| Gravesend | |
Clock tower |
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Gravesend
Gravesend shown within Kent |
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| Population | 56,000 (2005) |
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| OS grid reference | TQ647740 |
| District | Gravesham |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Gravesend |
| Postcode district | DA11, DA12 |
| Dialling code | 01474 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Gravesham |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of England. It still retains today a strong link with the river. The opening of the Eurostar railway station at Ebbsfleet, the arrival of the High Speed service at Gravesend station itself and the fact that it lies within the Thames Gateway, add to the town's importance.
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The town was recorded as Gravesham in the Domesday Book in 1086 as belonging to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux: the name probably derived from "graaf-ham": the home of the Reeve, or Bailiff, of the Lord of the Manor. Another theory suggests that the name Gravesham may be a corruption of the words grafs-ham – a place "at the end of the grove".[1] Frank Carr[2] asserts that the name derives from the Saxon Gerevesend, the end of the authority of the Portreve, (originally Portgereve), the officer in charge of the town. The Domesday spelling is the only historical record; all other spellings - in the later (c1100) Domesday Monarchorum and in Textus Roffensis the town is Gravesend/Gravesende. Gravesham has however been adopted for the 1974 Borough title.[3] Some of the locals believe, erroneously, that the name was born when the bodies of those who died from the plague in London were buried in the town in attempts to put an end to it. Hence the name Graves-end. This is clearly not the case as the plague was in 1665 - a full 500 years after the name Gravesend/Gravesende was referred to (see above).
Stone Age implements have been found in the area; as has the evidence of an Iron Age settlement at nearby Springhead. Extensive Roman remains have been found nearby, at Vagniacae (Springhead); and Gravesend lies immediately to the north of their road connecting London with the Kent coast – now called Watling Street. The Domesday Book recorded mills hythes and fisheries here.[4]
In the Fort Gardens is Milton Chantry, Gravesend's earliest existing building of the late 13th century. It was refounded about 1321 on the site of a hospital founded in 1189. At the time it was supported by lands in Essex.
Gravesend has one of the oldest surviving markets in the country, its earliest charter dating from 1268. Town status was granted to the two parishes of Gravesend and Milton, the Charter of Incorporation being received in that year. The first Mayor of Gravesend was elected in that year, although the first Town Hall was in place by 1573: it was replaced in 1764. A new frontage was built in 1836. Although its use as a Town Hall came to an end in 1968, when the new Civic Centre was opened, it continued in use as the Magistrates' Courts. At present (2004) it is disused, and discussions are being held with a view to its future.
In 1380, during the One Hundred Years' War, Gravesend was sacked and burned by a Castilian fleet.
In 1401, a Royal Grant was issued, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town; these became known as the ‘’Long Ferry’’. It became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of the road journey (see below).
On the river front is recorded the archaeological remains of a riverside fort built at the command of Henry VIII in 1543. At Fort Gardens is the New Tavern Fort built during the 1780s and later extensively rebuilt by General Gordon between 1865 and 1879: it is now a museum, partly open-air under the care of the Gravesend Local History Society.[5]
Journeys by road to Gravesend were once quite hazardous, since the main London-Dover road crossed Blackheath, notorious for its highwaymen. Stagecoaches from London to Canterbury, Dover and Faversham used Gravesend as one of their "stages" as did those coming north from Tonbridge. In 1840 there were 17 coaches picking up and setting down passengers and changing horses each way per day. There were two coaching inns in the New Road: the New Prince of Orange and the Lord Nelson. Stagecoaches had been plying the route for at least two centuries: Samuel Pepys records having stopped off at Gravesend in 1650.
Although a great deal of the economy of the town continued to lie with the shipping trades, the other big employees were the cement and paper industries.
During the period 1932-1956 there was an airport located to the east of the town. It began life as a civilian field, but during the World War II it became a Royal Air Force fighter station, RAF Gravesend and the city was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. In 1956 the site was taken over by the town council; the large estate known as Riverview Park was built on its site.*[6] At 03:35 GMT on Sunday 5th February 1939, Alex Henshaw took off from Gravesend Airfield at the start of his epic record breaking flight to Cape Town and back. He completed the flight in 39 hours 36 minutes over the next four days. His record still stands.
