Thames-side Kent Through Time

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Thames-side Kent has changed and developed over the last century.

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Commencing at the Nore, Thames-side Kent follows the course of a ship inward bound, presenting a nostalgic study of the southern bank of the River Thames as far as the county of Kent extends, the mouth of the River Darenth, also known as Dartford Creek. Countless vessels of all sizes have travelled along these thirty-one miles of water over the centuries, some to one of the many wharves that lined the river but the majority to the earlier vast expanse of the London Docks. In spite of a massive expansion of population, the Kent riverside still has remote places and large areas of salt marsh. In contrast, above Gravesend, there has been, and still is, major development through Northfleet to Greenhithe and Dartford, with Bluewater shopping centre and Ebbsfleet station catering for a multitude of shoppers and high-speed rail travellers. Hence the Dartford Bridge and tunnels remain heavily congested but the river above Purfleet stays largely empty of traffic.