Gateways by Sea and By Road
Ebbsfleet valley links Dartford and Gravesend: Twin gateways of road and sea. By road, Dartford was one day’s walk from London and the ideal staging post for Canterbury pilgrims.
Meanwhile, by sea, Gravesend was winning the rights of “long ferry” (along the Thames to London) which meant all boats on the river had to berth here. Here plied the first companies regulated for import and export, the Merchant Adventurers, and the first Joint Stock Companies which followed: the East India Company, Levant Company, and Hudson Bay Company.