A Virtual Museum - Your Town, the Borough and its History

1961
• Denton Halt on the railway closed when the passenger service to Allhallows discontinued. Gravesend Central goods depot also closed.
• St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in the Grove, established in 1870, was demolished to make way for motorcar showrooms. (See 1947)
• Coldharbour Road Library, Northfleet, opened.
• Shears Green House at the corner of New House Lane and Coldharbour Road, purchased by the brewers and converted into the “Battle of Britain” public house. The old wooden hut was demolished in 1962. (See 1948)
• London and the South-East suffered a power cut affecting homes, hospitals and industry. It was the biggest blackout since the war.
• Members of the Gravesend Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament maintained a 24 hour vigil at the Clock Tower to remember the bombing at Hiroshima in 1945.
• Teenage sweethearts were strangled on Denton marshes.
• Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by fire at the British Uralite factory at Higham.
• The “Gravesend Boat” public house, Leander Drive, Riverview Park, opened. Named after the long ferry tilt boat that used to ply the river.
• Diesel ferries replaced the steamers on the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry route. The last steam passenger sailing was by the TSS “Edith” on 28th February. Three new vehicle ferries also named “Catherine” “Edith” and “Rose” replaced the old ferries, each with a passenger capacity of 475
• Northfleet vicarage demolished (St.Botolph’s).
• Population of Gravesend and Milton 51,389. Population of Northfleet 22,092

1962
• New year snow and ice caused havoc in the Gravesend area.
• St. Andrews Court flats at the bottom of Queen Street, were officially opened, being built on the site of some of the oldest houses in Gravesend.
• To mark the centenary of St. John’s Church, Higham, a chapel was built onto the church with money raised by subscription from the parishioners and dedicated by the Bishop of Rochester.
• Holy Trinity Church of England primary school burnt down. One of the oldest surviving schools in the borough. (See 1865)
• 50 swans were treated for oil pollution on the foreshore next to St. Andrews Waterside Mission.
• Vandals at Chalk caused widespread property damage. Youths had been roaming the district during the holidays.
• 160 years of basket making reached its close in October when “Crowhursts” in the High Street closed.
• Smog claimed a number of lives in North Kent during December and hit services on the Thames hard. When it finally cleared 200 ships up-anchored and got under way again.
• Heavy snowfalls during the winter 1962/63, many villages in the area werecut off as roads were blocked and farm animals perished. Gales followed and a vessel was grounded at Custom Pier.
• Cobham Hall opened as an Independent public school for girls.

1963
• Holy Trinity Church demolished.
• MP Peter Kirk opened the new primary school at Riverview Park.
• Consecration of St.Aidan’s Church, Riverview Park, by the Bishop of Rochester.
• In June temperatures were in the 800’s and 30,000 bathers flocked to the Gravesend open air pool in one week.
• St. Paul’s Church in Singlewell Road was dedicated by ministers of two merging denominations, Prebyterian Church of England and the Congregational Union of England and South Wales.
• MP Peter Kirk became the first Member of Parliament for Gravesend to be appointed a Government Minister (Undersecretary of State and Financial Secretary to the War Office).
• Dartford Tunnel opened - vehicle traffic for the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry almost disappeared and one ferry “Tessa” was withdrawn from service.19,500 vehicles used the new crossing in the first 3 days.
• Gravesend firemen fought five outbreaks of fire in the space of 3 hours. The worst of these was behind the Town Hall.
• Cobham Hall was opened to the public on 24 days each year.
• Majestic Cinema in King Street renamed the ABC. (See 1931, 1972, 2000)
• Holy Trinity School was officially opened in temporary buildings at Milton Barracks. (See 1962, 1978, 1992)

1964
• St. Mark’s vicarage, Northfleet demolished.
• The first Asian family was housed by Gravesend Borough Council.
• A porpoise was seen swimming upstream in the Thames.
• Demolition work near the market revealed a fire-hose drying tower which used to serve the brigade when it was based near the Town Hall in the High Street.
• St. Luke’s Church, Wrotham Road was demolished to make way for a new child welfare centre. (See 1886)
• Work began on the demolition of the Kempthorne and Wakefield Street area prior to redevelopment. The area was used as a car park for many years. (See 1983)
• 150 bandsmen, pipers and drummers from three of Ireland’s regiments at the Milton Barracks, prepared for the Royal Tournament.
• In July earwigs invaded the Riverview housing estate. Residents were plagued during the early summer months by swarms of the insects.
• A 100 year old giant copper beech tree in the grounds of Gravesend Council offices was felled during the clearance of the site for the new Civic Centre.
• Film star Diana Dors opened the new Kenton’s furniture store in the High Street.
• A hoard of 447 gold and silver coins minted between 364-388 AD were found at Springhead in the course of road building.
• Riverview Park Branch library, Leander Drive, officially opened by the mayor. F.T. Everard & Sons Ltd., of Greenhithe gave part of the mainmast of the sailing barge “Veronica” which was incorporated into the structure of the building. Many of the roads on the Riverview Estate were named after river vessels.
• Three vessels were in collision on the Thames off Northfleet Hope in thick fog - there were only minor casualties.
• Gravesend’s General Post Office in Milton Road originally opened in 1850 was modernized. With two entrances and a new type of counter service.
• Last sailing of TSS “Mimie” on 3rd December, bringing to an end the vehicle ferry service. (See 1924) The opening of the Dartford Tunnel in 1963 rendered the car ferry obsolete.