Gravesend is part of, and is the principal town of, the borough of Gravesham.[7] The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Gravesend and Northfleet Urban District. Gravesend had been incorporated as a municipal borough in 1835 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and Northfleet was constituted an urban district in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894.
The site of Gravesend is at a point where the high land - the lowest point of the dip slope of the North Downs - reaches the river bank. To the east are the low-lying marshy areas of the Shorne Marshes; to the west, beyond Northfleet, the Swanscombe Marshes. The settlement which grew up was therefore the only good landing place; it was also sheltered by the prominent height of what is now called Windmill Hill (see Landmarks below). Although Windmill Hill dominates the town, Gravesend's highest point is actually Marling Cross to the south adjacent to the A2.
From its origins as a landing place and first port of call for shipping Gravesend gradually extended. southwards and eastwards. The well-off people from London were coming to the town during the summer months; at first by boat, and then by railway. More extensive building began after World War I; this increased after World War II, when many of the estates around the town were built.[8]
Those built-up areas include Painters Ash, adjacent to the A2 main road; King's Farm (most of King's Farm estate was built in the 1930s); and Christianfields housing estates. The latter is in process of being completely rebuilt. part of the southern built-up area of the town, was originally two separate rural parishes.
On 10 August 2003, Gravesend recorded one of the highest temperatures since records began in the United Kingdom, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit),[9] only beaten by Brogdale, near Faversham, 26 miles (42 km) to the ESE.[10] Brogdale, which is run by a volunteer, only reports its data once a month; Gravesend which is a Met Office site reports its data each hour.[11]
One explanation for the phenomenon was the large amount of earthworks in connection with High Speed 1, which had exposed a great deal of the local sandy soil, which absorbed more sunshine.
Gravesend as a rule inherits a more continental climate like the rest of Kent, Essex and East Anglia rather than the usual maritime oceanic climate the West of the UK experiences. It is therefore less cloudy, drier, and less prone to Atlantic depressions with their associated wind and rain than more westerly locations of the UK.
Gravesend and the surrounding area is relatively dry, especially in comparison to much of the UK, due to rainfall being light and patchy by the time it reaches the region. Heavy rain usually comes up from France.
In the winter, snow is not uncommon and like much of the area, it will inherit more of the continental winters, tempered slightly by the Jet Stream and the coastal location.
Gravesend continues to record high temperatures in summer, sometimes reaching country-wide records, recently including the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees.[12] Additionally, the town holds at least two records for the year in 2010 of 30.9 degrees[13] and 31.7 degrees.[14] Another record was set during the Autumn 2011 United Kingdom heat wave with 29.9 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in October in the country.[15]
The Kent Downs lie to the south of Gravesend, although it is not known if this causes Gravesend to experience the effects of Foehn Winds that occur as a result of adiabatic warming. This foehn effect seems most likely to occur during a southerly wind flow because of the location of the hills in relation to the town, and indeed it is during times of southerly winds that high temperatures would normally occur anyhow.
The weather station, coded 03784, is on the Broadness Salt Marsh at TQ 60657 76470 . It is at the foot of a triangulation mast, on the river bank at St Clement's Reach, 3m above mean sea level but actually not on the Gravesham District Council area but in that of Dartford.
NB Statistics here are for the Borough of Gravesham, not simply Gravesend
In the past twenty years the economy of Gravesham has changed from being based on heavy industry to being more service-based. The population in 2001 was 95,717, an increase of 2.6% since 1991; it has a high population density (almost 10 people per hectare) compared nationally; it has a relatively young population (40% of the population are below 30); and 60% of the population are of working age.
The second largest religious group in the Borough are Sikhs, who make up 6.7% of the population.[16]
Gravesend today is a busy commercial town. It serves a large area as a shopping centre: there are several of the multiples here, and a good range of local shops. It has a market hall open six days a week; and a newly-established farmers’ market. There are still those employed on the river as crews on the tugboats. Gravesend "watermen" were often in a family trade; and the town is the headquarters of the Port of London Authority Port Control Centre (formerly known as "Thames Navigation Service"), supplying both river and sea pilots. Today radar plays an important part in the movement of shipping on the river.
Its position in the Thames Gateway is an important asset: there are many commuters away from the town, but local enterprises employ as many people.[17]
The Pier is the world's oldest surviving cast iron pier, built in 1834[18] it is a unique structure with the first known iron cylinders used for its foundation. The pier was completely refurbished in 2004 and now has upon it a bar and restaurant. There is access for the public to the pier head when the premises are open. A pontoon is to be placed from the Pier into the Thames this year so that craft can make a landing at the town.
