In 1799 Ralph Dodd, a canal engineer, proposed the construction of a canal between the Thames and the Medway. By the end of 1801 four miles of the canal had been constructed and the canal basin. The basin was 750 ft long by 150 ft wide. The entrance lock and eastern half of the basin had brick walls, while the western half had timber camp shedding or nothing at all. The eastern half was also deeper. Originally the lock gates were made of wood, but had been eaten away so badly by 1819 that they had to be replaced by iron gates. The canal was never financially successful due to the expense of building it and the canal was bought by the South Eastern Railway Company in 1846, later Southern Railways. The Canal was finally abandoned in 1934, but the canal basin remained railway property until 1970 when it was bought by Gravesend Borough Council intending to develop the site as a marina.