GRAYS

On the northern bank of the Thames is the town of Grays in the borough of Thurrock. Cinema fans may remember a part-animated film from the late 1980s called Who Framed Roger Rabbit starring Bob Hoskins. There is one scene in which Hoskins and the rabbit of the title, having shaken off a gang of weasels who were pursuing them, hide out in a cinema. The building used as the cinema is the now-closed Gray’s State Theatre. Back in the day, this thirties movie palace was the largest single-screen auditorium in Europe. More recently it was used as a nightclub. Another showbiz connection with the town is that it is the home town of the comedian Russell Brand.

The name Grays derives from the descendant of a norman knight, Henry de Grai, who was granted the manor of Grays Thurrock by Richard I in 1195. There is a wood in Grays ominously called Hangmans Wood which features an intriguing phenomenon, a large number of shafts in the ground named deneholes. 72 of them have been counted, and there are a variety of theories about their origin, but the most popular is that they were flint mines, the presence of a large number of flints being a bit of a giveaway. Another theory is that the name “denehole” comes from “Dane hole”, i.e. a place where people hid during viking raids in the area, though there is little proof of this.

Map of the area.

Grays Beach. Photo by John Winfield, via Wikimedia Commons

GRAVESEND

The Saxon Shore Way is a 160-mile long-distance walking route which loops around the south-east corner of England. It is named after the historic fortifications which were built at the end of the Roman era to defend the Kent coast. Those who choose to start the walk at its southern terminus, Hastings, will finish up in Gravesend, on the Thames estuary, where they will be treated to superb views of the passing shipping. Gravesend is also the starting point for another long-distance path called the Wealdway, which follows an inland route ending up at Eastbourne.

The shipping heading up the Thames, which includes cruise ships going in and out of Tilbury Docks, is guided by tugs which leave from the Royal Terrace Pier, and the Port of London Authority has its headquarters here. One of the waterfront’s most striking landmarks is St George’s Church, rebuilt in the 18th century. The churchyard has a bronze statue of Pocahontas who married John Rolfe, a colonist of Virginia, and accompanied him to England in 1616, though she died the following year. In 1892 a steamer arriving in Gravesend brought a much more unwelcome visitor: cholera. The steamer, called Gemma, came from Hamburg, where there had been an outbreak of cholera, and several of the passengers died from the disease after disembarking, sparking mass panic.

Map of the area.

GravesendThames3370. Photo by Clem Rutter, via Wikimedia Commons.

THE HOO PENINSULA

The Hoo Peninsula, which separates the rivers Thames and Medway, incorporates a number of villages which come under the “Hundred of Hoo”, Hundred being an archaic term for a county subdivision. There is also marshland which attracts a variety of birdlife, most notably on the Isle of Grain at the easternmost end of the peninsula. Both the villagers and the birds are forced to share this patch of land with a number of heavy industrial sites, including three power stations, a gas import plant and a container terminal. However the villages each have their individual charms with a fair bit of history thrown into the mix. Hoo St Werburgh, on the north bank of the Medway, takes its name from the the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia, whose brother was King Aethelred. St Mary Hoo has a clutch of Grade II listed buildings including the 14th century former church which is now a private residence, Newlands Farmhouse built in 1746 and the 18th century Old Rectory, one of whose rectors performed an illegal marriage ceremony between King George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert in 1785. Hoo All Hallows has a parish church called All Saints which dates from the 12th century.

Map of the area.

Hoo Marina - geograph.org.uk - 1076723. Photo by David Anstiss, via Wikimedia Commons.

UPNOR

Beyond Rochester, the River Medway suddenly loops to the south, then veers north again, at which point we reach Upper Upnor, with its castle just to the north. Upnor Castle was built in Elizabethan times with the purpose of defending ships on the River Medway. However, the castle failed utterly in its duty when the Dutch managed to sail right past it with the intention of crippling the English fleet, which they succeeded in doing, to the point of capturing Charles’ flagship, “The Royal Charles”. In 1662 the diarist Samuel Pepys visited Upnor, but was not impressed, commenting that there was “great disorder by multitude of servants and old decrepid men, which must be remedied”. The village of Upnor was a riverside resort until the 1930s, when World War Two intervened, causing the beach to be closed. However, the village itself remains a charming place to visit with its weatherboarded cottages – there are actually two parts to the village, Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor. Upnor Castle is now looked after by English Heritage.

