title of being the world's smallest public railway due to it being a narrow gauge railway. The locomotives used on the railway are miniature versions of large steam and diesel engines.

During World War II, the line also saw service operating armoured trains, given that the Romney Marsh was a prime location for an enemy invasion.

The line runs from Hythe to Dungeness, and is open most days of the year.

The other three railway lines are standard gauge, and operate steam and diesel services.