Robert Pocock

Robert Pocock (1760 1830) was born and lived in the High Street, Gravesend for many years. From here he carried on his trade of printer and from which his History of Gravesend and Milton was published in 1797. On the front of the house on the west side G.M. Arnold, Mayor of Gravesend, affixed a blue‑enamelled iron tablet in 1888. This records the fact that it was here that Pocock set up the first printing press in the town in 1786. Here, too, in Pocock's youth, John Wesley visited his friend the Rev. John Dolman, Vicar of Chalk, who had apartments with Mrs. Pocock (his mother) spending the night here with his friend.

Robert Pocock was a man of wide interests, one of which was botany. He also badgered sailors to bring him natural history specimens from foreign lands. He was a keen historian and recorded much about Gravesend during the 18th century. Ill fortune overtook him towards the end of his life, his property being sold to defray his debts. Later historians owe a great deal to his enthusiasm for recording historical events.