Gravesend was granted, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town; these became known as the "Long Ferry". It became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of road travel (see below). On Gravesend's river front are the remains of a Tudor fort built by command of King Henry VIII in 1543. On 21 March 1617, John Rolfe and Rebecca (aka Princess Pocahontas) with their two-year-old son, Thomas, boarded a ship in London bound for the Commonwealth of Virginia; the ship had only sailed as far as Gravesend before Rebecca fell fatally ill,
Gravesend Airport The Stand By Set House (Emergency Generator Building) stands in the field immediately to the north of Cascades surrounded by two modern day barns whilst there is a small piece of the tarmac outer perimeter-track left in the fields behind Astra Drive. But this has fallen into disrepair. These are all that remain of the entire airfield. In addition, two buildings in Stacey Close off Valley Drive (The Stork at Rest Pub and the building opposite) housed the airfield's sick quarters. Gravesend Airport Gravesend Airport, located south-east of Gravesend town centre, Kent and west of Gillingham, Kent. It was operated