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Gravesham

Coordinates: 51°24′32″N 0°23′56″E / 51.409°N 0.399°E / 51.409; 0.399
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Gravesham
Borough of Gravesham
Borough & Non-metropolitan district
Gravesham located within Kent
Gravesham located within Kent
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
Non-metropolitan countyKent
StatusBorough
Admin HQGravesend
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan District Council
 • BodyGravesham Borough Council
 • LeadershipMember of Parliament (Conservative)
 • MPAdam Holloway
Area
 • Total38.23 sq mi (99.02 km2)
 • Rank198th (of 296)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total106,970
 • Rank225th (of 296)
 • Density2,800/sq mi (1,100/km2)
 • Ethnicity
87.8% White
8.5% S.Asian
1.4% Black
1.3% Mixed Race
1.0% Chinese or Other
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code29UG (ONS)
E07000109 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTQ647740
Websitewww.gravesham.gov.uk
Kent coat of arms

Gravesham (/ˈɡreɪvʃəm/ GRAYV-shəm) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England.

It borders the Borough of Dartford and Sevenoaks District to the west, the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling to the south, the Medway Unitary Authority to the east and the Thurrock Unitary Authority in Essex is due north on the opposite bank of the River Thames (see Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry).

Its administrative centre[1] is Gravesend, the largest town in the borough and previously known as Gravesham in ancient times; Gravesham parliamentary constituency's present boundaries are almost the same as those of the municipality.

Gravesham was formed by the merger of parishes listed below and the former urban district of Northfleet On 1 April 1974. It is the successor to the Gravesend Municipal Borough, Northfleet Urban District, and part of Strood Rural District. Gravesham is twinned with Cambrai in Picardy, France.

History

Robert Heath Hiscock LL.B., F.S.A., Chairman of the Gravesend Historical Society, in the foreword to his book, 'A History of Gravesend' (Phillimore, 1976) wrote:

"The name Gravesham appears only in the Domesday Book, 1086, and was probably the error of a Norman scribe. It was 'Gravesend' in the Domesday Monarchorum c.1100, and 'Gravesende' in the Textus Roffensis c. 1100. It is strange that this "clerical error" should now have been adopted as the name of the new Council".

Housing and architecture

Housing varies from mid rise to low rise, particularly in the villages. The district has 12 buildings listed in the highest category of the national grading system, Grade I, three of which are private residences:

  • Gadshill Place in Higham
  • Luddesdown Court in Luddesdown
  • Nurstead Court in Meopham

Cobham Hall, also in the highest architectural category,[2] is a stately home which was formerly the seat of the Earls of Darnley: since 1965 it has been an independent girls' school. Cobham Park is Grade II*-listed which is listed separately in the gardens and parklands category of classification approved by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport;[3] and includes the remains of a Roman villa.[4][5]

The other Grade I*-listed buildings in the borough comprise its ancient parish churches.

Governance

See also: Gravesham local elections

Gravesham Borough Council is elected every four years, with currently 44 Councillors being elected at each election. From the first election in 1973 the council has alternated between Labour and Conservative control. Since 1995 Labour has controlled the council apart from 4 years between the 2007 and 2011 elections. As of the 2011 election the council is composed of the following councillors:-[6]

Party Councillors
Template:British politics/party colours/Labour|  Labour Party 25
Template:British politics/party colours/Conservative|  Conservative Party 19
Cobham Hall viewed across the park

There are eighteen wards represented on the borough council:

See also

References

  1. ^ Gravesham council website
  2. ^ Cobham Hall Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1000182)". National Heritage List for England.
  3. ^ Gravesham Listed Building Guidance Notes
  4. ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1012964)". National Heritage List for England.
  5. ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1000182)". National Heritage List for England.
  6. ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. ^ Nurstead Court

51°24′32″N 0°23′56″E / 51.409°N 0.399°E / 51.409; 0.399

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