99-546: Medway is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England . It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham , and is administered by Medway Council , which is independent from Kent County Council . The borough had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The borough contains the towns of Chatham , Gillingham, Rainham , Rochester and Strood , which are collectively known as
198-511: A Templar farm ) has plans for 600 homes to be built along with 161,458 square feet (15,000 square metres) of commercial space and a new two-hectare (4.9-acre) site for Morgan's Timber. Throughout the 19th century there had been proposals to join the Medway towns under a single authority. By 1903 moves began to take place: that year saw the creation of the Borough of Gillingham, to which, in 1928,
297-483: A draft of 4 feet (1.2 m) can navigate the river. The shallowest point is just below Sluice Weir Lock, which is prone to silting after heavy rain. Small craft such as canoes can sometimes travel as far as Penshurst . The stretch from Leigh to Allington is known as the Medway Navigation , and is 19 miles (31 km) in length. The Environment Agency is the navigation authority . Downstream of
396-463: A flood barrier was constructed downstream from Leigh to protect Tonbridge, which had been severely affected by the flooding of 1968. During periods of high flow, the flow is controlled by impounding the water and allowing up to 1 square mile (2.6 km ) of farmland upstream of the barrier to flood. However, this did not prevent significant flooding in Tonbridge in winter 2013–14. In recent years
495-527: A 400kV electricity circuit. There is no public access. The middle section of the Medway above Tonbridge, partly because of the various tributaries entering the river in this stretch – in particular the River Eden – has always been subject to extensive flooding . Tonbridge has suffered frequent flooding over the centuries, so much so that the higher part of the town to the north is called "Dryhill". Flood protection measures have therefore been taken. In 1981,
594-696: A 74-acre (30-hectare) area of brownfield land between the river and the railway line is being developed with high-density housing. Up to 50 homes per hectare will be built. The site will also include a primary school, two hotels, business centre, health centre, cafes, restaurants, bars and various commercial units. Numerous developments are proposed for the Chatham area including widening and straightening Union Street, development and improvements to The Brook and new developments at Gun Wharf and Chatham Waterfront. One such development at Chatham Waterfront (the area between Rochester railway station and Chatham Dockyard )
693-505: A bridge since Roman times. In the 14th century the Wardens and Commonalty of Rochester Bridge were instituted by Sir John de Cobham to pay for the rebuilding and upkeep of the bridge. Until 1963 the nearest crossing to Rochester Bridge was the 14th-century bridge at Aylesford, 12 miles (19 km) upstream. Since then the following additional crossings have come into use: Three other major crossings are at Tonbridge, where bridges carry
792-527: A county council. It thus is not a unitary authority as those are such authorities created under the Local Government Act 1992 . The 36 metropolitan borough councils are also the sole elected local government units in their areas (except for parish councils in a few locations), but share strategic functions with joint boards and arrangements. On the other hand, the City of London Corporation and
891-448: A high degree of autonomy as counties corporate . Some smaller settlements also enjoyed some degree of autonomy from regular administration as boroughs or liberties . The Local Government Act 1972 created areas for local government where large towns and their rural hinterlands were administered together. The concept of unitary units was abandoned with a two-tier arrangement of county and district councils in all areas of England, except
990-496: A landscaped play area were completed in the 1990s, but there are plans to extend this development further along the river beyond Strood railway station with another 500 to 600 homes to be built, the waterfront developed with new recreational and leisure facilities, and access to the station, town centre and Medway City estate to be improved. This 173-acre (70-hectare) area between the river and Morgan's Timber yard in Strood (formerly
1089-579: A local government authority which combines the functions of a county council and a district council. Strictly speaking, the term does not necessarily mean a single level of local government within an area, because in some cases there are also parish councils in the same area. Although the term was not applied to them, county boroughs between 1889 and 1974 were effectively unitary authority areas, that is, single-tier administrative units. Before 1889, local government authorities had different powers and functions, but from medieval times some cities and towns had
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#17327660062871188-619: A long and varied history dominated originally by the city of Rochester and later by the naval and military establishments principally in Chatham and Gillingham . Rochester was established on an Iron Age site by the Romans , who called it Durobrivae (meaning "stronghold by the bridge"), to control the point where Watling Street (now the A2) crossed the River Medway . Rochester later became
