Bricks in Kent

Bricks for the garden pond

Bricks are a go to material when a garden pond is built. They look great and can make a pond look more natural as they can be used in so many ways, from surrounds to the entire construction of the pond.

Laid around the top of a pond, bricks will hold a butyl pond liner firmly in place and give a uniform finish to the pond edge. The bricks, particularly when set in mortar will make for a safer pond edge that can be walked on too.

Bricks for pond construction

Owing to the pressure that a deeper pond would exert on several courses of laid bricks, a standard wall construction of bricks would not be suitable. Laying the bricks side by side as opposed to the usual end to end way, will give a huge amount of strength to the finished pond.

Some lovely multi level ponds have been constructed in this way, with water cascades going from the top pond to the bottom and pumped back to the top again with a submersible pump.

However you use bricks in your pond construction, you are certain to enjoy the end result.

The county of Kent

Kent is a really lovely county in South East England and is referred to as one of the home counties. Kent borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. Kent also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town of Kent is Maidstone.

Kent was actually one of the first British territories to be settled by Germanic tribes, most notably the Jutes, following the withdrawal of the Romans. The Germanic tribes originated in Scandinavia, from which they moved south around 1000 BCE. By 100 BCE they had reached the Rhine area, and about two hundred years later, the Danube Basin. The western German tribes consisted of the Marcomanni, Alamanni, Franks, Angles, and Saxons, while the Eastern tribes north of the Danube consisted of the Vandals, Gepids, Ostrogoths, and Visigoths.

Kent is home to the oldest Cathedral in England

Canterbury Cathedral in Kent is also the oldest cathedral in England. It has been the seat of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the conversion of England to Christianity that began in the 6th century with Saint Augustine. Rochester Cathedral in Medway is Englands second oldest cathedral. Located between London and the Strait of Dover, which separates England from mainland Europe, Kent has been the setting for both conflict and diplomacy, including the Battle of Britain during World War II and the Leeds Castle peace talks of 1978 and 2004.

Kent was the gateway to England from the sea

England relied on Kent ports to provide warships through much of its history; the Cinque Ports in the 12th to the 14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard from the 16th to the 20th centuries were particularly important. Assuming the weather is fine and clear, you can actually see France from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of Kent and in the series of valleys in between and to the south are most of Kents twenty six marvellous castles.

Because of its high number of fruit growing and hop gardens, Kent has been known as The Garden of England for many years.

Kent has a very diverse economy that relies on haulage, logistics and tourism as the main industries. In northwest Kent, industries include extraction of aggregate building materials, printing and scientific research. Coal mining has also played its part in Kents industrial heritage. A good deal of Kent is within the London commuter belt and its strong transport connections to the London and the nearby continent make Kent an affluent and high income county.