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 and Northfleet Electric Tramways Northfleet. The depot was located off Dover Road East at . In 1921 it obtained two second hand cars from the Taunton Tramway. The tramway service closed on 29 February 1929. Gravesend and Northfleet Electric Tramways Gravesend and Northfleet Electric Tramways operated a tramway service between Gravesend, Kent and Northfleet between 1902 and 1929. In 1901 the Gravesend, Rosherville and Northfleet Tramways were taken over by the Gravesend and Northfleet Electric Tramways, a subsidiary of British Electric Traction. The tramway was converted from 3 ft 6in gauge to standard gauge and electrified. Services started on 2 August 1902 with a