1287-746: A more detailed map shows the extensive network of smaller streams feeding into the main river. Those tributaries rise from points along the North Downs , the Weald and Ashdown Forest . The major tributaries are: Minor tributaries include: Former minor tributaries include the Old Bourne River, which flowed through the Brook, Chatham (not to be confused with the main tributary River Bourne). The river and its tributaries flow through largely rural areas, Tonbridge , Maidstone and Medway being
1386-528: A number of multiple member wards from which councillors are elected in the same way as in two-tier district council elections. The exceptions, which are divided into electoral divisions as in county council elections, are Cornwall, County Durham, the Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire. Districts are usually named after a town, city, geographical area or county (historic and or ceremonial). With no effect on powers or functions, districts can have
1485-728: A sector-led organisation drawing together business, cultural sector organisations and freelancers. There are five theatres in Medway, two run by the council and three independent. The council theatres are the Central Theatre (966 seats hosting a variety of tribute acts) and the Brook Theatre in the Old town hall (400 seats hosting a variety of shows). The independent theatres are Medway Little Theatre (96 seats), The Oasthouse Theatre and Kings Theatre (110 seats). Watling Street (the A2 ),
1584-572: A series of forts including Fort Amherst and the Lines, Fort Pitt and Fort Borstal . The majority of surviving buildings in the Historic Dockyard are Georgian. It was here that HMS Victory , Admiral Lord Nelson 's flagship at Trafalgar , was built and launched in 1765. Sir Francis Drake learned his seamanship on the Medway; Sir John Hawkins founded a hospital in Chatham for seamen, and Nelson began his Navy service at Chatham at
1683-554: A small section was built to access the Hempstead development and its shopping centre. However, the key middle stretch was left unbuilt, a link road to central Chatham via Luton, the B2156 North Dane Way was also left incomplete with no road to link to. The removal of Medway from Kent (which the incomplete section would lay in) and the recent widening of M2 leaves the proposed project with little chance of completion in
1782-543: A structure based on unitary authorities is called 'restructuring'. The Secretary of State responsible for local government invites proposals from local areas to restructure into unitary authorities, and the Secretary decides whether or not the change should be implemented. The restructuring is carried out by an Order. There are no examples in the UK of councils restructuring back into a two-tier system. Unitary authorities combine
1881-551: A walled town and, under later Saxon influence, a mint was established here. The first cathedral was built by Bishop Justus in 604 and rebuilt under the Normans by Bishop Gundulf , who also built the castle that stands opposite the cathedral. Rochester was also an important point for people travelling the Pilgrims' Way , which stretches from Winchester to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury . The Pilgrims' Way crossed
1980-477: A whole are expected to rise dramatically in residents as increased development and housing prices are considerably less than most of Kent and London, which is 30 miles away. In 2004, Medway Council announced its development strategy for the Medway Waterfront area. The report set out a 20-year framework plan for the redevelopment of up to seven miles (11 km) of waterfront and surrounding areas along
2079-583: Is HMS Unicorn (a 46-gun "Leda" class frigate) laid down in February 1822, and launched 30 March 1824. She never saw active service and has been restored and is (as of 2005) preserved afloat in Dundee , Scotland. On 25 November 1914 the battleship HMS Bulwark was moored at buoy number 17 at Kethole Reach on the River Medway. She was taking on coal from the airship base at Kingsnorth , on
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#17327660062872178-549: Is The Quays, a mixed-use development comprising two 20-storey residential towers, designed by WilkinsonEyre architects. A major development in Strood between Medway Valley Park and junction 2 of the M2 motorway , much of the Medway Gate development is inside a large abandoned chalk pit. The area has seen the building of over 400 homes since work began in 2006, including 125 affordable homes . Redevelopment including new homes and
2277-627: Is a single carriageway A road. The A228 runs along the west bank of the Medway, through Strood. Intersecting the M2 at its second junction, crossing the A2 through the centre of Strood and meeting (and encompassing for a short stretch) the Northern Relief Road (A289). The road then carries on to the Isle of Grain . Throughout its passage through Strood it is single carriageway, but the stretches to
2376-583: Is a song by local man George Gilbert; it was written in the mid-1960s and is often played in local folk clubs and at festivals in Kent. The River Medway is featured at Maidstone in the studio backdrop of the ITV1 regional news programme Meridian Tonight . At 7.15 p.m. on 1 May each year, local Morris dancers Kettle Bridge Clogs dance across Barming Bridge (otherwise known as the Kettle Bridge) to mark
