112-693: Walderslade is a large suburb in Kent in Chatham split between the unitary authority of Medway and the boroughs of Maidstone and Tonbridge & Malling in South East England . It was, until 1998, fully part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act . It encompasses almost all the ME5 postcode district (except parts of Luton). Walderslade was formerly
224-592: A Fitness First gym and a playing field. The estate also borders two areas of woodland; the Snodhurst wood and the Coney Banks . Currently a Charlton Athletic F.C. community project is being held there. Lordswood is a large development, also to the east. It has direct access to Chatham via North Dane Way (B2156), which hems in Walderslade to the east. It has two separate shopping parades: one, centred on
336-563: 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
448-490: A 50% stake in the enlarged group and reducing the Morrison family's shareholding to 18%), plus 60 pence in cash (paid for by the divestment of 52 overlapping stores) for each Safeway share held. The acquisition quickly ran into difficulties caused in part by changing the accounting systems six weeks before the transaction was completed, leading to a series of profit warnings being issued by Morrisons, poor financial results and
560-468: A Grade II listed property, known as The Homestead. Most of Walderslade is within Medway, a unitary authority within the ceremonial county boundaries of Kent. Parts of Walderslade are, however, in different parishes and thus in different local government districts. Walderslade is separated from the rest of the Medway towns by a green belt incorporating Rochester Airport, Horsted Farm and the Coney Banks to
672-595: A bid, leading to speculation of a bidding war, but Apollo Global withdrew and supported the Fortress bid. On 6 August 2021, the Fortress-led consortium increased its offer to £6.7 billion ($ 9.29 billion) after Silchester International Investors , Morrisons largest shareholder, said the previous offer was too low. The Morrisons board once again recommended the deal to shareholders. However, on 19 August 2021 an improved offer of £7 billion from CD&R
784-463: A community hall and public library which back on to Hook Meadow, a public playing field. Wayfield is an estate based around two through roads—Wayfield Road and Churchill Avenue—with several smaller roads linking them. The estate is to the north of Weedswood above and alongside the Princes Avenue area. It has several small shops, a woodyard, golf driving range with a pitch and putt golf course,
896-457: 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
1008-496: A fifth of the 23p going to UK farmers. Morrisons later changed the scheme in 2017 such that the total additional payment went directly to a selected group of 300 British farmers. A smaller group of 50 farmers were tasked with supplying the range, with additional welfare standards applied to the production of the milk. From March 2020, the company aimed to cut down 3,000 management roles, and created 7,000 shop-floor jobs as part of its restructuring plan. In December 2020, Morrisons
1120-420: A health centre including doctors' surgeries, a Co-op supermarket, a public house (The Oak), a number of estate agents and takeaway outlets (currently Indian, kebab, two Chinese and a fish and chip shop), a Dominoes, as well as an Indian restaurant, newsagent, off-licence, chemist, one florist, café, dry cleaners, hairdressers', post office, coffee shop, barber's shop, petrol station (containing a small supermarket),
1232-592: A hotel ( Holiday Inn ), close by is a large Asda superstore and a further hotel, the Bridgewood Manor. Walderslade Woods (aka little nel's woods) is a recent development, begun before the 1970s, to the south of the village near the M2 motorway. It is hemmed in by a road, also confusingly named "Walderslade Woods" (the A2045), the only part of the incomplete Medway Towns southern relief road. (The northern relief road
SECTION 10
#17327908974911344-697: 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),
1456-528: 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,
1568-586: A number of private equity firms about taking the company private. They were said to be unhappy about the company's financial performance, and Dalton Philips's corporate strategy. Following a new three-year corporate strategy revealed in March 2014 aimed at recovering sales and market share, at Morrisons Annual General Meeting in June 2014 Morrisons former chairman Sir Ken Morrison criticised Dalton Philips's approach. Morrison's nephew Chris Blundell, who controls most of
1680-465: A pre-tax loss of £33 million. Morrisons' net debt obligations had been £3.2bn before the CD&;R takeover, and had increased to £7.5 billion. A former senior Morrisons executive said "[CD&R] paid too much and now they have to claw that back". Unlike any other UK supermarket, Morrisons has a manufacturing arm including abattoirs , vegetable packing houses and fish processing plants comprising
1792-466: A public library, Demelza charity shop, and a nursery called Buttercups located above the florist. There is ample free public car parking offered by the Co-op supermarket and also in front of most of the shops with other parking behind the shops making access convenient for people with children or people with physical disabilities. The church is also used as St William's Pre-School during the school terms. On
1904-601: A reversion to manual systems. The programme of store conversions from Safeway to Morrisons was the largest of its kind in British retail history, focusing initially on the retained stores which were freehold , over 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m ) with separate car parks. Within a few weeks, Safeway carrier bags were replaced by those of Morrisons, and Morrisons own-brand products began to appear in Safeway stores. Originally 52 shops were to be compulsorily divested after
2016-591: A small rural village nestled in the valleys of the North Downs , however development accelerated with the expansion of towns in Medway after the First World War. The urban area developed quickly after the Second World War leading to the current make-up of several large estates surrounding the original village, which is the local centre of commerce. Walderslade comprises several named areas, notably
