a parish and market-town of Kent, 15 miles E.S.E. of Kent, on the river Dartent, from which it derives its name. It is celebrated as the first place in England where the manufacture of paper was established, and it still contains extensive paper mills. It had also the priority in the preparation of iron for wire-drawing, and still possesses a considerable trade in iron and machinery. The Dartmouth water-power of the river is made available for driving cotton, oil, and corn mills, and in the neighbourhood there is an extensive powder manufactory. The parish church is a handsome edifice, and there are four places of worship for Dissenters. Near the town are the ruins of an ancient nunnery founded by Edward III., and occupied temporarily as a royal residence by Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. Pop. (1851) 5763.