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This website has no connection with any shipping company, cruise line, boat operator or other commercial organisation
Princess Pocahontas
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
Page 4: Gravesend - Rochester Cruise
9th June 2008
This page shows images from a cruise on the
Princess Pocahontas
of the Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co, who also operate the
Duchess M
on the Tilbury-Gravesend ferry. The page shows the other vessels seen on the Thames and Medway, plus selected sites along the banks.
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 1
shows fleet details.
Normally,
Princess Pocahontas
sails from Gravesend and Tilbury to Greenwich and London (stay aboard) on Wednesday and Saturday, plus Gravesend to Southend on Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.
For details of sailings phone: 01732 353448 (office hours only)
Email contact:
enquiry@princess-pocahontas.com
Website:
www.princess-pocahontas.com
Sections on this Page:-
Princess Pocahontas
Duchess M
Gravesend Piers
Gravesend Waterfront
Thames Forts
Medway Forts
Chatham
Rochester
Tilbury Shipping
Ships on this Page:-
Cap Gabriel
- Hamburg Süd container ship
Duchess M
- Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
Norcape
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P&O Ferries - Tibury-Zeebrugge service
Princess Pocahontas
- Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
Princess VII
- car carrier
Safmarine Nomazwe
- Safmarine container ship
Other Kent & Essex Pages:-
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 1
- Header Page
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 2
- Gravesend-Greenwich-London cruise 2006
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 3
- Gravesend-Greenwich-London cruise 2007
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 4
- Gravesend-Rochester cruise 9th June 2008
- this page!
Lower Thames & Medway - Page 5
- Gravesend-Whitstable cruise 24th June 2008
Kent Excursion Vessels
Southend Excursion Vessels
General Steam Navigation
Invicta Line Cruises
Tilbury-Gravesend Ferry
Associated Pages:-
www.princess-pocahontas.com
- official home page
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
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Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
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Home Page
References:-
Trip Out Guides -
Written and published by G.P.Hamer - various editions from 1977 to 2005 consulted
Trip Out Guides are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1 9BH
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Gravesend - Rochester Cruise
9th June 2008
Princess Pocahontas
Princess Pocahontas
at Gravesend before the cruise
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
passing under the Rochester road and railway bridges
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Rochester Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Rochester road and railway bridges
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
passing under the Rochester road and railway bridges
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
passing under the Rochester road and railway bridges
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
back at Gravesend West Street Pier after the cruise
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Gravesend West Street Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Gravesend West Street Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Gravesend West Street Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Princess Pocahontas
at Gravesend West Street Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Duchess M
Duchess M
arriving at Tilbury, prior to the cruise
Cruise passengers from Essex use the ferry to cross to Gravesend to board
Princess Pocahontas
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Duchess M
arriving at Gravesend from Tilbury with the charter passengers, prior to the cruise
Cruise passengers from Essex use the ferry to cross to Gravesend to board
Princess Pocahontas
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Duchess M
arriving at Gravesend from Tilbury with the charter passengers, prior to the cruise
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Duchess M
leaving Gravesend for Tilbury
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Piers
Gravesend still has four piers along its waterfront; a fifth, Rosherville Pier having long gone. From the west, the four surving piers are
Gravesend Railway Pier
,
West Street Pier
,
Town Pier
and
Royal Terrace Pier
.
