Gravesham (/ˈɡreɪvʃəm/ GRAYV-shəm) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre[1] and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as Gravesham in ancient times.

Gravesham Borough of Gravesham
Borough & Non-metropolitan district
Gravesham located within Kent
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Non-metropolitan county	Kent
Status	Borough
Admin HQ	Gravesend
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan District Council
• Body	Gravesham Borough Council
• Leadership	Member of Parliament (Conservative)
• MP	Adam Holloway
Area
• Total	38.23 sq mi (99.02 km2)
• Rank	216th (of 309)
Population  (mid-2019 est.)
• Total	106,939
• Rank	223rd (of 309)
• Density	2,800/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 zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	29UG (ONS) E07000109 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TQ647740
Website	www.gravesham.gov.uk

Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Gravesend with Northfleet Urban District and part of Strood Rural District, under the Local Government Act 1972. 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 of Essex to the north, via the River Thames.

Gravesham is twinned with Cambrai in Hauts-de-France, France. The present borders of Gravesham parliamentary constituency are almost the same as those of the borough.

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.[2][4]

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

Governance

Gravesham Borough Council
Leadership
Leader	John Burden, Labour since 16 May 2019
Seats	44 councillors
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend, DA12 1AU
Website
www.gravesham.gov.uk

Wards

There are eighteen wards represented on the borough council:

• Those serving Gravesend town:
  • Central
  • Pelham
  • Riverside
  • Singlewell
  • Whitehill
  • Woodlands
• Other urban areas:
  • Northfleet (2 wards - North & South)
  • Coldharbour
  • Istead Rise
  • Painters Ash
  • Riverview
  • Westcourt
• Outlying villages:
  • Chalk
  • Higham
  • Meopham North
  • Meopham South which includes Vigo
  • Nurstead
  • Shorne, Cobham & Luddesdown

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 2019 election the council is composed as follows:[5]

See also

• List of civil parishes in Kent

References

External links

• Gravesham Borough Council YouTube channel
• About Gravesend website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gravesham.

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