Man of Kent or Kentish Man?
Kent is traditionally divided into West Kent and East Kent by the River Medway. This division into east and west is also reflected in the term "Men of Kent" for residents east of the Medway; those from west are known as "Kentish Men". The female equivalents are "Maid of Kent" and "Kentish Maid". These one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, are kept alive today by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913. The Association website can be found here.
However, further investigation shows that the division is not the Medway, but further east in Gillingham. Edward Hasted, in his 1798 description of Rainham, writes: "The whole of this parish is in the division of East Kent which begins here, the adjoining parish of Gillingham, westward, being wholly in that of West Kent."
The division, according to one historian, Freddie Cooper, a former Mayor of Gillingham, remained until 1 April 1929 when Rainham was transferred, despite protest, from the administration of Milton Rural District Council to that of Gillingham.
Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a Tyke from Yorkshire and a Yellowbelly from Lincolnshire; the traditional nickname for people from Kent is "Kentish Long-Tail", deriving from the long-held belief on the continental mainland of Medieval Europe that the English had tails.
Read more about this topic: History Of Kent
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