LEFT (south) bank, in Gravesend
PLA pier and buildings, Gravesend
Control of ship traffic on the Thames is from two Port Control centres -
one at the Thames Barrier (the Thames Barrier Navigation Centre) in Woolwich,
for reaches upstream of Erith, and the other at Gravesend (the main Port Control)
for reaches downstream of Erith.
Both Port Control centres operate the same system for coordinating traffic within the PLA's jurisdiction
of the Thames, known as Vessel Traffic Services (VTS).
The system involves 16 radar stations[4] along the river and out in the estuary.
The PLA owns Denton Wharf and Jetty in Gravesend, which is the main base for the authority's
vessels and where the PLA maintains its fleet of over 40 vessels.
The team also provides lift-out and maintenance services for other River users.
1835:
View of the landing place of the Star Packets at the Royal Terrace Pier, proposed development and gardens, Milton-on-Thames, Gravesend, Kent
NOTES: (Architect Amon Henry) Wilds provided a plan for a 'new town' at Milton-on-Sea,
Gravesend, around 1830.
J. C. Loudon designed the terrace gardens in 1835 and Harmer Street, running up from the Pier,
was built in 1836 as part of the grand scheme which never came to fruition.
The pier itself was opened in 1844 (engineer J. B. Redman).
1839: Gravesend from the Terrace Pier -
Gravesend from the Terrace Pier
in TROTTER'S SELECT ILLUSTRATED TOPOGRAPHY OF THIRTY MILES AROUND LONDON (1839) .
T.C. Dibdin. J. Henshall. London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co., C. Tilt and the Proprietors, 1 Cloudesley Terrace, Islington.
Gravesend Town Pier (Ferry)