Map of the area.

Medway Upnor KC 7504. Photo by Clem Rutter, via Wikimedia Commons.

ROCHESTER

Next door to Chatham on the south bank of the Medway is the cathedral city of Rochester. Fans of Charles Dickens will find reminders of the great man on every corner in the city. The Dickens family lived in Rochester during his childhood, and he moved back here for the final years of his life. The city left such an impression on Dickens that it features in his works more than anywhere else. There are plaques on many of the buildings in the city centre giving information on how the locations in question featured in Dickens’ novels. Rochester has certainly made the most of its association with Dickens, with tourist attractions including the Dickens Discovery Rooms in the Guildhall Museum and the Footsteps In Time  costumed guided tours. In addition, there are not one,but two Dickens festivals each year in June and December, when many of the locals have great fun dressing up in period costume.

Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle is one of the best preserved examples of Norman architecture in England. Every year in December the castle hosts a Christmas market. The ghost of a man has been observed in the moat of the castle near the Old Burial Ground, and there is a school of thought that the ghost is that of Charles Dickens. Rochester Cathedral dates back to Norman times, following which it had a chequered history marked by fire and looting. The cathedral as it now stands is considered one of the finest Norman cathedrals in the country.

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Map of the area.

View of the Medway from the castle

CHATHAM

To the west of the Isle of Sheppey is an expanse of water dotted with islands which forms the mouth of the River Medway. Chatham stands on the Medway, which at its mouth joins the Thames estuary. Like Portsmouth, Chatham’s place in naval history is important enough to be preserved in the form of a tourist attraction, namely the Chatham Historic Dockyard. The Dockyard has been responsible for the construction of ships right through the ages, from Tudor times right up to the 20th century. Both surface ships and submarines have been built here, and the last of the warships, HMCS Okanagan, was launched in 1966. The Chatham Dockyard is of such significance that it is under consideration as a World Heritage Site. One of the attractions in the Dockyard complex is the Victorian Ropery. Ropemaking in Chatham actually dates back as far as 1618 and the current incumbent of the Ropery, Master Ropemakers Limited, is the oldest rope manufacturer in the country.

Charles Dickens, who we last met at Broadstairs (see 26 June post) spent several years of his youth here, living first in Ordnance Terrace opposite the station (although the house was surrounded by fields in those days), then in the smaller House on the Brook, St Mary’s Place, his parents being forced to move due to financial constraints. There used to be a Dickens-centred attraction called Dickens World in Chatham but sadly this has now closed down.

Map of the area.

Chatham Yacht Basin 0115. Photo by Medwayl, via Wikimedia Commons.

THE ISLE OF SHEPPEY

Just to the north-east of Whitstable and separated from mainland by a narrow channel called The Swale, the Isle of Sheppey is largely made up of flat marshland grazed by numerous sheep, in fact it was the sheep who bequeathed the name of the island, which comes from the ancient Saxon “Sceapige” or “isle of sheep”. Viking invaders set up camp here in 855, when the island was part of the Kingdom of Wessex.

The principal town on the island is Sheerness-on-Sea, at the north-west tip of the island. The 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys, who we last encountered on a bender in Deal (see 22 June post) founded the Royal Navy Dockyard here, declaring that “a very proper place it is for the purpose”. This had the potential to become one of the most important naval bases in the country were it not for flooding during construction. However, the site continued to be used by the Navy until 1960, and it is still an important port, dealing especially with fresh produce, new vehicles and forest products.

Other settlements on the island include Leysdown-On-Sea, which is a popular spot for viewing both the shipping in the Thames estuary and the birdlife of the nearby Swale National Nature Reserve, and Minster, a village which includes the 7th-century church of St Mary and St Sexburga, one of the oldest places of worship in England. The beach between these two places is important for its fossils, which include giant sharks’ teeth. Another point of interest on the island is Elmley National Nature Reserve, which incorporates a family farm. 

Webcam views.

Map of the area.

Swale at Ferry Reach - geograph.org.uk - 1040239. Photo by David Anstiss, via Wikimedia Commons.