Editing Gravesend (section)

==Geography==
Gravesend is located at a point where the higher land – the lowest point of the [[dip slope]] of the [[North Downs]] – reaches the Thames. To the east are the low-lying Shorne Marshes; to the west, beyond [[Northfleet]] and the Swanscombe Marshes. The settlement was thus established as it was a good [[port|landing place]]: it was also sheltered by the prominent height of what is now called [[Windmill Hill, Kent|Windmill Hill]] (''see Landmarks below''); although Windmill Hill still remains a dominant feature, Gravesend's highest point is actually further inland at Marling Cross, adjacent to the [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webapps.kent.gov.uk/KCC.Libraries.Web.Sites.Public/LibraryDetails.aspx?aid=0&lid=47&uprn=100062312706 |title=Library details |website=Webapps.kent.gov.uk |access-date=27 February 2016 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306194021/http://webapps.kent.gov.uk/KCC.Libraries.Web.Sites.Public/LibraryDetails.aspx?aid=0&lid=47&uprn=100062312706 |url-status=live }}</ref>

From its origins as a landing place and [[port|shipping port]], Gravesend gradually extended southwards and eastwards. Better-off people from London visited the town during the summer months; at first by boat, and then by railway. More extensive building began after World War I; this increased after World War II, when many of the housing estates in the locality were built.<ref>Harker ibid</ref>

Gravesend's built-up areas comprise ''Painters Ash'', adjacent to the A2; ''King's Farm'' (most of King's Farm estate was built in the 1920s); and ''Christianfields''. The latter housing estate was completely rebuilt in a 6-year project from 2007 to 2013. There is also the aforementioned Riverview Park estate built on the old RAF field in the south-east, in the 1960s, and Singlewell, which is adjacent to the A2 in the South

Part of the southern built-up area of the town was originally two separate rural parishes: ''viz'', [[Cobham, Kent|Cobham]] and [[Northfleet]].