The Medway News was a weekly newspaper covering the Medway Towns in Kent, England. Established in 1855 as the Military Chronicle and Naval Spectator , it relaunched as the Chatham News and Rochester, Strood, Brompton & Gillingham Advertiser on Saturday 9 July 1859. The first issue cost 1d. The final issue was published on 8 December 2011.
118-763: The newspaper was known as the Chatham News , the Medway News and just the News but held the title Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham News (often known as the Roch-Chat-Gill ) for the longest period. Until late 2008 it was published from offices in New Road Avenue, Chatham , and was one of a series of newspapers that included the Medway Standard and the free Medway Adscene . However,
236-563: A non-metropolitan district of the county of Kent ; under subsequent renaming the borough became the Borough of Rochester-upon-Medway (1979); and, from 1982, the City of Rochester-upon-Medway . Under the most recent change, in 1998, and with the addition of the Borough of Gillingham, the Borough of Medway became a unitary authority area , administratively separate from Kent. It remains part of
354-457: A conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham , Rochester , Strood and Rainham . In 2020 it had a population of 80,596. The town developed around Chatham Dockyard and several army barracks, together with 19th-century forts which provided a defensive shield for the dockyard. The Corps of Royal Engineers is still based in Chatham at Brompton Barracks . The dockyard closed in 1984, but
472-669: A decree was issued to the Lord High Admiral that: all the Kinges shippes should be harborowed in Jillyngham Water – saving only those that be at Portsmouth Even prior to this, there is evidence of certain shore facilities being established in the vicinity for the benefit of the King's ships at anchor: there are isolated references from as early as 1509 to the hiring of a storehouse nearby and from 1547 this becomes
590-525: A fishing (though in looks only) village with its multi-coloured houses and a modern energy-efficient concept. Many homes have views of the River Medway. A primary school (St. Mary's C of E) and a medical centre provide facilities for the residents and there are attractive walks around the Island. Chatham Dockyard has become a popular location for filming, due to its varied and interesting areas such as
708-544: A fixed item in the Treasurer's annual accounts. (At around the same time a victualling store was also established, in nearby Rochester , to provide the ships and their crews with food.) The storehouse would have furnished ships with such necessary consumables as rope, pulleys, sailcloth and timber. Careening took place on the river, according to a Privy Council instruction of 1550; for more specialised repairs and maintenance, however, ships would have had to travel to one of
826-400: A fourth Basin of 57 acres (230,000 m ), together with additional large docks of up to 800 ft (240 m), to cover the remaining land on St Mary's Island; but these were soon superseded by plans to build an entirely new dockyard at Rosyth . Nevertheless, Light cruisers and other smaller vessels continued to be built at Chatham during the first half of the 20th century. Also with
944-594: A further ship was launched. In the interwar years, eight S-class submarines as well as X1 were built at Chatham but this was a period of decline. Production ramped up during World War II with HMS's Umpire , Una , Splendid , Sportsman , Shalimar , Tradewind , Trenchant , Turpin , Thermopylae and Acheron being constructed. In February 1958 it was announced in Parliament that Sheerness Dockyard would close in 1960, with Nore Command (and its Chatham-based Commander-in-Chief) to be abolished
1062-495: A huge building programme at Chatham. Between 1862 and 1865, the size of the yard quadrupled and provided specialist facilities for steam-powered ships with metal hulls. Three basins were constructed along St. Mary's creek, from west to east: No.1 Basin (of 28 acres (110,000 m )), No.2 Basin (20 acres (81,000 m )) and No.3 Basin (21 acres (85,000 m )). Along the southern edge of No.1 Basin four new dry docks were built (Nos.5–8), each 420 ft (130 m) long. Initially
1180-697: A land-based attack from the south during the 19th century led to the construction of more forts. The second phase of fort-building (1806-19) included Fort Pitt (later used as a hospital and the site of the first Army Medical School). The 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom ordered, inter alia , a third outer ring of forts: these included Fort Luton , Fort Bridgewoods , and Fort Borstal . These fortifications all required military personnel to man them and Army barracks to house those men. These included Kitchener Barracks (c 1750-80),
1298-528: A marginal parliamentary seat. Since 1945, the members of parliament for Chatham have been as follows: Chatham is situated where the lower part of the dip slope of the North Downs meets the River Medway which at this point is flowing in a south–north direction. This gives the right bank, where the town stands, considerable advantages from the point of view of river use. Compared with opposite bank,
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#17327938704841416-419: A meeting with Christian IV of Denmark . In the early 17th century the government resolved to invest in a new specialised facility for refitting and repairing warships. By 1611 Chatham had been chosen as its location (in preference to Deptford, which at the time was the nation's principal naval shipbuilding yard; this led to speculation that Deptford was going to be sold off). The decision established Chatham as
1534-446: A mixed-use development (incorporating offices, an education facility, apartments, town houses and a food store ( Asda ), as well as landscaped public areas). The development is called "Chatham Waters". In 2019 Peel announced that Chatham Docks would close in 2025 with the loss of 800 jobs. The remaining 350 acres (1.4 km ) were transferred to the government's urban regeneration agency (later English Partnerships ). Under its remit,
1652-404: A network of pipes installed across the whole dockyard site for firefighting purposes). Another novel application of steam power was embarked on in 1817, with the building of a 'Lead and Paint Mill', in which a single beam engine powered a rolling mill and a series of devices for grinding pigment and mixing paint; the plant was operational from 1819. It was not until 1837, however, that steam power
