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| Pocahontas |
Gravesend is steeped in history. It is where Pocahontas is buried (the graveyard of St George's Church), General Gordon had strong links with Gravesend, it has a ruined fort, it's on the river Thames and was once the place to visit in the 1960's by Londoners. These days it has lovely gardens and riverside walk, a ferry taking you across to Tilbury and a Heritage Quarter in town with an old covered market and quaint shops. There are also lots of monuments.
It takes just under an hour by train from Waterloo East or Victoria stations and then only a short walk to be in the heart of things. There are many maps and sign posts so you won't go wrong. We went to St George's Church first and the statue of Pocahontas. There are many plaques around telling all about her and in the entrance to the church there is a larger plague. The church itself seemed to have a service going on, but on closer inspection it seemed it was a party of tourists (their coach was parked outside) who had a speaker and slide presentation. We didn't want to disturb them and decided to visit the church itself on the way back. Sadly the church was closed when we came back. Pocahontas is perhaps best known for saving the life of Captain John Smith, but she later married Englishman John Rolfe, who bought Tobacco seed from Trinidad. They later sailed to England where she met up with John Smith again. On the voyage home Pocahontas became ill and the ship sailed into Gravesend where she died.
We wandered down to the Thames, saw in the distance (looking back to London) the Dartford crossing and then we entered the Heritage Quarter. After lunch we set off to the gardens and fort set alongside the riverside walk. It is not often (in fact I don't remember a time when I have come across one) you see a monument to our present Queen in St Andrew's Gardens, and close by one of Mahinder Singh Pujji who was a fighter pilot with the RAF and lived in Gravesend until he died at 90 years old. He represents all those from across the world who fought for Britain since 1914.
General Gordon is represented in several places in Gravesend, though his statue is in the gardens adjoining New Tavern Fort. He is known best for being killed in Khartoum, but he also fought in China and was known as Chinese Gordon. While in Gravesend he did much for the poor, giving away much of his salary.
The old fort reminds me of Newhaven Fort in Sussex for the way it is set out and for the guns facing out to sea. There is an old Tudor Blockhouse, parts of which you can still see, and the gardens are adjoining this area are a delight. There is a cafe between the gardens and the riverside walk, and toilets. Toilets are a thing I always take note of and Gravesend has access to a few, which is always good news.
Along the tow path you can watch ferries and cargo going up and down stream, enjoy the wind turbines (I rather like them) and listen to the water lapping in and out. You could almost be at the seaside!
Back into town we saw the wonderful clocktower before heading back to the station. This is a place I'd happily return to.
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| Tudor Blockhouse ruins |
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| Port of London Authority |
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| General Gordon |
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| St George's Church |
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