It can argued that Gravesend was the first seaside destination of mass tourism. Brighton and Margate were older, but travel to them was still difficult in the early 1800s. Gravesend was the first town suitable for day trips by steamer from London, and 50,000 people visited annually in the early 1820s, growing to 120,000 by 1831. Initially travel was by stagecoach or sailing boat, but the steamship rapidly gained ascendance, and the last sailing boat ceased in 1834. The London-Gravesend trip was known as the 'Long Ferry' (the 'Short Ferry' being Gravesend-Tilbury). In the mod-1830s, 8000 day trippers could arrive at Gravesend by steamer on a Sunday (the only day that most people were not working). By the mid-1840s there were 1.5 million visitors per year
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mass tourism had arrived. Many hotels were built to cater for the visitors, and there were pleasure gardens at nearby Rosherville. Initially, passengers would disembark from the steamers using watermen, but piers were soon built -
Gravesend Town Pier
(1834), Rosherville (1840), and
Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier
(1842). The site of Rosherville Pier can still be seen, but the pier is long gone. By 1836, there were 28 steamboats on the Gravesend run. The North Kent Line of the South Eastern Railway to Gravesnd Central opened throughout in 1849, but despite this, steamboat excursions to Gravesend remained popular for many years to come. The rival London Chatham & Dover Railway line to
Gravesend West
did not arrive until 1881. This line ran onto the Railway Pier. Gravesend's heyday as a tourist resort had declined by the end of the Eigthteenth Century, mainly due to the industrialization of the surrounding areas, and the railways now making more distant locations available for day trips.
Gravesend Railway Pier
Gravesend Railway Company opened a double track branch from the main line between Farningham Road and Fawkham stations (London Chatham & Dover Railway - LCDR) and Gravesend on 18th July 1881. The railway terminated by the River Thames on West Street, adjacent to the West Street Pier. They built a substantial pier into the river, with railway lines running along it. The LCDR took over the railway and pier in 1883. From 1922 until the war, the passenger/cargo steamers of
Batavier Line
used this pier to load passengers for their Rotterdam service. Special boat trains were operated to Victoria Station. In recent years, the land above was used by White Horse Ferries, and two of their trimarans remained laid up on the pier. These were removed in 2006 when the surviving viaducts and embankments to the pier were demolished. The pier itself remains, however.
Gravesend Railway Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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West Street Pier
The West Street Pier was built in 1857 for use by the railway, who acquired full ownership in 1876. The pontoon and ramp was added by 1860. Goods and livestock used this pier, whilst the passenger ferries continued to serve the Town Pier. From 1906, vehicles were also landed at West Street. Car traffic increased from 1924 when the first full car ferry entered service, and the pier was renamed Gravesend Car Ferry Pier. It retained its importance until 1963 when the first Dartford Tunnel was opened, car and passenger traffic declining rapidly thereafter. Car ferries ceased running in 1965, and the new diesel passenger ferries transferred their terminal from the Town Pier, the original name West Street Pier being reinstated at the same time. The pier continues in use for the Tilbury Ferry in 2006
Gravesend West Street Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Town Pier
Gravesend Town Pier was built for the local council in 1834, and was originally open-sided apart from two small pavilions at the end. The Town Pier is the oldest surviving cast iron pier in the world. Steamers were boarded from a series of steps and landings. Initially services were run by Gravesend Council. With the coming of the railway to Tilbury, traffic increased and railway ferries also began serving the Town Pier. A pontoon was added to allow more than one steamer call at a time. The promenade section of the pier was also covered in, resulting in a very attractive structure. Goods and livestock also used this pier, but the railway considered charges to be too high, and built the new goods pier at West Street. Gravesend Council had lost control of the pier to receivers on their bankruptcy in 1852, but it was not until 1884 that the Railway obtained ownership. All ferry services switched to the West Street Pier in 1965, and the pontoon was removed. Following a further restoration, the pier partially re-opened as the bar Riva in 2006. The latest restoration was not finally completed until November 2007 with the opening of the restaurant section of Riva. There is a small public viewing area adjacent to the new restaurant at the end of the pier. The delay in completion (the bar area near the pier entrance had been open for some time) was problems with installing the modern floors and large glass windows into a structure based around the world's oldest surviving cast iron pier.
Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Royal Terrace Pier
Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier was built in 1845, and was used by the steamers from London. It is now used by the Port of London Authority, whose offices straddle the entrance.
Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Royal Terrace, Town and West Street Piers
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th June 2008
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