1770-416: A new dry dock and wharf with storehouses, all enclosed within a brick perimeter wall. The growing importance of the dockyard was illustrated with the addition soon afterwards of a mast pond, and the granting of additional land on which a second (double) dry dock was constructed, along with a sail loft , a ropery and residences for the dockyard officers: all of which were completed by 1624. Peter Pett , of
1888-752: A political editor at The Daily Mirror and the London Evening Standard , and author of a draft of the September Dossier for war in Iraq . The editor until its closure was Christine Rayner and the news editor Nicola Jordan. The News was part of Kent Regional News and Media, owned since July 2007 by Northcliffe Media . Other titles in KRNM included the East Kent Gazette (which published its last edition on 7 December 2011)
2006-419: A purpose-built 'steam factory' was planned, but following the closure of Woolwich Dockyard in 1869 a number of slip covers were removed from that site and re-erected at the head of the new dry docks to serve as factories for building and fitting engines and for boilermaking . No.1 Basin was officially opened in 1871, with HMS Invincible being brought into No.5 Dock for repairs, with great ceremony. Work on
2124-421: A single shipbuilding slip for much of the 17th century (a second slip, dating from the same period, had fallen out of use; it was replaced in the 1730s). Also in 1686 a 'Great Long Store-house' was built, alongside the ropery on what is now Anchor Wharf; and two new mast ponds were constructed, in what was then the northernmost part of the yard, in 1697 and 1702. One of the disadvantages of Chatham (and also of
2242-588: A site for a new dockyard, and building work began; but in 1667 the still-incomplete Sheerness Dockyard was captured by the Dutch Navy and used as the base for an attack on the English fleet at anchor in the Medway itself. Sheerness remained operational as a royal dockyard until 1959, but it was never considered a major shore establishment and in several respects it operated as a subsidiary yard to Chatham. By
2360-629: Is also an express bus via Strood and Rochester and A2 to Bluewater in Greenhithe . In the 19th century the ecclesiastical parish of Chatham included Luton and Brompton and also Chatham Intra (land on the river that was administered by the City of Rochester). Chatham's parish church, St Marys, which stood on Dock Road, was rebuilt in 1788. St John's was a Waterloo church built in 1821 by Robert Smirke , and restructured in 1869 by Gordon Macdonald Hills; it ceased being an active church in 1964, and
2478-410: Is currently used as an art project. St Paul's New Road was built in 1854; declared redundant in 1974, it has been demolished. St Peter's Troy Town was built in 1860. Christchurch Luton was built in 1843, replaced in 1884. The Royal Dockyard church (1806) was declared redundant in 1981. St Michael's is a Roman Catholic church, that was built in 1863. There is a Unitarian Chapel built in 1861. Chatham
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#17327938704842596-752: Is derived from the Romany word for 'youngster'. Before the Chatham Dockyard was closed down on 31 March 1984, the cultural idea of the Chav did not exist in the Medway Towns. Local newspapers for Chatham include Medway News and Medway Standard , both published by Kent Regional News and Media; and the Medway Messenger , published by the KM Group . The town also has free newspapers in
2714-554: Is reputed to be the home of the first Baptist chapel in north Kent, the Zion Baptist Chapel in Clover Street. The first known pastor was Edward Morecock who settled there in the 1660s. During Cromwell's time Morecock had been a sea-captain and had been injured in battle. His knowledge of the River Medway is reputed to have preserved him from persecution in the reign of King Charles II . A second Baptist chapel
2832-536: Is the Old English word hām ("settlement"). At the point when the current name was coined, then, it meant "settlement at Chat". The Old English term for the settlement's inhabitants is also reconstructable from a twelfth-century copy of a charter of 995, as * Cēthǣmas . The A2 road passes by Chatham along the line of the ancient Celtic route. It was paved by the Romans , and named Watling Street by
2950-572: The Bluebell Hill TV transmitter, supplemented by a low power relay transmitter in the town centre. Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent . Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham ; at its most extensive (in the early 20th century) two-thirds of
3068-541: The East Kent Gazette since 1995. The News featured general news, a leisure section, a business page, a film review, comment, village news and sport. The Medway Standard , specialised in sports news, particularly coverage of Gillingham Football Club . Previous reporters at the newspaper include Martin Brunt , now crime correspondent for Sky News , Peter Salmon , later controller of BBC One , Robert Tyrer , now associate editor of The Sunday Times , and John Williams,
3186-567: The England Hockey League . Kite Flying is possible, especially power kiting on the Great Lines Heritage Park (between Gillingham and Chatham) and at Capstone Farm Country Park . Skiing is also possible near Capstone Farm Country Park at Capstone Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre. On a cultural level, Chatham gave birth to several movements in literature, art and music. In the period from 1977 until 1982
3304-605: The Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD), now the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) came the band known as Wang Chung . The vocalist and guitarist with Wang Chung, Jeremy Ryder, who is better known as Jack Hues attended KIAD. Alongside such individuals was Alan Denman, who became a well established lecturer at KIAD, and who founded The Flying Circuits in 1984, which became an urban theatre movement in
3422-757: The Medway Extra (KM Group) and yourmedway ( KOS Media ). The local commercial radio station for Chatham is KMFM Medway , owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlightbased in Richmond road between the high street and the River Medway. The area can also receive the county wide stations BBC Radio Kent , Heart and Gold , as well as many radio stations in Essex and Greater London . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian from
3540-736: The Medway Towns . Many students from KIAD played various acting roles within The Flying Circuits, in Chatham, Gillingham and London . The scenes performed by The Flying Circuits were entirely based upon excerpts from the Electronic Town, a screenplay written by Alan Denman between January and October 1984, which concerned a futuristic science fiction dystopia . Denman also helped to form The Medway Poets with Billy Childish , Robert Earl, Bill Lewis , Sexton Ming and Charles Thomson . The Medway Poets met regularly at
