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,
David Rolfe (swimmer) in Rolfe becoming above-the-knee right leg amputee. Whilst recuperating in hospital, Sydney won the right to host the 2000 Summer Paralympics and this led to Rolfe's determination to compete at the Games. On 7 January 2015, Rolfe died as the result of complications following three heart surgeries over the past year. He was father to Eli and Laban. Outside of swimming and canoeing, Rolfe enjoyed cycling, rock climbing and sailing. Rolfe made his international debut at the 1998 IPC Swimming World Championships. At the 2000 Sydney Games, he won a bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Medley