SEVENOAKS

district occupying the westernmost portion of the administrative and historic county of Kent, England, southeast of London. It is a predominantly rural area with a rolling landscape. Much of the district is wooded. The major towns are Sevenoaks in the south and Swanley in the north. The mansion of Knole House was, from its construction in 1456, owned by monarchs and archbishops. From about 1603 it was owned by the Sackville family, who endowed it to the National Trust in 1946. Area 142 square miles (368 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 111,700.