3658-659: The Navy Board explored options for developing a shore facility with direct access from the open water of the Thames Estuary . The escalating Anglo-Dutch wars forced their hand, however: several temporary buildings were hastily erected in Sheerness , at the mouth of the Medway, to enable ships to re-arm, re-victual and (if necessary) be repaired as quickly as possible. In 1665, the Navy Board approved Sheerness as
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3776-554: The News since 2008. In 1988 Parrett & Neves sold Associated Kent Newspapers to Emap . During this ownership, Hinks was replaced by Jon McElhill, formerly of the Mid-Sussex Times . The group was subsequently sold to its rivals, the Canterbury-based freesheet publishing group Adscene . McElhill was succeeded by Murray Evans , a former deputy editor of the News and editor of the East Kent Gazette . Evans
3894-712: The North Kent and the Chatham Main Lines , and is the interchange between the two lines. It lies in the valley between the Fort Pitt and the Chatham Tunnels. There are three trains an hour to London Victoria , two trains an hour to London Charing Cross , two trains an hour to Luton (via London Bridge , St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway ) and two services an hour to St Pancras via High Speed 1 . The former services run to Dover and Ramsgate ;
4012-500: The Royal Marine Barracks (c 1780), Brompton Artillery Barracks (1806) and Melville Barracks (opened 1820 as a Naval hospital, RM barracks from 1905). HMS Collingwood and HMS Pembroke were both naval barracks. In response to the huge manpower needs, the village of Chatham and other nearby villages and towns grew commensurately. Trams , and later buses, linked those places to bring in the workforce. The area between
4130-737: The Standard ceased publication in early 2009 when the Adscene title was absorbed into the News , "Medway" was dropped from the titlepiece and the publication day was shifted from Friday to Thursday. The newspaper's offices moved from the centre of Chatham to Gillingham Business Park and were shared with the News's sister paper, the East Kent Gazette , which had been based on the same site in Sittingbourne since its foundation on 21 July 1855. Both titles were then edited by Christine Rayner, editor of
4248-571: The Whitstable Times , Herne Bay Times , Isle of Thanet Gazette , Thanet Times , Folkestone Herald and Dover Express . Northcliffe announced closure of the News just a fortnight after a failed takeover by the rival Kent Messenger Group, which would have seen the KRNM titles subsumed into the KM portfolio. KRNM bosses blamed the Office of Fair Trading for halting the deal. The office referred
4366-470: The family of shipwrights whose history is closely connected to the Chatham dockyard, became commissioner in 1649. In 1686 two new dry docks were built, in addition to the old single and double dry docks; all four were rebuilt and expanded at various points in subsequent centuries (the double dock having been converted into a single dock in 1703). Although the yard focused mainly on refitting and repairs, some shipbuilding continued to take place. It made do with
4484-462: The 20th century came the submarine. The first submarine to be built at a royal dockyard was HMS C17 , launched from the covered No.7 Slip in 1908 and then fitted out in No.2 Dock; five more of the same class followed, C18 , C19 , C20 , C33 and C34 . During World War I , twelve submarines were built here, but when hostilities ceased, uncompleted boats were scrapped and five years passed before
4602-564: The 21/22 and 22/23 seasons. Lordswood F.C. plays in the Southern Counties East Football League . The defunct Chatham Excelsior F.C. were one of the early pioneers of football in Southern England . Football league side Gillingham F.C. are seen to represent Medway as a whole. Holcombe Hockey Club is one of the largest in the country, and are based in Chatham. The men's 1st XI are part of
4720-521: The Anglo-Saxons. Among archaeological finds here have been the remains of a Roman-era cemetery. Chatham was long a small village on the banks of the river. By the 16th century, warships were being moored at Jillingham water ( Gillingham ), because of its strategic sheltered location between London and the Continent. It was established as a Royal Dockyard by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568, and most of
4838-824: The Charing Cross services terminate at Gillingham and the High Speed services terminate at Faversham . Part of the industrial railway in what is now Chatham Historic Dockyard is still in operation, run by the North Kent Industrial Locomotive Society. Buses are operated by Arriva Southern Counties and Nu-Venture to various destinations. They serve other towns in Medway including Gillingham, Grain, Strood and Rochester and also to other towns in Kent including Maidstone , Gravesend , Blue Bell Hill and Sittingbourne . There
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4956-713: The Georgian dockyard is now managed as the Chatham Historic Dockyard visitor attraction by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. Joseph Farington (1747–1821) was commissioned by the Navy Board to paint a panoramic view of Chatham Dockyard (as part of a project to create a visual record of all six home yards) in 1785. The painting, now in the National Maritime Museum , provides a detailed illustration of
5074-504: The Gillingham branch office shut two decades later. In summer 2008 it was announced the New Road Avenue office would shut and the News would move to Gillingham Business park, sharing an office with its older sister paper, the East Kent Gazette . Chatham, Medway Chatham ( / ˈ tʃ æ t ə m / CHAT -əm ) is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent , England. The town forms
5192-482: The High Street and Luton village illustrates part of that growth, with its many streets of Victorian terraces. The importance of Chatham Dockyard gradually declined as Britain's naval resources were reduced or moved to other locations, and eventually, on 31 March 1984, it shut. The dockyard buildings were preserved as the historic site Chatham Historic Dockyard (operated by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust ), which
