page_title: Gravesend
section_title: Gravesend and the River Thames
hierarchical_section_title: Gravesend / Gravesend and the River Thames
caption_attribution_description: Gravesend is in North Kent, England on the River Thames. Port of London Authority Tugs attending to the berthing of Polstream Panamax coal carrier, Arnia Krajowa, at Tilbury Power Station, the opposite side of the river.Clearly seen are the two coal handling machines, that unload coal from the holds on to a conveyor belt system to the coal store. Camera location51°&#160;26′&#160;40.2″&#160;N, 0°&#160;22′&#160;37.92″&#160;E&#160;View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Earth
context_page_description: Gravesend is an ancient town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles east-southeast of Charing Cross on the south bank of the Thames Estuary and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the administrative centre of the Borough of Gravesham.
  Its geographical situation has given Gravesend strategic importance throughout the maritime and communications history of South East England. A Thames Gateway commuter town, it retains strong links with the River Thames, not least through the Port of London Authority Pilot Station and has witnessed rejuvenation since the advent of High Speed 1 rail services via Gravesend railway station. The station was recently refurbished and now has a new bridge.
context_section_description: The Thames has long been an important feature in Gravesend life, and may well have been the deciding factor for the first settlement there. 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 as it sailed along the Thames, the passengers protected from the weather by a canvas tilt (awning). 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 Control Centre (formerly known as Thames Navigation Service), supplying both river and sea pilots. Today radar plays an important role in the navigation of shipping on the River Thames.
  A dinghy at an unmodernised Gravesend was the backdrop to the 1952 thriller The Long Memory starring Sir John Mills. In the film, Mills plays a character living in poverty on a derelict fishing boat stranded in the mud flats.
  Gravesend also has one of England's oldest regattas retained from its strong maritime links with the Thames. Although the origins of the regatta are unknown it dates back at least to Tudor times. The races are traditionally competed by Gravesend skiffs, 21-foot-long (6.4 m) oaken round-bottomed, clinker-built boats.
  The Thames Navigation Service was first thought up between 1950 and 1952 by Cdr Peter de Neumann GM RN, while he was captain of HMRC cutter Vigilant based at 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 a 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 carried out.  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 and 1886, Gravesend was the Thames's 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 boats 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 Indiamen traditionally stopped here at a point known as Long Reach to lighten their loads before sailing up the Thames to moorings at Blackwall.
  For some years after, war steamer excursions were run on the MV Royal Daffodil down the Thames from Gravesend to France, but they ceased in 1966.  Cruises are now operated by the Lower Thames and Medway Passenger Boat Company up the river to Greenwich. The cross-river passenger ferry to Tilbury provides a long-established route to and from Essex. Before the Dartford Crossing came into being, there was a vehicle ferry at Gravesend as well.
  There is a RNLI lifeboat station, based at Royal Terrace Pier ,which has become one of the busiest in the country.
caption: MV Armia Krajowa, a Panamax vessel, being docked by Gravesend tugboats to discharge coal at Tilbury
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