In the past, Greenhithe's waterfront on the estuary of the River Thames was used to build wharves for transshipping corn, wood and other commodities; its largest cargoes were of chalk and lime.

Its manor house has been fully restored and the village is accessible to the M25 motorway, High Speed 1's Ebbsfleet International station and, particularly relevant to its local economy, Bluewater shopping centre.

It owes a great deal to its situation by the Thames and expansion to the nearby Watling Street (the London-Dover Road) and it being a suitable landing place for ships.

It appears in a History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent by Edward Hasted, compiled early as such major works date, in this case to 1778: Here there are several wharves for the landing and shipping of corn, wood, and other commodities, but the greatest traffic arises from the chalk and lime, from the chalk pits, the range of which continues with small intermission from Stone to Gravesend, within a very short distance of the shore.

The new college allowed for expanded facilities and the new main building incorporated a replica of a modern ship's bridge overlooking the River Thames.

In 1363 the manor was endowed upon the Prioress and Abbey of the Dominican Sisters in Dartford by Edward III (1307–1377) until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England.

Greenhithe's economy no longer depends on river trade, this having been replaced by the M25 motorway, the new High Speed 1 Ebbsfleet International station and the Bluewater complex.

Its proponent councils and government sponsors thus aim to attract more affluence and income generation, particularly through the interaction with the enormous shopping complex.

In 1904, plans emerged outlining the construction of a paper mill complex on a twenty-four acre site the east of Ingress Abbey.

Ingress Abbey Mill made numerous grades of paper from raw materials ranging from grasses of Northern Africa to old rags converted to pulp to make the final product.