Gravesham () is a
local government district and
borough in the north-west of
Kent,
England. It has borders with The
River Thames to the north; the city of
Medway to the east; the borough of
Tonbridge and Malling (to the south); and the boroughs of
Sevenoaks and
Dartford to the west.
Its council is based in
Gravesend, and it shares similar borders with the
Gravesham constituency. As well as the parishes listed below, the area of the former
urban district of
Northfleet was also included in the borough when it was formed in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972. It was a successor to the Gravesend
Municipal Borough, Northfleet
Urban District, and part of Strood
Rural District.
The name 'Gravesham'
Robert H Hiscock, Chairman of the Gravesend Historical Society, in the foreword to his book, 'A History of Gravesend' (Phillimore, 1976) wrote:
"The name Gravesham appears only in the
Domesday Book, 1086, and was probably the error of a Norman scribe. It was 'Gravesend' in the Domesday Monarchorum c.1100, and 'Gravesende' in the
Textus Roffensis c.1100. It is strange that this 'clerical error' has now been adopted for the name of the new Council".
Government
The MP for Gravesham is
Adam Holloway; the Mayor for 2007/8 is Cllr Pat Oakeshott. There are eighteen wards represented on the Borough Council:
- Those serving Gravesend town:
- * Northfleet (2 wards - North & South)
- * Meopham: (2 wards - North & South)
- * Vigo is part of the Meopham South ward
see also List of civil parishes in KentThe District
Much of the District is pictured in
About Gravesend.
