I spent my teenage years living in Gravesend, Kent. The riverside town can now be reached by high-speed train from Stratford International Station in just 15 minutes and so this weekend I took the Javelin and embarked on a trip down memory lane.
I enjoyed living in Gravesend at the time but the town like many others has fallen on hard times, and never recovered from the competition of the nearby Bluewater shopping complex. The ravages of neoliberalism! Visiting the town after forty years was a strange melancholic experience with many Proustian moments. I took a lot of photographs. Heres a small selection.
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| New brutalist furniture outside the Promenade cafe looking towards Tilbury. |
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Lightship photographed from the Gravesend/Tilbury ferry pontoon. I like this new addition to the riverfront. The church to the left is a community arts centre. I remember seeing a touring rep production of Abigails Party there with Wendy Richard in the role of Beverley. Im glad its still running.
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| Even the pigeons looked fed up |
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| Scene of dereliction in the town centre. |
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| The historic Three Daws riverside pub. Sadly the ground floor bar has been gutted and is now a bare laminate floored function room. The bar has relocated to the first floor. How was this allowed to happen? The sad state of Gravesends numerous pubs was one of the most striking features of my visit. These were the heart of community life and now many of them are closed and boarded up. |
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| The Pilot Public House, now closed. I have fond memories of friends rehearsing punk music in the upstairs room. |
