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 were also successful in retaining the Kent Cup, beating Tonbridge Juddians in a close fought final. Unfortunately, in the 2012/13 season, Gravesend were relegated from the National Leagues, but completed yet another league and cup double in 2013/14 beating Blackheath in the county final and promotion back to National League 3. The team also saw players in the victorious Kent team who won the County Plate at Twickenham. Old Gravesendians was traditionally the Old Boys Club for former Gravesend GS pupils. Old G's have had some of their best success in recent seasons reaching six Kent Plate Finals (winning two