Kent in the context of "Gads Hill Place"

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.1 million people in 2024. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.1 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on world art, entertainment, fashion, commerce, finance, education, healthcare, media, science, technology, tourism, transport and communications. London is Europe's largest city economy and one of the world's major financial centres. London hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, comprising over 50 universities and colleges and enrolling more than 500,000 students as at 2023. It is home to several of the world's leading academic institutions: Imperial College London, internationally recognised for its excellence in natural and applied sciences, and University College London (UCL), a comprehensive research-intensive university, consistently rank among the top ten globally. Other notable institutions include King's College London (KCL), highly regarded in law, humanities and health sciences; the London School of Economics (LSE), globally prominent in social sciences and economics; and specialised institutions such as the Royal College of Art (RCA), Royal Academy of Music (RAM), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and London Business School (LBS). It is the most-visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system. The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system.

East Sussex is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Brighton and Hove.

The county has an area of 1,792 km (692 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 844,752 in 2024. The largest settlements are located on the coast, and include Brighton and Hove in the south west, Eastbourne in the south, and Hastings in the south east. Away from the coast the county is largely rural, and its major settlements include Crowborough in the north, Halisham in the south-centre, and Lewes in the west. For local government purposes East Sussex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with five districts, and the unitary authority area of Brighton and Hove. East Sussex and West Sussex historically formed a single county, Sussex.

Geoffrey Chaucer (/ˈdʒɛfri/ /ˈtʃɔːsər/; JEF-ree CHAW-sər; c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, writer and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the 'father of English literature', or alternatively, the 'father of English poetry'. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since become Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his ten-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in public service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat and member of the Parliament of England, having been elected as shire knight for Kent.

Essex (/ˈɛsɪks/ ESS-iks) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is Southend-on-Sea.

The county has an area of 3,670 km (1,420 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,929,610 in 2024. The south of the county is densely populated, and includes Southend-on-Sea in the south-east and Basildon in the south-centre. The centre and north of the county is more rural, and its principal settlements include Chelmsford in the centre and Colchester in the north-east. The districts of Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend hold city status. For local government purposes Essex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea. The county historically included north-east Greater London, the River Lea forming its western border.

Surrey (/ˈsʌri/) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking.

The county has an area of 1,663 km (642 square miles) and had an estimated population of 1,248,649 in 2024. The north of the county, which includes the towns of Staines-upon-Thames and Epsom, is densely populated and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. A second conurbation along the western border of the county includes Camberley and Farnham and extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. Woking is located in the north-west, and Guildford in the centre-west. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are Horley in the south-east and Godalming in the south-west. For local government purposes Surrey is a non-metropolitan county with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but did not include what is now the borough of Spelthorne, which was part of Middlesex. It is one of the home counties.

Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a ceremonial county also called Greater London, and the City of London. The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region, and regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and the City of London Corporation. Greater London is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Essex to the north-east, Kent to the south-east, Surrey to the south, and Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west.

Greater London has a land area of 1,572 km (607 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 9,089,736 in 2024. The ceremonial county of Greater London is only slightly smaller, with an area of 1,569 km (606 sq mi) and a population of 9,074,625 in 2024. The area is almost entirely urbanised and contains the majority of the Greater London Built-up Area, which extends into Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire and in 2011 had a population of 9,787,426. None of the administrative area, region, or ceremonial county hold city status, but both the City of London and City of Westminster do. The area was historically part of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.

Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed under the sea by the accumulation and lithification of hard parts of organisms, mostly microscopic plankton, which had settled to the sea floor. Chalk is common throughout Western Europe, where deposits underlie parts of France, and steep cliffs are often seen where they meet the sea in places such as the Dover cliffs on the Kent coast of the English Channel.

Chalk is mined for use in industry, such as for quicklime, bricks and builder's putty, and in agriculture, for raising pH in soils with high acidity. It is also used for "blackboard chalk" for writing and drawing on various types of surfaces, although these can also be manufactured from other carbonate-based minerals, or gypsum.

The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a public research university in Kent, United Kingdom. Founded by royal charter in 1965, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent served as its first Chancellor.

The university's principal campus occupies 300 acres of land overlooking the World Heritage Site of Canterbury Cathedral, and also maintains a campus in Medway and a postgraduate centre in Paris. The university is international, with students from 158 different nationalities and 41% of its academic and research staff being from outside the United Kingdom. It is a member of the Santander Network of European universities encouraging social and economic development.

Canterbury (/ˈkæntərb(ə)ri/ , /-bɛri/) is a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Canterbury district, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climate.

Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, with the city's economy heavily reliant upon tourism, alongside higher education and retail. As of 2011, the city's population was over 55,000, including a substantial number of students and one of the highest student-to-permanent-resident ratios in Britain.