2475-458: Is bypassed to the north by the dualled Corporation Street. The A2 then crosses the high street, climbs Star Hill and follows New road by Fort Pitt / Jackson's Field to bypass Chatham to the south (by the Station, via a flyover known as New Cut). As it approaches Luton it is a dual carriageway for a short stretch, where a major junction lies with the railway (Chatham Main line) passes overhead — this
2574-573: Is known as Luton Arches. It then climbs Chatham Hill (to Gillingham) now has a separate bus lane. The A2 / Watling street traditionally bypasses central Gillingham which lies to the North. From the main road to Gillingham (Canterbury Street), the A2 is dual carriageway. Here the Northern Relief Road (A289) rejoins at the Will Adams roundabout. This is swiftly followed by the Bowater roundabout where
2673-528: Is largely unbuilt. The Medway Towns Southern Relief Road was proposed to link the (then) new developments to the south of Chatham (Walderslade) and Gillingham (Hempstead, Wigmore and Parkwood) with M2's J3 and the A229 to the east and the M2's J4 and A278 in the west. A single carriageway road was built south of Walderslade to access the Walderslade Woods and Lordswood developments. At the other end
2772-499: The 2024 general election , and in her Autumn budget statement , Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves outlined that a forthcoming English Devolution Bill would include plans for "working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas", suggesting that a new round of local government reorganisation could be likely. The process of changing from a two-tier local government to
2871-619: The A227 road and a rail link over the river; there is also a two-span viaduct which takes the A21 over the Medway Valley near Haysden. The lowest crossing of the Medway are two cable tunnels between the Isle of Grain and Chetney marshes. These were built between 1973 and 1976 in anticipation of the commissioning of Grain power station . The tunnels are 1700 m long, 2.54 m in diameter and between 34 and 47 m below ordnance datum; each carries
2970-475: The Borough of Medway , a local government district in the county of Kent. Gillingham chose to remain separate. Under letters patent the former city council area was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city". The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979,
3069-704: The Bulwark ' s dead, who were mostly drawn from the Portsmouth area. The explosion could be heard from up to 20 mi (30 km) at Southend and Whitstable . In terms of loss of life it remains the second worst explosion in British history. Less than six months later there was a second explosion. This time it was the Princess Irene . She was a 1,500-passenger liner built at Dumbarton in 1914 for Canadian Pacific . Before she could leave Britain she
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3168-586: The Isle of Grain when an internal explosion (most likely the result of cordite charges stored alongside a boiler room bulkhead and failure to follow guidelines on the storage of shells) ripped the ship apart. In all, the explosion killed 745 men and 51 officers. Five of the 14 men who survived died later of their wounds, and almost all of the others were seriously wounded. There are mass and individual graves in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham for
3267-634: The Isles of Scilly where the small size and distance from the mainland made it impractical. In 1986 a broadly unitary system of local government was introduced in the six metropolitan counties and Greater London , where the upper-tier authorities were abolished and their functions were split between central government, the borough councils and joint boards. A review in the 1990s was initiated to select non-metropolitan areas where new unitary authorities could be created. The resulting structural changes were implemented between 1995 and 1998. Bristol, Herefordshire,
3366-684: The M20 . The A278 Hoath Way links the A2 at Gillingham to its southern suburbs (Hempstead, Wigmore and Parkwood) to the M2's fourth junction. It is dual carriageway throughout. The A289 was built in the 1990s as the Medway Towns Northern Relief Road . Constructed in three stages, firstly it bypasses Strood with a dual carriageway from Three Crutches (M2 J1) to the A226 and the A228 (The Wainscott Northern Bypass). It then joins
3465-699: The Medway conurbation in Kent , before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness , a total distance of 70 miles (113 km). About 13 miles (21 km) of the river lies in East Sussex, with the remainder being in Kent. The Medway has a catchment area of 930 square miles (2,409 km ), the second largest in southern England after the Thames . The map opposite shows only the major tributaries :
3564-660: The Medway Towns . Medway is one of the boroughs included in the Thames Gateway development scheme. It is also the home of Universities at Medway , a tri-partite collaboration of the University of Greenwich , the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University on a single campus in Chatham, together with the Medway School of Arts . Because of its strategic location by the major crossing of
3663-522: The Medway Towns . Many other towns and villages such as Frindsbury and Brompton lie within the conurbation. Outside the urban area, the villages retain parish councils. Cuxton , Halling and Wouldham are in the Medway Gap region to the south of Rochester and Strood. Hoo St Werburgh , Cliffe , High Halstow , St Mary Hoo , Allhallows , Stoke and Grain are on the Hoo Peninsula to