The town’s clock tower was built at the top of Harmer street. The foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1887. The memorial stone states that the clock tower was erected by public subscription (£700 was raised toward its construction) and it was dedicated to Queen Victoria, to commemorate the 50th year of her long reign.[19] Built with Portland and Dumfries stone, backed with hard stock brickwork, the design of the structure was based on St Stephens tower, the Westminster tower that houses Big Ben. The centre of the clock itself is measured at 50 feet (15 m) above the ground and the face is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in diameter.
An American sculptor, William Ordway Partridge, had created a life-size statue of Pocahontas, which was unveiled in Jamestown, Virginia in 1922. Queen Elizabeth II viewed this statue in 1957 and again on 4 May 2007, while visiting Jamestown on the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first successful English colonial settlement in America. On 5 October 1958 an exact replica of the Pocahontas statue by Partridge was dedicated as a memorial to the princess at St George's Church here. The Governor of Virginia presented the statue as a gift to the British people; this gesture was prompted by The Queen's visit to America the previous year. The actual resting place of Pocahontas in the town is unknown.
Windmill Hill named for its erstwhile windmills, offers extensive views across the Thames, and was a popular spot for Victorian visitors to the town, because of the Camera obscura installed in the old mill and for its tea gardens and other amusements. The hill was the site of a beacon in 1377, which was instituted by Richard II, and still in use 200 years later at the time of the Spanish Armada, although the hill was then known as "Rouge Hill". A modern beacon was erected and lit during 1988, the 300th anniversary.
It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that the first windmill was placed on top the highest point in Gravesend, 179 ft (55 m) above the high water mark of the river. One mill burnt down in 1763, but was replaced the following year and that too demolished in 1894. The last surviving windmill was destroyed by fire during Mafeking Night celebrations in 1900.
During World War I A German airship passed over Windmill Hill and dropped bombs on it. Today there are three markers indicating where these bombs struck.
The Thames has long been an important feature in Gravesend life and may well have been the deciding factor for the first settlement here. One of the town's first distinctions was in being given the sole right to transport passengers to and from London by water in the late 14th century. The "Tilt Boat" was a familiar sight on the river. The first steamboat plied its trade between Gravesend and London in the early 19th century, bringing with it a steadily increasing number of visitors to The Terrace Pier Gardens, Windmill Hill, Springhead Gardens and Rosherville Gardens. Gravesend soon became one of the first English resort towns and thrived from an early tourist trade.
Gravesend "watermen" were often in a family trade; and the town is the headquarters of the Port of London Authority Port Control Centre (formerly known as Thames Navigation Service), supplying both river and sea pilots. Today radar plays an important part in the movement of shipping on the river.
A dingy and unmodernised Gravesend was the backdrop to the 1952 thriller The Long Memory starring Sir John Mills. In the film, Mills lives in poverty on a derelict fishing boat stranded in the mud.
Gravesend also has one of the oldest regattas in England again showing its strong links to the river. Although the origins of the regatta are shrouded in mystery it dates back to at least Tudor times. The races are traditionally done with Gravesend Skiffs, 21-foot-long (6.4 m) oak-built clinker-built boats.
The Thames Navigation Service was first thought up between 1950 and 1952 by Captain Peter de Neumann, GM, when he was Commander of HMRC Vigilant (HM Customs & Excise), whose base was in Gravesend Reach. [It is possible that "Vigilant Way" in Gravesend is named for her.] This idea followed on from considering such incidents as the accidental ramming of HMS Truculent by the Divina in 1950, the collision with the Nore Forts by Baalbek, and the disastrous flooding of Canvey, Foulness and the East Coast in 1953. In these and other situations, rescue and intelligence gathering were severely hampered by a lack of centralised command and control, and lack of detailed "picture". de Neumann resigned his command after returning Vigilant from the Spithead Review and joined the PLA, immediately suggesting in a report to them, submitted in 1953, that a feasibility study of such a system be commenced. He then oversaw its development and ultimate installation at Gravesend.
