61-784: The Suakin Expedition was either of two British-Indian military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham , to Suakin in Sudan , with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops during the Mahdist War . The first expedition took place in February 1884 and the second in March 1885. The first expedition, in February 1884, led to several notable British victories, among them
122-563: 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
183-457: 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
244-697: 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),
305-430: A last-minute change to McNeill's marching orders. Instead of following an established track in a southwesterly direction towards Tamai as originally planned, Graham personally instructed McNeill to march westwards into uncharted territory, which turned out to be thickly covered by a jungle of mimosa bushes with long low-lying branches covered in sharp thorns. This caused progress to be both slow and difficult while affording
366-528: 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,
427-629: 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
488-410: 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
549-752: 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
610-687: Is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum (Gillingham, England) . He published a number of scientific papers and a contribution to the Fortnightly Review , entitled "Last Words with Gordon" (1887), and prepared a translation of Goetze's Operations of the German Engineers and Technical Troops during the Franco-German War of 1870–71 (1875). This article incorporates text from a publication now in
671-554: 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
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#1732797939198732-536: 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
793-567: 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
854-605: 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
915-818: 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
976-736: 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
1037-712: 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 ;
1098-683: The Redan at Sebastopol . He also went out on numerous occasions to bring in wounded officers and men. During the Second Anglo-Chinese War he again displayed great courage and skill and, although seriously wounded in the storming of the Taku forts (21 August 1860), subsequently entered Peking with the victors. Following his return to England in 1861, he was for 16 years commanding engineer successively at Brighton , Aldershot , Montreal , Chatham , Manchester , and York . In 1877 he
1159-500: 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
1220-664: The School of Military Engineering at Chatham . He was 23 years old, and a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers , British Army during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 18 June 1855 in the Crimea , Lieutenant Graham, accompanied by a sapper ( John Perie ) showed determined gallantry at the head of a ladder party at the assault on
1281-724: The Second Battle of El Teb and the Battle of Tamai . Following the fall of Khartoum on 26 January 1885, Graham led a second expedition in March 1885. This expedition is sometimes referred to as the Suakin Field Force. Its purpose was to defeat Mahdist forces under Osman Digna in the region and to supervise and protect the construction of the Suakin-Berber Railway . A week after its arrival in Suakin,
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#17327979391981342-477: The public domain : Gilman, D. C. ; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{ cite encyclopedia }} : Missing or empty |title= ( help ) 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
1403-564: 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
1464-521: 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
1525-822: 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
1586-482: 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
1647-628: 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
1708-531: 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
1769-613: 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
1830-935: 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
1891-478: 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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1952-650: 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
2013-484: 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,
2074-495: 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
2135-620: 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
2196-574: 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
2257-556: 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
2318-781: The enemy excellent cover for the surprise attack that they launched later in the day. Graham was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1896, and a colonel commandant of the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1899. He is buried in East-the Water Cemetery in Bideford in Devon in a grave adjacent to that of George Channer VC. His Victoria Cross is currently owned by Graham's Great Great Great Grandson Oliver Brooks and
2379-639: 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
2440-424: The expedition fought in two actions: the Battle of Hashin or Hasheen on 20 March, and the Battle of Tofrek on 22 March. The British force was later joined by the New South Wales Contingent , which arrived at Suakin on 29 March. However, within two months the Gladstone government decided to abandon both the railway and its military campaign in Sudan. General Graham and his Suakin Field Force were evacuated from
2501-494: 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
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2562-414: 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
2623-428: The port city on 17 May 1885. Nevertheless, Britain maintained an ongoing presence in Suakin between 1886 and 1888, and the then brevet Lt. Col. Herbert Kitchener acted out the role of Governor General of Eastern Sudan. Gerald Graham Second Opium War Anglo-Egyptian War Mahdist War Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham , VC , GCB , GCMG (27 June 1831 – 17 December 1899)
2684-423: The railway project and leaving the Sudan in May 1885. In his book "The Battle of Tofrek, fought near Suakin, March 22nd 1885", written shortly after the battle for the purpose of correcting erroneous statements in both official and press reports of the battle, William Galloway was strongly critical of General Graham's planning of the Tofrek expedition on three counts: Galloway was even more critical of Graham for
2745-413: 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
2806-430: 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
2867-447: 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
2928-476: 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 ,
2989-511: 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
3050-433: 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
3111-409: 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
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#17327979391983172-402: 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
3233-518: 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
3294-405: 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
3355-548: 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
3416-418: Was a senior British Army commander in the late 19th century and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was born in Acton , Middlesex, and after studying at Wimbledon and Dresden he was admitted (1847) to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and completed his military training in
3477-423: Was appointed assistant director of works for barracks at the War Office . In 1882 he accompanied Sir Garnet Wolseley to Egypt as brigadier general , and his forces had a great share in the victorious campaign against Urabi Pasha . In 1884 he took the field against Osman Digna , whose army he defeated at El-Teb and Tamai . In the meantime he had urged a plan for the assistance of Gordon , which, however,
3538-441: 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
3599-422: 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
3660-412: Was not accepted. Graham led a second Suakin Field Force which arrived at the port on 12 March 1885. Its purpose was to suppress Osman Digna 's forces which were active in the area, and to supervise the construction of the Suakin-Berber Railway . The field force engaged in two actions: at Hashin on 20 March and at Tofrek on 22 March, before the British government changed its policies, shutting down
3721-420: 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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