3762-636: The River Medway , the borough has made a wide and significant contribution to Kent, and to England, dating back thousands of years, as evident in the siting of Watling Street by the Romans and by the Norman Rochester Castle , Rochester Cathedral (the second oldest in Britain) and the Chatham naval dockyard and its associated defences. The main towns in the conurbation are (from west to east): Strood , Rochester , Chatham , Gillingham , and Rainham . These are traditionally known as
3861-546: The Thames is given extensive treatment by Edmund Spenser 's The Faerie Queene in the 16th century (Book IV, Canto xi). Joseph Conrad describes the view up the Medway from the Thames Estuary in The Mirror of the Sea (1906). For the 1999 film The Mummy the river was filmed at Chatham Dockyard , in an imitation of a "port at Cairo ". The scene is brief but involves the main protagonists departing on their mission to
3960-470: The 'bigger is better' assumption and highlight that larger councils breed mistrust of councillors and reduction in public engagement and voter turnout. Outside the UK, multi-level local government is the prevailing system, with major towns normally having a local authority. The average size of a local authority in England is 170,000, three times that of Europe. Most unitary authority areas are divided into
4059-477: The 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local government districts with city status that were abolished around this time ( Bath and Hereford ) appointed charter trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester-upon-Medway City Council had decided not to and as a result their city status was rescinded. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when they discovered that Rochester
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4158-507: The 1990s , with more created in 2009 and 2019–23 . The size of the areas governed by unitary authorities varies greatly; the authorities created in the 1990s were generally created from single districts and covered a single large town or city, while those created since 2009 often cover entire non-metropolitan counties. The term " unitary authority " was first used in the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969 in its current sense of
4257-578: The 32 London borough councils, although they have a high degree of autonomy, share strategic functions with the directly elected Mayor of London and London Assembly . Unitary authorities should not be confused with another formation in English local government, the combined authority . River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England . It rises in the High Weald , West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge , Maidstone and
4356-604: The A228 (as The Wainscott Eastern Bypass) — these two parts are dualled. A dualled link road leads to the Medway Tunnel to the Chatham Dockyard . Here it meets Dock Road ( A231 ) that leads to Chatham. The A289 continues between northern Gillingham and the river, and then turns southwards through Gillingham Golf Course to rejoin the A2 at the Will Adams roundabout. The A2045 is the A289's counterpart, however it
4455-581: The A278 Hoath Way leads to the M2 to the South, this is so named and distinctive because of the former paper mill Bowaters at this location that left a giant water tower. A large Tesco supermarket currently inhabits the site. As the road progresses into Rainham it becomes single carriageway again. Connecting Medway with neighbouring Gravesend is the A226 . This leaves the A2 on the hill above Strood. It
4554-417: The Borough of Medway was renamed as Rochester-upon-Medway , and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough. The modern borough was created on 1 April 1998 as part of the 1990s local government reforms . The way the change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county , both of which were called 'Medway Towns', each covering
4653-489: The Isle of Wight and Rutland were established as counties of a single district; the district councils of Berkshire became unitary; the counties of Avon , Humberside and Cleveland were broken up to create several unitary authorities; and a number of districts were split off from their associated counties. The changes caused the ceremonial counties to be defined separately, as they had been before 1974. The review caused 46 unitary authorities to be created. A further review
4752-547: The Joint Amalgamation Committee decided in favour of the amalgamation and invited representatives from Strood Rural District Council to join the Committee. In 1960, a proposal was made by Rochester Council that the merger be effected by the city absorbing the two other towns, to safeguard its ancient charters and city status. This led to Gillingham Council voting to leave the committee, as it believed
4851-635: The Medway , in 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War . In the 18th century Samuel Ireland published an illustrated book about a journey up the river, to the River Bewl at Bayham Abbey. The book's map shows some of the tributaries (unnamed). The illustrations include the castles at Queenborough , Upnor , Leybourne , Tonbridge and Hever ; Penshurst Place ; and the bridges at Teston , Maidstone , Aylesford, East Farleigh , Barming , Branbridges and Tonbridge. The hop fields in
4950-453: The Medway bridges (M2, HS1) the river comprises a sequence of tidal reaches: One of the channels on the southern side of the estuary, Stangate Creek, is the subject of a painting by William Turner . In a location described as "opposite the Isle of Grain , Sharpfleet Creek, and the lower-end of the Hope", a quarantine site for ships was proclaimed on 16 September 1709, during an outbreak of