Until the building of Tilbury Docks on the opposite side of the river, between 1882-6, Gravesend was the first port of entry. Thousands of emigrants, as well as large numbers of troops, embarked from here. Tilbury Docks have expanded considerably since with the closure of all the London Docks. The entrance to the Docks is somewhat awkward, situated as it is on the sharp bend of the river, and often need tugboat assistance, as do the larger ships moored at Tilbury landing stages. There have been many tug companies based at Gravesend: among them the Sun Company, the Alexandra Towing Company and, today, the Smith Howard Towing Company. East Indiaman traditionally stopped here at a point known as Long Reach to lighten their loads before sailing up the Thames to moorings at Blackwall.[20]
The river still plays a vital part in the life of the community today, providing an important link for industry and jobs to the benefit of many people. The cross-river passenger ferry to Tilbury provides a long-established route to and from the neighbouring County of Essex. Before the Dartford Crossing came into being there was a vehicle ferry here as well.
There is an RNLI lifeboat station at Gravesend established at Royal Terrace Pier which has become one of the busiest in the country. See: www.rnli.org.uk
The Thames and Medway Canal was opened for barge traffic in 1824. It ran from Gravesend on the Thames to Frindsbury near Strood on the Medway. Although seven miles long it had only two locks, each 94 ft by 22 ft in size, one at each end. Its most notable feature was the tunnel near Strood which was 3,946 yds long, the second longest canal tunnel ever built in the UK. The great cost of the tunnel meant that the canal was not a commercial success. After only 20 years most of the canal was closed and the canal's tunnel was converted to railway use. Initially canal and railway shared the tunnel, with the single track built on timber supports, but by 1847 canal use was abandoned and a double track laid. Today the canal basin at the Gravesend end of the Canal is used for pleasure craft. Gravesend Sailing Club is based here. The lock has been dredged and restoration and strengthening works have been carried out to the basin walls as part of regeneration of the area.
The main roads through the town are the west-east A226 road from Dartford and beyond to Rochester; and the A227 road to Tonbridge. The A2 road passes two miles (3 km) south of Gravesend town centre; a mile stretch of it was rerouted in the early 2000s to take the traffic away from the south end of the town.[21]
In March 2006 the first of the area’s new Fastrack bus services, which use a combination of ordinary roads and dedicated 'bus tracks', opened. The service links to Ebbsfleet International railway station, Greenhithe, Bluewater Shopping Centre and Dartford.
Gravesend railway station lies on the North Kent Line, and was opened in 1849. The Gravesend West Line, terminating by the river and for some time operating as a Continental ferry connection, closed in 1968.
Gravesend is the closest major town to the new Ebbsfleet International railway station (although the closest town to the station is actually a smaller one named Northfleet). Since December 2007, Eurostar services have run to Paris and Brussels from the station and their London St Pancras International station. In December 2009, the full high-speed timetable between London and Kent came into force. High-speed services are offered to the Medway towns, Sittingbourne and Faversham via High Speed 1, the North Kent Line (on which Gravesend lies) and the Chatham Main Line.
The Saxon Shore Way, a long distance footpath, starts at Gravesend and traces the coast as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex; 163 miles (262 km) in total. The Wealdway also starts at the Town Pier, and proceeds almost due south over the Weald to Eastbourne in East Sussex where it links with South Downs Way, a distance of 80 miles (128 km).
The main Anglican parish church is the Georgian St George's. It is a tourist site as well as being the parish church, because of its connection with Pocahontas. There are also three other Church of England churches, Roman Catholic, Methodist,(www.gravesendmethodistchurch.org.uk), United Reformed and Baptist churches, and other smaller chapels.
The 1st Gurdwara was set up in 1956 by Bhat Sikh Hersharan Singh-Takk (of 10 Pelham Road South ) in Edwin Street. The second in Clarence Place (1966) closed in November 2010. The new Gurdwara was opened in November 2010 and cost £12 million. It is one of the largest Sikh temples in Britain. The Gravesend Sikh community welcome all to their Gurdwara regardless of their beliefs, colour, caste or class.[22]
In secondary education, Gravesend has the following schools: Gravesend Grammar School; Northfleet School for Girls, Northfleet Technology College (Northfleet School for Boys); Mayfield Grammar School (formly Gravesend Grammar School for Girls); St Johns Catholic Comprehensive School; Thamesview School and St George's Church of England School.[23] There are also primary age schools such as Wrotham Road Primary School, special schools and several independent schools.[24]
Gravesend Hospital was opened in 1854, following the donation of a site by the Earl of Darnley in 1853; it had its origin on 2 December 1850, as a dispensary on the Milton road "to assist the really destitute poor of Gravesend and Milton and vicinities ... unable to pay for medical aid". By 1893, 4,699 such people had benefited by its presence. In 2004 the original building, and parts of the newer buildings were demolished to make way for a new local health centre. This hosts several remote wards for Darent Valley Hospital, the Gravesend emergency doctor's out of hours service as well as podiatry and other services.