5310-628: The High Street. In September 2006, the one-way system was abandoned and two-way traffic reintroduced on most of the ring-road system. Further work on the road system commenced early in 2009, and as of early 2010, the demolition of the Sir John Hawkins Flyover has been completed. It was replaced by a street-level, buses only, road coupled with repositioning of the bus station. The new Waterfront bus station opened in October 2011. Chatham railway station , opened in 1858, serves both
5428-531: The Medway Delta Sound emerged. The term was coined as a joke by the Chatham-born writer, painter and musician Billy Childish after Russ Wilkins's Medway-based record label, Empire Records, used the phrase "From The Medway Delta". Several Medway Delta bands gained international recognition, including The Milkshakes , The Prisoners (see also James Taylor Quartet ) and The Dentists . Out of
5546-613: The Medway Towns, it took on a new role as the Medway Arts Centre in April 1987, with the promotional motto " Putting The Arts Back into The Medway ". There were many events held within the Medway Arts Centre, including many stage plays, themed nights and snooker tournaments. Likewise during May 1990, the Medway Arts Centre organised a large parade, composed of dancers, musicians, artists and sculptors, who stood upon theatrical lorry floats. The vehicles were initially parked up next to
5664-935: The Nag's Head at 292 Rochester High Street, but disbanded in 2013. The Medway Poets were formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1982 having performed at the Kent Literature Festival and many others in South East England and on TV and Radio. They became a major influence to writers in the Medway Towns . From the core of this group the anti conceptual/pro painting movement of Remodernism came into being. Recent Medway artists of note include Kid Harpoon , Crybaby Special and The Monsters, Red Light, Underground Heroes, Tyrannosaurus Alan, Pete Molinari, Lupen Crook , Brigadier Ambrose , Stuart Turner and Theatre Royal. The term ' Chav ', research suggests, does not derive from Chatham's name ("Chatham Average"), but
5782-445: The Navy". After the abolition of the post of Commander-in-Chief, The Nore , Chatham's Admiral Superintendent took on the additional role of local Flag Officer (with local command responsibilities) and the title Flag Officer, Medway . Included: On 5 September 1971 all Flag Officers of the Royal Navy holding positions of Admiral Superintendents at Royal Dockyards were redesignated as Port Admirals . While they retained command over
5900-412: The News's 156 years. The first editor-proprietor of the News was Joseph Clayton, a bookseller, who soon discovered he needed a journalist, and brought in Henry Foster from The Spectator . Foster eventually became sole proprietor. When he died in 1885 his heirs sold to Parrett & Neves, publishers of the East Kent Gazette at Sittingbourne , George Neves becoming editor. He died in 1921. Neves
6018-407: The Royal Navy Dockyard on 31 March 1984 had the effect of changing the employment statistics of the town. About 7,000 people lost their jobs. The unemployment rate went up to 23.5%. From early April 1984 to December 1985, and onwards, the Medway Towns began to have an increase in alcohol and drug-related, antisocial behaviour, which many residents then realized had largely been caused by the closure of
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#17327938704846136-553: The Thames-side yards) was their relative inaccessibility for ships at sea (including those anchored in The Nore ). Therefore, rather than risk being constrained by wind, tide and draught on a journey upriver, ships would seek as often as possible to do running repairs and maintenance while at anchor, and would only travel to the dockyard when necessary. Thus deliveries of victuals, ordnance and other supplies were made by small boats, sailing regularly between Chatham and The Nore. Seeking to alleviate this less-than-satisfactory situation,
6254-417: The York Tavern & Railway Inn, in Ordnance Street, Chatham, from 1974 to 1985, near KIAD at Fort Pitt in Rochester, and Chatham railway station . Chatham has always had a strong musical and creative arts heritage that has remained centred on local groups, many of whom were also part of the KIAD. Charles Thomson and Billy Childish went on to create the artistic movement known as Stuckism in 1999. There
6372-421: The adjacent Naval Barracks) was announced in Parliament in June 1981 and scheduled to take place in 1984. Redundancy notices were served, but then abruptly withdrawn following the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands ; the dockyard was heavily involved in preparing ships for the South Atlantic, and in repairing damaged vessels on their return. Nonetheless, the dockyard closed, as planned, on 31 March 1984. At
6490-491: The appointment of Robert Seppings as Master Shipwright in 1804, iron began to be introduced into the structure of ships being built at Chatham; the following year work began on a new, much larger smithery , commissioned by Samuel Bentham , designed by Edward Holl and fitted out by John Rennie . Among other things, the use of iron in ship construction enabled larger vessels to be built, and between 1836 and 1851 Chatham gained five new covered slipways, much larger in scale than
6608-428: The closure of Chatham Dockyard in 1984, an event that caused huge social change, severe depression to the Medway towns' fortunes, and a drop in the circulation of the News . Staff during this time include Michael Pearce, later editor of the Isle of Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times , Frank Dunkley , Jimmy Hodge , Ted Connolly and Christine Rayner, since 1995 editor of the East Kent Gazette series and editor of
6726-460: The cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Productions that have chosen to film at Chatham Dockyard include: Les Misérables , Call the Midwife , Mr Selfridge , Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows , Oliver Twist , The World Is Not Enough and Grantchester . The Victorian Steam Yard was built around three large Basins ( wet docks ), constructed between 1865 and 1885 along
6844-406: The company's editorial director) before Gerald Hinks took the editor's chair in 1970. Hinks, a former editor of the Sheerness Times Guardian and East Kent Gazette , took the News and its sister paper the Chatham Standard through an era of great success and won many national newspaper awards. His editorship, characterised by a string of exclusive stories and robust journalism, was marred by