5049-1007: The Medway near Cuxton . In Rochester, parts of the Roman city wall are still in evidence, and the city has many fine buildings, such as the Guildhall (today a museum), which was built in 1687 and is among the finest 17th-century civic buildings in Kent; the Corn Exchange, built in 1698, originally the Butcher's Market; the small Tudor house of Watts Charity endowed by Sir Richard Watts to house "six poor travelers" for one night each; Satis House and Old Hall, both visited by Queen Elizabeth I , built in 1573. In Medway there are 82 scheduled ancient monuments , 832 Listed buildings and 22 conservation areas . The Royal Navy opened an anchorage dockyard in Gillingham (Jillingham Water) during
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#17327660062875148-404: The Medway via two bridges in a dual carriageway (see Rochester Bridge ). One bridge is Victorian and in the position of the original Roman bridge. The second bridge is more recent and build upon the piers of the original London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) main line railway bridge (the Chatham Main Line uses the South Eastern Railway 's branch line's bridge). In Rochester the High street
5247-522: The North are dualled partially toward Grain. The road to Grain was an accident black spot, this and increased traffic from the major port of Thamesport which is located to the north-west along the Medway Estuary prompted the construction of a new dual carriageway . The A228 Main Road to Ropers Lane project was provisionally approved by the government in December 2001. Design work started in March 2000 and in February 2004, contractors got under way with moving services such as water, gas and fuel pipes. This work
5346-421: The River Medway. The project aims to create between 6,000 and 8,000 new homes and 8,500 jobs, against central government targets of 16,000 new homes and 23,000 new jobs for the Medway area as a whole. Among the transport proposals set forth for consideration were a new bridge linking the Medway City industrial estate to central Chatham; the removal of Chatham's gyratory system along with an associated relocation of
5445-436: The Roman road between the Port of Dover on the English Channel and London, runs through Medway. This route became particularly congested and led to the building of the M2 to bypass the Medway Towns to the south in the 1960s and was subsequently widened extensively at the turn of the 21st century. The A2 through the Medway Towns varies from single carriageway to dual carriageway to "one way" systems. In places it deviates from
5544-423: The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire . These changes would see the existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place. One authority, West Northamptonshire , would consist of the existing districts of Daventry , Northampton and South Northamptonshire and
5643-428: The South where at Fort Horstead / Rochester Airport / Mid Kent College it meets the branch from Chatham (the A230 which starts at Chatham Station / New Cut). From here it continues south, becoming dual carriageway and meeting the M2 at its third junction, which also provides access with Walderslade . This road then proceeds down Blue Bell Hill (from the summit of the North Downs) to the county town of Maidstone and
5742-419: The adjoining parish of Rainham was added. In 1944, a Medway Towns Joint Amalgamation Committee was formed by the borough corporations of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, to discuss the possibility of the towns forming a single county borough . In 1948 the Local Government Boundary Commission recommended that the area become a "most purposes" county borough, but the recommendation was not carried out. In 1956
5841-434: The age of 12. Other notable sea-faring and naval figures, such as William Adams , were raised on the Medway but apprenticed elsewhere. The river was further protected by such fortifications as Upnor Castle which, in 1667 in varying accounts says it was partly successful in thwarting the Dutch raid on the dockyard , or the commanding officer fled without firing on the Dutch. Another warship built at Chatham that still exists
5940-401: The area. Medway is also home to the third largest home school population of children in the UK after the Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Medway at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of pounds Sterling. Medway's cultural strategy is run by Creative Medway,
6039-491: The chair of the council to take the title of mayor . The first elections to the new council were in 1997; it initially acted as a shadow authority to oversee the transition to the new system, before formally coming into office on 1 April 1998. With effect from that day, the incoming council changed the borough and non-metropolitan county's name from Medway Towns to just Medway. Since it was the local government district of Rochester-upon-Medway that officially held city status under
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#17327660062876138-570: The channel meant that barges of 40 long tons (41 t) could reach East Farleigh , Yalding and even Tonbridge. In 1828, the channel was further improved up to Leigh . There are eleven locks on the river. The lowest, opened in 1792, is at Allington , and is the tidal limit . The others are at East Farleigh , Teston , Hampstead Lane , Stoneham Old Lock (disused), Sluice Weir Lock , Oak Weir Lock , East Lock, Porter's, Eldridge's and Town Lock in Tonbridge . The locks will take craft up to 80 feet (24 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m), and vessels with
