Online Encyclopedia

GRAVESEND

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 383 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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GRAVESEND  , a municipal and

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parliamentary borough,
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river-
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port and market
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town of Kent, England, on the right
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bank of the
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Thames opposite Tilbury Fort, 22 M . E. by S. of
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London by the South-Eastern & Chatham railway . Pop . (1901) 27,196 . It extends about 2 M. along the river bank, occupying a slight acclivity which reaches its
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summit at
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Windmill Hill, whence extensive views are obtained of the river, with its windings and
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shipping . The older and
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lower
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part of the town is irregularly built, with narrow and inconvenient streets, but the upper and newer portion contains several handsome streets and terraces . Among several piers are the town pier, erected in 1832, and the terrace pier, built in 1845, at a time when
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local river-
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traffic by steamboat was specially prosperous . Gravesend is a favourite resort of the inhabitants of London, both for excursions and as a summer residence; it is also a favourite
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yachting centre . The
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principal buildings are the town-hall, the parish church of Gravesend, erected on the site of an ancient
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building destroyed by fire in 1727; Milton parish church, a Decorated and Perpendicular building erected in the time of
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Edward IL; and the county courts . Milton Mount College is a large institution for the daughters of Congregational ministers . East of the town are the earthworks designed to assist Tilbury Fort in obstructing the passage up river of an enemy's force . They were originally constructed on
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Vauban's
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system in the reign of Charles II .

Rosherville Gardens, a popular resort, are in the western suburb of Rosherville, a residential

quarter named after James Rosher, an owner of lime
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works . They were founded in 1843 by George Jones . Gravesend, which is within the Port of London, has some import trade in
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coal and
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timber, and fishing, especially of shrimps, is carried on extensively . The principal other
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industries are boat-building, ironfounding,
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brewing and
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soap-boiling . Fruit and vegetables are largely grown in the neighbourhood for the London market . Since 1867 Gravesend has returned a member to parliament, the borough including
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Northfleet to the west . The town is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors .
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Area, 1259 acres . In the Domesday Survey " Gravesham " is entered among the bishop of
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Bayeux's lands, and a "
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hythe " or landing-place is mentioned . In 1401 Henry IV. granted the men of Gravesend the
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sole right of conveying in their own vessels all persons travelling between London and Gravesend, and this right was confirmed by Edward IV. in 1462 . In 1562 the town was granted a charter of incorporation by Elizabeth, which vested the government in 2 portreeves and 12 jurats, but by a later charter of 1568 one portreeve was substituted for the two . Charles I. incorporated the town anew under the title of the mayor, jurats and inhabitants of Gravesend, and a further charter of liberties was granted by James II. in 1687 .

A

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Thursday market and
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fair on the 13th of
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October were granted to the men of Gravesend by Edward III. in 1367; Elizabeth's charters gave them a Wednesday market and fairs on the 24th of
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June and the 13th of October, with a court of
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pie-powder; by the charter of Charles I . Thursday and Saturday were made the market days, and these were changed again to Wednesday and Saturday by a charter of 1694, which also granted a fair on the 23rd of
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April; the fairs on these
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dates have died out, but the Saturday market is still held . From the beginning of the 17th century Gravesend was the chief station for East Indiamen; most of the
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ships outward bound from London stopped here to
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victual . A customs house was built in 1782 . Queen Elizabeth established Gravesend as the point where the corporation of London should welcome in state eminent
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foreign visitors arriving by
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water . State processions by water from Gravesend to London had previously taken place, as in 1522, when Henry VIII. escorted the emperor Charles V . A similar practice was maintained until
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modern times; as when, on the 7th of March 1863, the princess Alexandra was received here by the prince of Wales (King Edward VII.) three days before their
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marriage . Gravesend parish church contains memorials to " Princess " Pocahontas, who died when prepaying to return home from a visit to England in 1617, and was buried in the old church . A memorial pulpit from the state of
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Indiana, U.S.A., made of Virginian wood, was provided in 1904, and a fund was raised for a stained-glass window by ladies of the state of Virginia .

End of Article: GRAVESEND
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See my web site About-Gravesend, http://www.about-gravesend.co.uk for more info and pictures of Gravesend past and presant.
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