1965
• The new county ambulance station was opened in Coldharbour Road, Northfleet. It replaced the rented accommodation at Harden Hall, Hall Road, Northfleet
• The new “automatic” Gravesend telephone exchange in Milton Place, was opened replacing the old manual exchange which had been in existence since 1926.
• A BBC documentary called “The War Game” was partly filmed in Gravesend. It portrayed events following a nuclear war.
• The first resident moved into Timberbank at the new Vigo village. (See 1947)
• Vandals smashed over 30 windows on a night raid on Kings Farm Junior and Infants School.
• Gravesend’s first traffic wardens started duty. Two women and a man began patrolling the streets.
• Torrential rain flooded many parts of Gravesend and Northfleet and the fire service were inundated with calls as roads became impassable.
• Passenger ferry service from Gravesend to Tilbury moved from the Town Pier to West Street Pier. The last ferry left to a noisy farewell.
• Work began on a new extension to Gravesend and North Kent Hospital, which fronted Bath Street.
• The Clock Tower was renovated - thoroughly cleaned and repaired.
• Gravesend School of Art moved out of Gravesend to merge with Medway College of Art in Medway.
• All Saints School, Perry Street closed. (See 1857)
• A school of about 30 whales came up the river and sunned themselves in the waters off Gravesend and Northfleet. An animal trainer from Billy Smarts circus attempted to catch one until he was told it would be a contravention of the Port of London Authority laws.
• The main building of St. John’s School was completed and Infants, Junior and Senior pupils all accommodated on one site at Rochester Road, Denton. (See 1960)
• Northfleet’s new police station was opened at the junction of Colyer Road and Vale Road at a cost of £59,000.

1966
• St. Andrew’s Waterside Mission Church re-opened after a period of closure, due to repairs.
• Istead Rise Primary School, Downs Road, opened.
• Gravesend Historical Society bought 400 silver Roman coins, but refused to put them on display until the town had a museum in which to exhibit them. Meanwhile they were stored in a Gravesend bank.
• A new vestry extension to St. Botolph’s Church, Northfleet was opened, at a cost of £14,000.
• Live ammunition was discovered in the Laughing Water Lake (now the Inn on the Lake) near Cobham by swimmers. It was the type of ammunition used by the forces in the 2nd World War.
• Chalk vicarage demolished and houses built on the site, called Vicarage Lane. (See 1870)
• The official opening of the upgraded A2 took place in July. The stretch of road from Swanscombe to the M2 at Cobham was re-created to motorway standard, but was not designated a motorway. The work had begun in 1964. The eastbound carriageway followed the old A2, while the westbound carriageway was newly built, with new slip roads, and bridges being constructed too. (See 1996)
• A serious fire broke out in the Woolworth’s store and several fire engines from North Kent stations attended.
• Storms caused havoc to communications, created floods and prevented at least 4000 residents from watching England win the world cup.
• 48 Gravesend watermen in five boats, rowed a 36 mile Thames marathon, following in the footsteps of their predecessors, 162 years ago. (See 1804)
• An estimated 3,500 Sikhs had settled in Gravesend since 1956, when the first immigrants arrived.
• New operating theatre for Gravesend Hospital replaced the old one.
• M.V. “Rose” withdrawn from the Gravesend - Tilbury ferry service.
• A new Citadel for the Salvation Army was opened in The Grove.
• Thousands of people turned out to support the Gravesend Historical Society Springhead Exhibition at the Town Hall. On display were the Roman finds recently discovered at the archaeological site.
• Official opening of the New Sea Training School at Chalk, to accommodate up to 750 trainees. (See 1918, 1996, 1997)
• Sir Francis Chichester sailed up the Thames past Gravesend to loud cheers from large crowds gathered along the shore. He had recently sailed solo around the world in “Gipsy Moth IV” (on permanent display at Greenwich).
• The new Citizens Advice Bureau in Queen Street was officially opened by the Mayor.
• In October, roads were blocked, trains delayed and power supplies cut as storms swept over North Kent.
• Ifield School, Cedar Avenue, opened for children with learning disabilities.
• Vandals caused damage at the Springhead excavation site,causing havoc among the carefully dug sections.
• The first Northfleet Carnival took place and remains an annual event to this day.
• The former Congregational Church at Clarence Place, (built in 1873) was sold to Gravesend’s Sikh community to be opened as a Temple. (See 1968)
• Local farmers took preventative measures to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease, which was becoming a national epidemic.
• The last move in the fight to save St. James’s Parish Church from closure and demolition ended in failure. (See 1851)
• Regal cinema closed in New Road, the building became a bingo hall the following year, and remains the same today. (See 1910, 1934)