6237-486: The city of the dead. The Maidstone River Festival, to celebrate the River Medway, running annually since 1980, is held on the last Saturday of July. It features events on and around the river and attracts thousands to Kent's county town. The festival was cancelled in 2012 due to the London Olympics, but returned in 2013. However, the 2013 event did not include a funfair or a fireworks display as in previous years, and lasted just one day instead of two. Medway Flows Softly
6336-420: The closure of Chatham Dockyard. A museum dedicated to the Royal Marines can be found close to the dockyard at the Royal Engineers Museum in Brompton. Founded in 1812, it moved to its current site in 1987. It was classed as Grade II listed on 5 December 1996. After World War II, the Medway conurbation expanded to the south as areas including Walderslade, Lordswood, Hempstead and Wigmore were developed, aided by
6435-419: The combined area of the previous local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham. There is no separate county council; instead the district council also performs county council functions, making it a unitary authority. The district remains part of the ceremonial county of Kent for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing
6534-510: The construction of the M2 motorway in the 1960s. The population of Medway is projected to increase to around 300,000 by 2028 according to 2013 projections. Medway Council foresees total investment on development to be in excess of £1 billion over a 20-year period from 2006. As of 2019, the towns in order of population (approximate figures) were Gillingham (85,000 – not including Rainham), Chatham (78,000), Strood (40,000), Rochester (30,000 – not including Strood) and Rainham (25,000). The towns as
6633-567: The exceptions. The Medway itself initially flows in a west–east direction south of the North Downs ; at the confluence of the River Beult, however, it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at the Medway Gap , a steep and narrow valley near Rochester , before its final section to the sea. Until 1746, the river was not navigable above Maidstone. Below that point each village on the river had its wharf or wharves: at Halling , Snodland , New Hythe and Aylesford . Cargoes included corn, fodder, fruit, stone and timber. In 1746, improvements to
6732-406: The flood-swollen river. In 1914 HMS Bulwark exploded while moored at Kethole Reach near Sheerness, killing 741 men with only 12 survivors. The following year HMS Princess Irene exploded in Saltpan Reach with the loss of 352 lives. In 1942 the world's first test of a submarine oil pipeline was conducted with one laid across the Medway in Operation Pluto . The Medway's 'marriage' to
6831-425: The foreseeable future. The vast majority of local bus routes throughout Medway are centred upon the newly opened Waterfront bus station (replacing Pentagon bus station ) in Chatham. Most bus routes are run by Arriva Southern Counties , which took over the locally owned Maidstone & District bus company in the 1990s. Other local bus companies including Nu-Venture provide certain services, some under contract to
6930-404: The functions of a non-metropolitan county council and a non-metropolitan district council, which elsewhere in England provide two tiers of local government. Unitary authorities are constituted under the Local Government Act 1992 , which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to allow the existence of non-metropolitan counties that do not have multiple districts. Most were established during
7029-430: The honour as part of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee civic honours competition. Ultimately Medway was unsuccessful with the eventual winners being Chelmsford (Essex), Perth (Perthshire), and St Asaph (Denbighshire). The council comprises 59 councillors representing different wards . The party political breakdown of the council following the 2023 local elections is: Parts of the unitary authority are parished , chiefly
7128-453: The local authority. Buses are numbered between 100 and 199 for local services, with buses numbered in the 700s to show Kent County Council subsidised services including those to Walderslade and Bluewater Shopping Centre , and in the 600s for school bus services. Unitary authorities of England The unitary authorities of England are a type of local authority responsible for all local government services in an area. They combine
7227-513: The lower Medway Valley; later Jutish burial sites have also been found. The Domesday Book records many manors in the Medway valley. Castles became a feature of the landscape, including Rochester , Allington , Leeds (near Maidstone), and West Malling . Two military actions are named after the river: the Battle of the Medway (43 CE , during the Roman invasion of Britain ); and the Raid on
7326-521: The non-metropolitan districts of Aylesbury Vale , Chiltern , South Bucks , and Wycombe in Buckinghamshire were replaced by a single unitary authority known as Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020. The existing unitary authority of Milton Keynes was not affected; from 1 April 2020, therefore, the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire has been composed of two unitary authority areas. In March 2018, an independent report commissioned by