6962-412: The congestion. The High Street itself is traffic free, so all traffic on Best Street and Railway Street has to skirt around it. The basic west–east routes are The Brook to the north and New Road to the south, but the additional problems caused by the situation of the Pentagon Bus Station meant that conflicting traffic flows were the result, from 1975 and onward. From April 1986 and onward until October 1987,
7080-424: The country's premier naval industrial complex; nevertheless, concerns were already being raised over its river being prone to silting. The decision required the dockyard to move from its original location, which was too constricted, to a new (adjacent) site to the north. (The old site was in due course transferred to the Ordnance Board , who established the gun wharf there.) By 1619, the new dockyard consisted of
7198-495: The county of Kent for ceremonial purposes . Medway Council has recently moved its main administration building to Gun Wharf, the site of the earliest part of the dockyard, a former Lloyd's office building. It was built between 1976 and 1978 and is Grade II listed. Chatham is part of the parliamentary constituency of Chatham and Aylesford . Before 1997, Chatham had been included in the constituencies of Mid Kent , Rochester and Chatham and Chatham . Chatham has proven to be
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#17327938704847316-405: The dockyard and its defences to become a World Heritage Site . The easternmost basin (Basin No.3) was handed over to the Medway Ports authority and is now a commercial port (Chatham Docks). It includes Papersafe UK and Nordic Recycling Ltd. In 2013 Peel Ports , which owns and runs Chatham Docks, announced that it was set to convert a 26-acre (0.11 km ) portion of the commercial port into
7434-443: The dockyard in 1984, and the resulting mass redundancies. There has been a concerted effort to revitalise the Thames Gateway area and one of the largest employers in Chatham is now Vanquis Bank Ltd, a subsidiary of Vanquis Banking Group . The Chatham Naval Memorial commemorates the 18,500 officers, ranks and ratings of the Royal Navy who were lost or buried at sea in World War I and World War II . The Chatham Naval Memorial
7552-577: The dockyard lay in Gillingham, one-third in Chatham. It came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation , relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional defences. Over 414 years Chatham Royal Dockyard provided more than 500 ships for the Royal Navy , and was at the forefront of shipbuilding , industrial and architectural technology. At its height, it employed over 10,000 skilled artisans and covered 400 acres (1.6 km ). Chatham dockyard closed in 1984, and 84 acres (34 ha) of
7670-448: The dockyard lies within Gillingham. Initially a refitting base, it became a shipbuilding yard; from then until the late 19th century, further expansion of the yard took place. In its time, many thousands of men were employed at the dockyard, and many hundreds of vessels were launched there, including HMS Victory , which was built there in the 1760s. After World War I , many submarines were also built in Chatham Dockyard. In addition to
7788-451: The dockyard, defensive fortifications were built to protect it from attack. Upnor Castle had been built in 1567, but had proved ineffectual; the Dutch raid on the Medway in 1667 showed that more defences were required. The fortifications, which became more elaborate as the threat of invasion grew, were begun in 1756 as a complex across the neck of the peninsula formed by the bend in the River Medway, and included Fort Amherst . The threat of
7906-426: The earlier timber docks, which were drained using gravity, this new dock (No.3 Dock) was pumped dry using a Boulton & Watt steam engine. After completion of the new dock in 1821, reconstruction of the other docks in stone followed (with the exception of the northernmost, which was converted into a slipway); they were likewise emptied using steam power, provided by the same engine and pumps (which were also linked to
8024-481: The early 1830s, each designed by a different leading shipwright. HMS Bee , launched at Chatham in 1842, was an experimental vessel fitted with both paddles and a propeller , each of which could be driven independently from the same engine for comparison. Following the success of such early trials with screw propulsion , several older sailing ships were taken into dry dock and retro-fitted with propellers, beginning with HMS Horatio . Another hint of changes to come
8142-440: The entrance into the Theatre Royal Cafe, a popular restaurant in the Chatham Town Hall, on Whiffens Avenue, and then started to travel into Chatham, Rochester , Strood and Frindsbury , where sweets, chocolate, posters, badges, leaflets, stickers and T-shirts were handed out to the crowds, to promote the Medway Arts Centre. In April 1997, the Medway Arts Centre became the Brook Theatre . The Pentagon Shopping Centre stands in
8260-433: The expansion project in mind, in 1853). In 1897 a naval barracks was built on the site of the prison to provide crew accommodation for ships anchored in The Nore ; for the next sixty years it served as the headquarters of Nore Command, whose Commander-in-Chief was accommodated in the adjacent Admiralty House. In 1897 a new, even longer dry dock was opened on the north side of No.1 Basin: at its opening, this (No.9 Dock)
8378-421: The final vessel was Okanagan built for the Royal Canadian Navy and launched on 17 September 1966. In 1968, a nuclear submarine refitting complex was built between Nos 6 and 7 dry docks, complete with refuelling cranes and health physics building. In spite of this in June 1981, it was announced to Parliament that the dockyard would be run down and closed in 1984. The closure of Chatham Dockyard (along with
8496-457: The finest curves of her lines wherever it is possible for men to twist. Twelve hundred hammerers, measurers, caulkers, armourers, forgers, smiths, shipwrights; twelve hundred dingers, clashers, dongers, rattlers, clinkers, bangers, bangers, bangers! Chatham's establishment as a naval dockyard was precipitated by the use of the Medway as a safe anchorage by the ships of what became (under King Henry VIII ) England's permanent Royal Navy . In 1550,
8614-465: The following year. At the same time, it was made clear that at Chatham "the dockyard will be retained; but the barracks and other naval establishments will be closed". (In the event, the barracks were reprieved and repurposed rather than being closed at this stage.) The final boats constructed in Chatham were Oberon -class submarines – Ocelot was the last vessel built for the Royal Navy , and
