Gravesend.-- parl. and mun. bor., river-port, market town, and par., mid. Kent, on S. bank of river Thames, 24 miles E. of London by rail -- parl. bor., 3159 ac., pop. 31,283; mun. bor., 1256 ac., pop. 23,302; par., 564 ac., pop. 8416; 2 Banks, 5 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. The town appears as Gravesham in Domesday Book; it was incorporated during the reign of Elizabeth. Gravesend is especially familiar as the place of embarkation and disembarkation of custom-house officers, pilots, &c., attached to ships sailing to or arriving from foreign ports. It is the boundary port of London; has a considerable industry in fishing, especially for shrimps; and carries on some boat-building, ironfounding, soap-making, and brewing. Large supplies of vegetables and fruit are grown in the surrounding country for the London market. The bor. returns 1 member to Parliament.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))