7425-696: The north. Frindsbury Extra including Upnor borders Strood. The southern part of the urban area is on the north slope of the North Downs , including the suburbs of Walderslade , Luton , Hempstead and Wigmore . Over half of the unitary authority area is rural in nature. Medway includes parts of the North Kent Marshes , an environmentally significant wetlands region with several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Other similar areas of conservation include Ranscombe Farm on chalk grassland and woodland between Strood and Cuxton, with rare woodland flowers and orchids . The Medway area has
7524-595: The original route of Watling Street . The A2 leaves the main route (which bypasses Medway by either the Northern Relief Road — The A289 or the M2) at the Three Crutches junction. The road descends through Strood towards the river. During the descent, the road to Gravesend, the A226 joins. In Strood the High Street is bypassed by the one-way system to the north and south encircling the High Street. The A2 crosses
7623-856: The other authority, North Northamptonshire would consist of Corby , East Northamptonshire , Kettering and Wellingborough districts. This was confirmed in May 2019, with the new councils being created in April 2021. In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan counties of Cumbria , North Yorkshire and Somerset would be reorganised into unitary authority areas. The new authorities, Cumberland , Westmorland and Furness , North Yorkshire Council and Somerset Council were first elected in May 2022 and formally assumed their powers on 1 April 2023. The Labour Party returned to power following
7722-473: The plague . The area had been leased to oyster fisherman, so compensation was paid to them. Nearly 150 ships quarantined there in the first six months of 1712, and the site was again used between 1721 and 1743. In 1918 to 1920, damages were sought for damage done to an oyster fishery in Stangate Creek. Until recently the lowest public crossing of the Medway was at Rochester , where there has been
7821-508: The powers and functions that are normally delivered separately by the councils of non-metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. These functions are housing, waste management, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria. The breakdown of these services is as follows: Unitary government has been criticised for damaging local democracy. Opponents to unitary authority criticise
7920-477: The reign of Henry VIII , in 1567 the Royal Naval Dockyard was established in Medway. Although it is called Chatham dockyard, two-thirds of the dockyard lie within Gillingham. The dockyard was closed in 1984, with the loss of eight thousand jobs at the dockyard itself and many more in local supply industries, contributing to a mid-1980s Medway unemployment rate of sixteen per cent. It was protected by
8019-597: The river at Yalding . At West Peckham , it is joined by the Wealdway which continues through Tonbridge, thus linking with the Eden Valley Walk. Maidstone Millennium River Park is a 10 kilometres (6 mi) walk from Teston Country Park to the Museum of Kent Life at Sandling . The park, built between 1998 and 2001, has transformed 18 acres (7.3 ha) of wasteland and three new footbridges have been built over
8118-501: The river. Ancient sites abound throughout the length of the River Medway. The area around Aylesford is a notable Stone Age site where the Medway megaliths are a group of Neolithic chamber tombs including the Coldrum Stones and Kit's Coty House . Bronze Age ornaments and beakers have been found along the river; other burial sites and finds come from the pre-Roman Iron Age . The Romans left evidence of many villas in
8217-436: The rural areas. There are currently 11 parishes: Medway operates a two-tier education system, with academic selection for admission to secondary schools determined by the eleven plus exam . There are a number of grammar schools located in the area, the other secondary schools in Medway being non-selective (apart from one faith schools and the school on the peninsula). There are also a number of private schools operating in
8316-415: The start of their Morris dancing season. Recreationally the river is used by many. For example, individuals and many clubs have paddling trips along many different parts of the Medway (e.g. Bewl Canoe Club). Individuals and club members paddling on the Medway and most other rivers should be members of British Canoeing . The Medway is said to divide the county of Kent into two parts: this may allude to
8415-468: The status of royal borough , borough or city . A district having a charter is dependent on the charter's wording: as a charter trustee to a place in the district; having joint charter to the place and district or to the district itself. Notes The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a sui generis single-tier authority, created in 1890 and since 1930 has held the "powers, duties and liabilities" of
8514-518: The three towns should go forward as equal partners. On 9 March, the committee held its last meeting, with the Chatham representatives voting to dissolve the body and those from Rochester voting against. The motion to disband was passed on the casting vote of the chairman, Alderman Semple from Chatham. Under the Local Government Act 1972 , on 1 April 1974 the City of Rochester, the Borough of Chatham and part of Strood Rural District were amalgamated to form
