England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Gravesend St George

The Parish

The parish of Gravesend lies on the northern cost of Kent forming s stretch of the county's coastline with the Outer Thames Estuary. Gravesend is located roughly 15 miles northwest of the town of Maidstone and historically more importantly about 22 miles east of the City of London. Gravesend stands at the junction of the A226 (Dartford to Rochester) road with the A227 (Gravesend to Tonbridge) road. Gravesend is a port, a market town and part of England's historical defensive fortifications. The present town is actually two parishes those of Gravesend and of Milton next Gravesend with no gap between the two. Gravesend was for a long time the first stop for ships leaving the port of London, a place for gathering provisions for the journey, much of the parish acreage was devoted to the growing of fruit & vegetables to supply shipping, it had a reputation for the quality of its asparagus. As a port it partook in the fishing fleet for cod & turbot as well as harvesting shellfish. On shore there were extensive chandleries and facilities for ship building and roperies, there were also brick & lime works employing many men. Gravesend also acted as the regional market town being a market and location for specialist skills and trades. It was soon recognised that Gravesend was threatened by Napoleonic forces and numerous bastions and forts were sited on both sides of the Thames to defend the port and town. Gravesend has few early buildings as in 1727 a fire which started near the ancient medieval church caused widespread damage including the loss of the church and in excess of 100 other buildings, the centre is nowadays developed for shopping as are many such towns. Modern developments have enhanced Gravesend as a commuter settlement with the arrival of railway lines (one of which took over the route of the earlier Medway Canal) both from the capital and further into Kent including the military port of Chatham. Early maps show the town already spreading onto the adjacent chalk downs and the arrival of the modern dual-carriageway highway of the A2 has enhanced that inland growth such that the town now extends southwards to that route. Immediately south of the A2 is the latest modern development the high speed rail line from London to Paris. As a coastal settlement Gravesend is drained by mostly subsurface drainage to the adjacent Thames and the to the North Sea. Gravesend is sited at between sea level and 70 metres above it, in its loftier southeastern suburbs, land rises to the south up the dip-slope of the chalk reaching 120 metres by the time Meopham is reached. Gravesend parish was actually rather small, covering just 496 acres but would have supported a population grown to around 6,600 by 1821, the volume of marriages does not reflect that volume of residents presumably other close by parish churches were more attractive venues. Whilst Gravesend is mentioned in Domesday Book is is merely a tiny waterside hamlet held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux and claiming just a single plough and 12 households.

The Church

As already mentioned Gravesend's ancient medieval church was destroyed in the 1727 fire, it took just 6 years to build its replacement. There was controversy in its funding as the 1711 Act of Parliament imposed a tax on coal to fund London suburban churches, it was misappropriated to rebuild St George. Pevsner is clearly not attracted to the resultant church calling it "undistinguished" and built in a dark brown brick. The church's stand-out feature is the tall western tower capped by a small timber stage and spirelet. Even though relatively modern in its completion there has been time for major change, in 1892 the chancel complete with apse was rebuilt whilst in 1797 the northern aisle (Pevsner terms it "ponderous") was added and the side galleries removed. To the west of the church stands a small statue of Pocahontas who had a connection with the town. The church is one to visit after using one of the local car parks, a useful one sits immediately opposite across Church Street. Considering its urban setting there are an abundance of trees around the church with particular large specimens to the northeast and southeast, these trees severely limit the angles available to the photographer.