Gravesend /ˌɡreɪvzˈɛnd/ is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex.

Gravesend marks the eastern limit of the Greater London Built-up Area, as defined by the UK Office for National Statistics.

Recorded as Gravesham in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, its name probably derives from graaf-ham: the home of the reeve or bailiff of the lord of the manor.

[2] Frank Carr[3] asserts that the name derives from the Saxon Gerevesend, the end of the authority of the Portreeve (originally Portgereve, chief town administrator).

The variation Graveshend can be seen in a court record of 1422, where Edmund de Langeford was parson,[6] and attributed to where the graves ended after the Black Death.

The current Gravesend Town Hall was completed in 1764: although it ceased to operate as a seat of government in 1968 when the new Gravesham Civic Centre was opened, it remained in use as a magistrates' court until 2000.

There is also the aforementioned Riverview Park estate built on the old RAF field in the south-east, in the 1960s, and Singlewell, which is adjacent to the A2 in the South Part of the southern built-up area of the town was originally two separate rural parishes: viz, Cobham and Northfleet.

It is therefore less cloudy, drier, and less prone to Atlantic depressions with their associated wind and rain than western parts, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter.

In 2016 the warmest day of the year occurred very late on 13 September with a very high temperature of 34.4C Since 1990 the economy of Gravesham has changed from one based on heavy industry to being service-based.

[46] A recent £2 million investment in a pontoon is now in place at the pier head onto the Thames, which provides for small and medium-sized craft to land at Gravesend.

The memorial stone records that the clock tower was erected by public subscription (£700 was raised toward its construction) and dedicated to Queen Victoria, to commemorate the 50th year of her reign.

Queen Elizabeth II viewed this statue in 1957 and again on 4 May 2007, while visiting Jamestown on the 400th anniversary of foundation, it being the first successful English colonial settlement in America.

The Governor of Virginia presented the statue as a gift to the British people in 1958, a gesture prompted by The Queen's visit to the USA in the previous year.

It was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that the first windmill was placed at the highest point in Gravesend, 179 ft (55 m) overlooking the high-water mark of the river.

The Thames Navigation Service was first thought up between 1950 and 1952 by Cdr Peter de Neumann, while he was captain of HMRC cutter Vigilant based at Gravesend Reach.

This idea followed 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.

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.

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.

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.

[54] 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.

High-speed services from London St Pancras and Stratford International, are offered via Gravesend to the Medway towns, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

Passenger ferry services to Tilbury, Essex, operated daily (except Sundays), from Gravesend Town Pier until 31 March 2024.

The Saxon Shore Way, a long distance footpath, starts at Gravesend and traces the coast as in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex; 163 miles (262 km) in total.

Gravesend Community Hospital provides a Minor Injury Unit, Dental services, Speech and Language therapy and Physiotherapy.

[60] In the town centre is a large medical clinic at Swan Yard, next to the Market car park, and several other doctors' surgeries are located in the area.

Prior to the forming of Old Gravesendians RFC, on leaving the Grammar School, former pupils had continued to engage in various sports through the Old Blues Association (founded in 1914).

To the south of Gravesend on the ancient site of Watling Street on 43ha of land adjacent to the A2, Cyclopark, a venue for cycling events and other activities has been developed.

[68] The site which features mountain bike trails, a road circuit, a BMX racetrack and family cycling paths was formally opened in early 2012.

[70] Charles Dickens lived at Gad's Hill Place, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Gravesend and specifically mentions the town and its environs in at least three of his novels.

In the 1902 novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Charles Marlow's ship, anchored off Gravesend, is the setting where he tells his tale.