8613-681: The town's bus station; remodelling of Strood's one-way system; and the provision of new cycle lanes and park-and-ride services throughout the area. Chatham's ring road system was subsequently changed into a two-way system in September 2006 with the Sir John Hawkins flyover (pictured right in 2007) being closed before later demolition to make way for a new bus station at the end of 2008. The new bus station opened in October 2011. Other recent and proposed developments include: In Rochester,
8712-407: The traditional county absorbed into London since the 1880s. The power of the Medway has been harnessed for a millennium or more. Waterwheels and turbines powered by the waters of the Medway and its tributaries have been used to mill corn , make paper, make cloth , smelt iron, pump water and generate electricity. There are over 200 sites on the Medway where such usage is known. Today, only one mill
8811-625: The two dioceses into which Kent has been divided since the year 604: Canterbury and Rochester. The tradition has grown up, and is kept alive by the "Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men", that those born in West Kent – the area north of the river, but including Maidstone, Gillingham (other than Rainham), Rochester and Chatham – are labelled Kentish Men (or Maids ); while those born in East Kent are Men (or Maids ) of Kent . This labelling applies equally to those born in those parts of
8910-427: The vicinity of the latter are also described; and the easterly River Len , which then supplied Maidstone with its piped water. The book states that Within about two miles of Tunbridge the Medway branches out into several small streams, five of which unite at the town ... having each its stone bridge . The Thames and Medway Canal , duplicatively linking the estuary at Strood to Gravesend for adverse tides and weather
9009-620: The village of Yalding , about 12 km downstream at the confluence with the River Beult, has been more prone to flooding than Tonbridge. The Medway Valley Walk follows the river from Rochester to Tonbridge along the bank most of the way above Allington . It starts on the Saxon Shore Way at Rochester. The North Downs Way crosses the river using the Medway Viaduct or motorway bridge. The Greensand Way crosses
9108-442: Was "minded to approve the proposals" and a final decision to implement the two unitary authority model was confirmed in February 2018. Statutory instruments for the creation of two unitary authorities, to be named Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Council , have been made and shadow authorities for the new council areas were formed ahead of their creation on 1 April 2019 . Buckinghamshire County Council and
9207-502: Was commandeered for war service and became HMS Princess Irene , and was used as a minelayer . After several trips she was back in the Medway for a refit when on the morning of 27 May 1915 a huge internal explosion tore through the vessel, shaking the ground for miles around and showering the surrounding villages with remains of bodies and debris. A total of 278 died, including 78 workers from nearby towns and villages. In one Sheerness street there were ten who died. A Court of Inquiry
9306-474: Was completed in 1824 but was not a commercial success; by 1849 the South Eastern Railway had taken over its tunnel through a hillside. The western part of the canal remained in use until 1934. The Hartlake disaster of 1853 saw the deaths of 30 hop-pickers when a wagon carrying them crashed through the side of a rotten wooden bridge at Golden Green near Hadlow , throwing its passengers into
9405-466: Was held into the loss and evidence was given that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion. The British Army also established barracks here; and the Royal Engineers headquarters is in Gillingham. The Royal Marines also have a long association with Chatham . The Chatham Division was based in Chatham until
9504-523: Was initiated in 2007 and was enacted in 2009. The review established Cornwall and Northumberland as counties of a single district; established unitary authorities in County Durham , Shropshire and Wiltshire covering the part of the county that was not already split off in the 1990s review; and divided the remainder of Bedfordshire and Cheshire into two unitary authority areas. The review caused nine unitary authorities to be created. In 2017, it
9603-567: Was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office 's list of cities. Medway applied for city status in the 2000 and 2002 competitions, but was unsuccessful. In 2010, it started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by the Advertising Standards Authority . Medway Council made a further bid for city status in 2012, when three cities were afforded
9702-416: Was proposed that two unitary authority areas be formed to cover the ceremonial county of Dorset . One of the authorities would consist of the existing unitary authorities of Bournemouth , Poole and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch , the other would be composed of the remainder of the county. In November 2017, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid stated that he
9801-501: Was vital, as the pipes actually supply the Hoo Peninsula and the power station at Grain. The largest water main that was moved was 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter and the largest gas main 36 inches (914 mm). The road cost £19 million and is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) long. The A229 starts from the A2 at the junction at the top of Star Hill alongside Jackson's Field / Fort Pitt, it follows City Way to
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