The Gordon Gardens area has a splendid display of flowers, mature plants and trees, with paths leading around the small lake.
This is an attractive garden, named after General Gordon who lived at Fort House from 1865-1871, and which houses his statue made by Doulton Lambeth in Terracotta. The garden and foreshore were given to the Corporation of Gravesend by a former Mayor of Gravesend, George Matthew Arnold. Khartoum Walk is another memorial to General Gordon.
Gordon lived and worked in Gravesend between 1865 and 1871 and during that time showed great generosity and kindness to the poor people of the borough. He was appointed to upgrade the various fortifications along the Thames which included the New Tavern Fort. He lived in Fort House in the grounds of the New Tavern Fort. The building was demolished following an explosion caused by a V2 in 1944.
Walking through the gardens, around General Gordon's statue to the south west gate, you can enter the Tavern Fort gardens.
The pleasant riverside gardens offer visitors a restful environment in which intriguing glimpses of the past military occupation can be seen.
