Visitors can view exhibits relating to the centre’s variety of uses over the centuries, reflecting its status as Gravesend’s oldest building. It began its existence in 1189 as a leper hospital, before Aylmer de Valance added a chapel and provided two chaplains in 1321 to pray for the souls of the hospital’s unfortunates. However, the religious policies of Henry VIII led to the dissolution of the chapel and in 1697 it was converted into a tavern, before becoming a barracks in 1781 to improve the military defences of the Thames.