8732-485: The late 17th century a number of prestigious new buildings were erected (including the officers' residences, the clocktower storehouse and the main gatehouse), several of which are still in place. At the same time, the nearby village of Brompton began to be developed to provide housing for the dockyard's growing workforce. From the very start of the 18th century, however, Chatham began to be superseded in both size and importance, first by Portsmouth , then Plymouth , when
8850-452: The line of St Mary's Creek (separating St Mary's Island from the mainland). It was envisaged that Basin No 1 would serve as a "repair basin", No 2 as the "factory basin" and No 3 as the " fitting-out " basin; a newly launched ship could therefore enter via the west lock, have any defects remedied in the first basin, have her steam engines and heavy machinery installed in the second, and then be finished, and loaded with coal and provisions, in
8968-622: The main interchanges for the area. It is the administrative headquarters of Medway unitary authority, as well as its principal shopping centre. The name Chatham is first attested in a charter of 880 (surviving in a twelfth-century manuscript); it appears again in a charter of 975 as Cætham , and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ceteham . The first element of the name comes from the Common Brittonic word that survives in modern Welsh as coed ("woodland"). The second element
9086-574: The main naval enemy became France, and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations. In addition, the Medway had begun to silt up, making navigation more difficult (especially as the Navy's ships were getting larger). As a result, it was acknowledged by 1771 that Chatham had no future as a front-line fleet base; nevertheless, following a visit by the Admiralty Board in 1773, the decision
9204-518: The masts were raised, sails bent, anchors and cables on board, in that time . Charles Dickens (1812–1870), who had grown up in Chatham, returned in later life and described in 1861 the novel sight (and sounds) of a ship being built for the first time of iron (rather than wood): Twelve hundred men are working at her now; twelve hundred men working on stages over her sides, over her bows, over her sterns, under her keel, between her decks, down in her hold, within her and without, crawling and creeping into
9322-509: The newspaper deal to the Competition Commission , because of the possible monopoly it might create. This meant the cost of the deal and process of takeover would have increased. The last edition of the News was published on Thursday 8 December 2011, a day after the final Gazette . Northcliffe had intended to cease publication a week earlier but the editor and staff asked to publish a farewell souvenir issue looking back over
9440-527: The northern slopes of the Luton Valley above these valleys, are unimproved chalk grassland. The photograph (3), taken from the Banks and looking south, shows the village in the centre, with the rows of Victorian terraced housing, which unusually follow the contour lines. The opposite slopes are the ‘'Daisy Banks'’ and ‘'Coney Banks'’, along which some of the defensive forts were built (including Fort Luton, in
9558-423: The ones they replaced. (The covering of Chatham's slipways and dry docks, to protect the woodwork of ships as they were built or repaired, had begun with No.2 Slip and No.1 Dock in 1817). In 1811, Marc Brunel recommended the installation of steam-powered sawmills in the royal dockyards, to replace the manual labour of the saw pits . Money was only made available for one such installation, however, and Chatham (as
9676-407: The other docks and basins followed, with No.3 Basin finally being completed in 1883. Two years later the project was largely complete, with facilities provided alongside for gun mounting and mast rigging, as well as a victualling depot and a coaling area. Much of the excavation and building work had been done by convict labour (a convict prison having been built to the north of the dockyard, with
9794-408: The principal building yard at this time) was chosen as its location. Land was purchased to the northeast for its construction, and the new saw mill began operation in 1814. The following year, John Rennie was engaged to build an entirely new dry dock (following his own recommendations) which was the first in the dockyard to be built entirely of stone; it was built on the site of the old smithery. Unlike
9912-463: The purpose-built royal dockyards (the nearest being those on the Thames : Deptford and Woolwich ). 1567 is generally seen as the date of Chatham's establishment as a Royal Naval Dockyard. In the years that followed the ground was prepared, accommodation was secured and in 1570 a mast pond was installed. The following year a forge was built for anchor-making. At around the same time a large house
10030-413: The remaining naval buildings are an attraction for a flourishing tourist industry. Following closure, part of the site was developed as a commercial port, other parts were redeveloped for business and residential use, and part was used as the Chatham Historic Dockyard museum. Its attractions include the submarine HMS Ocelot . The town has important road links and the railway and bus stations are
10148-430: The river is fast-flowing and deep; the illustration (1), an early print of the settlement, is taken from the point where Fort Pitt now stands. The town lies below at river level, curving round to occupy a south-easterly trending valley (The Brook), in which lies the High Street. Beyond the Chatham Dockyard was marshy land, now called St Mary's Island, and has several new developments of housing estates. The New Road crosses
10266-604: The river itself. The position of the road network in Chatham began with the building of the Roman road ( Watling Street , which passed through the town. Turnpike trusts were established locally, so that the length from Chatham to Canterbury was turnpiked in 1730; and the Chatham to Maidstone road (now the A230 ) was also turnpiked before 1750. The High Street was bypassed in 1769, by the New Road (see illustration (1)) leading from
10384-543: The river. When Achilles , for example, had been completed and floated out of dry dock, she spent almost a year moored in Gillingham Reach, where not only her engines, boilers, funnels and a 2.5-long-ton (2.54 t) propeller were fitted, but also masts, sails, rigging, guns, coal, food, ammunition and furnishings were either loaded or installed. It was partly to address this problem that the Admiralty undertook
