River Medway - The Medway, "Kentish Men" and "Men of Kent"

The Medway, "Kentish Men" and "Men of Kent"

The Medway is said to divide the county of Kent into two parts: this may allude to the fact that, since AD 604, there have been two dioceses: Canterbury and Rochester, whose jurisdiction covered much of everyday life. The tradition has grown up, and today is kept alive by the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men, that those born in West Kent - the area north of the river, but including Maidstone, Gillingham (other than Rainham), Rochester and Chatham - are labelled Kentish Men (or Maids); while those born in East Kent are Men of Kent (or Maids). This labelling applies equally to those born in those parts of the traditional county absorbed into London in the 1880s.