The town also hosts a large doctor's clinic in Swan Yard, next to the Market car park and several other doctor's surgeries throughout the town
The Stonebridge Road football ground in neighbouring Northfleet is home to Ebbsfleet United F.C., who controversially changed their name from Gravesend and Northfleet F.C. in June 2007. Ebbsfleet currently play in the Conference National and are managed by ex-Coventry City F.C. defender Liam Daish; the club won the FA Trophy in May 2008. An agreement was reached for the MyFootballClub online community to purchase a 75% stake in the club in November 2007, and the takeover was completed early in 2008.[25]
Gravesend also has two rugby teams, Gravesend RFC and Old Gravesendians, both situated next to each other and opposite Gravesend Grammar School. Established in the 1870s, Gravesend RFC have been the towns senior club since league rugby was established in the 1980s. In the 2009/10 season Gravesend RFC secured a league and cup double by winning the London 1 South title in emphatic style and the Kent Cup for just the second time. The 2010/11 season saw the club make their debut in National League 3 London & SE finishing a respectable 6th. This is the highest level attained, in their 130 year history, and only four leagues below The Aviva Premiership.They were also successful in retaining the Kent Cup, beating Tonbridge Juddians in a close fought final.
Old Gravesendians were initially the Old Boys Club for former Grammar School pupils although many Grammar School pupils move onto to Gravesnd RFC now. Old G's have had some of their best success in recent seasons achieving two Kent Plate Titles and promotion to London League rugby in 2009. Unfortunately this proved a step too far with relegation in 2009/10.
Rowing matches have been taking place on the river Thames at Gravesend since from at least the year of 1698 , and the first organized Regatta was in 1715. The first Borough Regatta began in 1882, setting the pattern for an annual event on the Thames that is carried on to this day. The popularity of the early events have recently begun to return, thanks to much Borough Council publicity and the presence of a boathouse owned by Dartford's Cambria Sea Scouts.
To the south of Gravesend, on 43ha of land adjacent to the A2, Cyclopark is being developed as a venue for cycling events and other activities. The site features mountain bike trails, a road circuit, a BMX racetrack and family cycling paths, and is due to open officially in early 2012.[26]
The Gravesend Historical Society meets regularly and produces a biannual magazine on its activities.[27]
Charles Dickens lived in Gadshill Place, not far from Gravesend. Gravesend and its environs are mentioned in at least two of his novels. In David Copperfield Mr. Peggotty, Ham and the Micawbers say their goodbyes and sail away from Gravesend to begin a new life in Australia. In Great Expectations, Pip, with accomplices, rows Magwitch from London downriver in expectation of waylaying a regular steamer (whilst under way in the Lower Hope, off Gravesend) bound for Hamburg. Gravesend is briefly mentioned in two other novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley during Victor's travels through the United Kingdom with Clerval; ultimately culminating in Victor's residence in the Orkney Islands; and also in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
The 1952 film "The Long Memory" starring John Mills was filmed in and around Gravesend. It features many squalid streets running down towards the river that even then were being progressively cleared for redevelopment. It is also possible to hear in the background steam engines working out of the Gravesend West Line West Street terminus. Except for the skeletal remains of the pier all evidence of this station has now disappeared.
Gravesend is mentioned in Ridley Scott's 2010 film Robin Hood. Robin (Russell Crowe) and his companions intend to return to England from France by boat to Gravesend, after they flee the army of King Richard I, at whose death in battle they were present as archers.
The Borough is twinned with Chesterfield County in Virginia where the Henricus Settlement was in the 17th Century where Pocahontas was married.
Gravesend Tourist Information Centre -- known as TOWNCENTRIC -- has recently introduced new audio trail guides for people walking the riverside. These refer to the heritage buildings and the famous people associated with them. http\\www.gogravesham.co.uk 01474 337600
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