10502-552: The scene below the vantage point of the illustration. Illustration (2) is taken from the opposite side of the valley: the Pentagon Shopping Centre is to the right, with the building on the ridge left of centre, Fort Pitt and Rochester lies beyond that ridge; and Frindsbury is on the rising ground in the right distance. The valley continues southeastwards as the Luton Valley, in which is the erstwhile village of that name; and Capstone Valley. The Darland Banks ,
10620-401: The shore for its defence. Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 1731), visiting the yard in 1705, also spoke of its achievements with an almost incredulous enthusiasm: So great is the order and application there, that a first-rate vessel of war of 106 guns, ordered to be commissioned by Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was ready in three days. At the time the order was given the vessel was entirely unrigged; yet
10738-593: The six were under 150 ft (46 m) in length and suitable only for building smaller warships. The docks varied from 160 ft (49 m) to 186 ft (57 m) in length. The officers and men employed in the yard had also increased, and by 1798 they numbered 1,664, including 49 officers and clerks and 624 shipwrights . Additionally required were the blockmakers, caulkers, pitch-heaters, blacksmiths , joiners and carpenters , sail makers, riggers , and ropemakers (274), as well as bricklayers , labourers and others. Building works at Chatham did not compare with
10856-429: The smithery in 1845, containing rolling machinery and furnaces for reprocessing iron. Holl's smithery was itself enlarged with the addition of a foundry in the 1850s, and its courtyard was roofed over for a steam hammer shop in 1865. By 1861, No.1 Dock had been filled in and a machine shop constructed in its place for heating, bending and planing armour plate for HMS Achilles which was being built alongside. For
10974-522: The substantial expansions underway at Portsmouth and Plymouth at this time; but the southern part of the yard was significantly redeveloped, with construction of two new storehouses on Anchor Wharf and a major reconfiguration of the ropery. Among the vessels built in this Dockyard which still exist are HMS Victory (launched in 1765 and now preserved at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard ) and HMS Unicorn (a Leda -class frigate ), launched in 1824 and now preserved afloat at Dundee ). Following
11092-525: The third before leaving via the east locks. The Commissioner of Chatham Dockyard held a seat and a vote on the Navy Board in London. The Commissioners were: In 1832 the post of commissioner was replaced by the post of superintendent, who was invested with the same power and authority as the former commissioners, "except in matters requiring an Act of Parliament to be submitted by the Commissioner of
11210-486: The time being, however, marine steam engines were not manufactured on site but were ordered from Thames -based private contractors (along with other associated equipment). In 1860 the dockyard's policing was also transferred to the new No.4 Division of the Metropolitan Police , which remained in that role until 1932. A significant disadvantage for Chatham was that fitting out had always taken place on
11328-578: The time of its closure the dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km ). Thereafter this was divided into three sections: 80 acres (0.32 km ), the 18th century core of the site, was transferred to a charity called the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust . The Georgian site is now a visitor attraction under the care of the Trust: Chatham Historic Dockyard . The Trust is preparing an application for
11446-628: The top of Star Hill Rochester, to the bottom of Chatham Hill at Luton Arches. This also became inadequate for the London cross-channel traffic and the Medway Towns Bypass , the M2 motorway , was constructed to divert through traffic south of the Medway Towns. Chatham is the hub of the Medway Towns. This fact means that the existing road system has always proved inadequate for the amount of traffic it has to handle, and various schemes have been tried by Rochester-Upon-Medway City Council, to alleviate
11564-567: The town centre and serviced the old Pentagon Bus Station that was closed in September 2011. Chatham Waterfront bus station opened in October 2011, replacing the town's previous Pentagon Bus Station which was opened in 1970, before the Pentagon Shopping Centre was opened in 1975, and was considered an unwelcoming environment for passengers. This was because of the diesel fumes from the buses, coaches and minibuses, and because
11682-572: The town centre remodelling of Chatham began, and Railway Street was realigned into becoming part of an inner ring road, that became a one-way system. This redevelopment included the demolition of the House of Holland department store in January 1987, and the construction of the Sir John Hawkins Flyover in Chatham, that was opened in February 1989, so the traffic could be carried from south to north over
11800-453: The transport of goods to and from the interior of Kent . Stone, timber and iron from the Weald for shipbuilding and agricultural produce were among the cargoes. Sun Pier in Chatham was one of many such along the river. By 1740, barges of forty tons could navigate as far upstream as Tonbridge . Today its use is confined to tourist traffic; apart from the marina, there are many yacht moorings on
11918-588: The trees to the left) Until the start of the 20th century, most of the south part of the borough was entirely rural, with a number of farms and large tracts of woodland. The beginning of what is now Walderslade was when a speculative builder began to build the core of the village in Walderslade Bottoms . Chatham became a market town in its own right in the 19th century, and a municipal borough in 1890. By 1831 its population had reached more than 16,000. By 1961 it had reached 48,800. The closure of
12036-405: The waiting areas would sometimes become very crowded, whenever large groups of customers from the Pentagon Shopping Centre used the stairs and escalators, to get on board the green buses, coaches and minibuses that were managed by Maidstone & District Motor Services . The Medway, apart from Chatham Dockyard, has always had an important role in communication: historically it provided a means for
12154-493: The westernmost (No.1) Basin was turned into a marina , part of the former factory area to the south was transformed into an entertainment and retail complex ('Chatham Maritime') and the former Barracks (HMS Pembroke ) became Universities at Medway . St Mary's Island , a 150-acre (0.61 km ), largely undeveloped area to the north of the three basins, was transformed into a residential community for some 1,500 homes. It has several themed areas with traditional maritime buildings,
12272-480: The world and was designed for building battleships . (The older slipways, by contrast, were proving much too small and they were mostly filled in around this time, their covered areas being put to alternative uses.) The first battleship to be built on the new No.8 Slip was HMS Africa , launched in 1905; however it also proved to be the last, as it was announced (controversially) that Chatham Dockyard would be unable to accommodate Dreadnoughts . Proposals were made for
12390-449: The yard as it was in the Age of Sail ; many of the buildings and structures illustrated survive: William Camden (1551–1623) described Chatham dockyard as ...stored for the finest fleet the sun ever beheld, and ready at a minute’s warning, built lately by our most gracious sovereign Elizabeth at great expense for the security of her subjects and the terror of her enemies, with a fort on
12508-597: Was a resurgence in the live music scene in early 2001, with an initial focus on the Tap 'n' Tin venue in Chatham. The essence of the original greatness of the Medway Delta Sound was revived by music and poetry evenings promoted by David Wise's Urban Fox Press, which also published several books by Medway poets and artists. In 2008. the independent arts organisation Medway Eyes was founded, specialising in music and photography. It had promoted several arts exhibitions and gigs at The Barge, at 63 Layfield Road, in Gillingham (now closed) and
12626-528: Was centralised at Crown Quay Lane, Sittingbourne , the building was sold to the BBC, from which BBC Radio Medway was launched in 1970. (More recently the building was converted into flats, and named Media House in view of its previous uses.) The News moved to a nearby building at 12 New Road Avenue, Chatham. A Rochester branch office, in the High Street near the Cathedral Green, closed in the early 1960s;
12744-558: Was constructed from March 1924 to October 1924. The addition of the obelisk and Portland stone plaque walls and surroundings were constructed between June 1952 to October 1952. It stands on the Great Lines, the escarpment ridge between Chatham and Gillingham . The Grade II listed building Chatham Town Hall was built in January 1900; it stands in The Brook, and is of a unique architectural design. With Chatham being part of
12862-469: Was developed to include sawpits , workshops , storehouses and a wharf with a treadmill crane (completed in 1580). Most significantly, Chatham's first dry dock was opened in 1581 (for repairing naval galleys ). The first ship to be built at the dockyard, a 10-gun pinnace named HMS Merlin (or Merlyon ), was launched in 1579. The dockyard received its first royal visit, from Elizabeth I , in 1573; later, in 1606, James I used Chatham dockyard for
12980-400: Was first introduced into the ropery, and the smithery received its first engine (for blowing the forges and powering tilt hammers ) in 1841. At the same time, moves were being made towards the application of steam power to ship propulsion. The first steam-powered ship to be laid down at Chatham was HMS Phoenix , one of four paddle steamers built concurrently across the royal dockyards in
13098-669: Was founded about 1700. The Ebenezer Chapel dates from 1662. Chatham Memorial Synagogue was built by Simon Magnus in 1867 on the Chatham end of Rochester High Street in Rochester. For a full list of schools serving Chatham visit List of schools in Medway The town's Association Football club, Chatham Town F.C. , plays in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League having gained two successive promotions in
13216-515: Was leased (the Hill House) for administrative purposes including meetings of the Council of Marine Causes . (Hill House would serve as the dockyard's Pay Office for the next 180 years; the Royal Marine Barracks were later built on its site). The renowned Tudor shipwright Mathew Baker was appointed to Chatham in 1572 (though he was primarily based at Deptford). Under his supervision the site
13334-403: Was seen in the launch of HMS Aetna , the first armour-plated vessel to be built at Chatham, in 1856. All these developments were to come together with the construction of HMS Achilles , in a newly expanded No.2 Dock, between 1860 and 1864: the first true iron-hulled battleship to be launched in a royal dockyard. To meet the new demands of building in iron, metal mills were built alongside
13452-399: Was succeeded C. P. Wootton, H. J. Ross, Harry Couchman, and Eddie Albon. In 1959, Graham Parrett – great-grandson of W. J. Parrett, whose company bought the News in 1885 – became editor until 1968 when he became managing director of Parrett & Neves' publishing company, Associated Kent Newspapers. His deputy Eric Wintle was promoted to editor and stayed in that role briefly (he later became
13570-453: Was succeeded in 2001 by his deputy, Diane Nicholls and she in turn by Christine Rayner. The publishing group went through three more owners, Denitz and Southnews and Trinity Mirror . Northcliffe Media bought Trinity's Kent titles, including the News , in July 2007. The News was initially published and printed at 30 High Street, Chatham. In the late 1960s, after printing and production
13688-445: Was taken to invest further in Chatham, and to develop it as a building yard rather than a refitting base. By this time the establishment, including the gun wharf, stretched one mile (1.6 km) in length, and included an area of in excess of 95 acres (380,000 m ). Alongside the four dry docks it now had a total of six shipbuilding slips (equalling Deptford and outnumbering the other yards in this regard), albeit three of
13806-410: Was the largest in the world at 650 ft (200 m) long by 84 ft (26 m) wide. At around the same time, in the older part of the dockyard, No.7 Slip was extended to accommodate the building of HMS Prince of Wales (launched in 1902), and a new (uncovered) slipway was built a little to the north (No.8 Slip, completed in 1900); at 616 ft (188 m) this was one of the longest slips in
13924-545: Was under consideration as a World Heritage Site the site is being used for other purposes. Part of the St Mary's Island section is now used as a marina, and the remainder is being developed for housing, commercial and other uses, branded as "Chatham Maritime". Chatham lost its independence as a borough under the Local Government Act 1972 , by which, on 1 April 1974, it became part of the Borough of Medway,
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