2128-631: A two-part deal worth £260.2 million. In Northern Ireland Morrisons sold the Safeway stores , and a store in Bangor that opened after the Morrisons takeover, to Asda. Waitrose purchased five stores in 2005, followed by six more on 18 July 2006, including the former Safeway store in Hexham , Northumberland, which became England's most northerly Waitrose branch. In May 2005, Morrisons announced
2240-483: A vertically integrated supply chain. An industry insider suggested that this may be sold, which would mean a complete change of course for the company. On 6 November 2023 Rami Baitiéh succeeded David Potts as Chief Executive. The financial results have been as follows: In July 2020, Morrisons had 497 superstores in the United Kingdom, including those it retained following its purchase of Safeway plc. Until 2004, Morrisons superstores were largely concentrated in
2352-517: A well-publicised crash in UK milk prices in November 2015, Morrisons launched a variety milk labelled 'For Farmers', with a large Union Jack on the label, claiming an extra 23p per 4-pint bottle would to be given to farmers – 10p per litre. Following complaints, Morrisons admitted that the extra money was actually paid to the supplier of the milk, Arla Foods , to be divided among several countries, with only
SECTION 20
#17327908974912464-553: Is a complete dual carriageway.) There are a few corner shops and one school (Tunbury Primary School), but plans have existed for more shops and at least one further primary and secondary school. There is a private hospital, the Spire Alexandra. The area is at the intersection of Medway unitary borough, Maidstone borough and Tonbridge and Malling borough – thus there are two community halls. Walderslade Woodlands are made up of three valleys, and five plateaux, which are all to
2576-629: 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
2688-410: 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
2800-752: 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
2912-502: Is nearby, and there is a rotisserie counter named Oven Fresh . Following the failure of the supermarket's M Local stores, Morrisons returned to the convenience market in 2016 with a new chain of five trial forecourt stores under the Morrisons Daily brand in partnership with Motor Fuel Group . Soon after in 2017, this trial ended with the stores closed and a new partnership was formed with Rontec to open 40 stores across
3024-417: Is one of several dry chalk valleys in the area, that were created during past ice ages as a result of melting ice when England was still joined with the continent. During warmer post glacial periods, elephants and hippopotami roamed the valleys. Walderslade valley was originally wooded, hence its name (Old or Middle English wald means 'wood'). Although over time the woodland became restricted primarily to
3136-554: 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
3248-536: 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
3360-638: The Bluebell Hill TV transmitter, supplemented by a low power relay transmitter in the town centre. Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited , trading as Morrisons , is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, and one in Gibraltar . The company is headquartered in Bradford , England. Founded in 1899 by William Morrison , hence
3472-552: The Davis Estate (near Rochester Airport ), Wayfield , Weeds Wood , Walderslade Woods , Princes Avenue and Lordswood . An important Bronze Age hoard was found in Walderslade in 1965 during house construction. Comprising two gold penannular bracelets, it is now in the collections of the British Museum . The name Walderslade is English (Old or Middle), and means 'wood in a valley'. Walderslade Valley or Bottom –
Walderslade - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-567: 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
3696-588: The English Midlands and the North of England , but had expanded southwards, beginning with a store at Erith , Greater London, which opened in 1998. In April 2021, Morrisons said that it would replace plastic bags with paper bags to cut plastic use. Most Morrisons superstores have produce in Market Street . Packaged meat is near or next to a butcher's counter, a delicatessen with cheese fridge
3808-605: 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
3920-818: 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
4032-736: 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
4144-712: 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 ;
4256-500: 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
4368-564: 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
4480-521: 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
4592-565: The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), banning the use of fast-growing breeds susceptible to lameness and heart attacks, and giving birds natural light and more space. The company responded that they cared about animal welfare, required suppliers to maintain standards, and had asked for a full investigation. In June 2021, Morrisons rejected a £5.5 billion takeover bid from private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) believing it "significantly undervalued"
Walderslade - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-711: The Channel Island Safeway stores to Waitrose, and the Safeway brand disappeared from the Channel Islands. On the Isle of Man , the Douglas store was sold to Shoprite and the Ramsey store was sold to The Co-operative Food . The Gibraltar store was originally offered for sale, but was ultimately converted. In November 2006, plans were submitted for the extension and redevelopment of the store to introduce
4816-400: The Channel Islands to the Morrisons Daily format, including the former Benest's of Millbrook store at Lisbon House. A partnership agreement in 2021 saw Morrisons and McColl's committing to the conversion of 300 existing McColl's convenience stores into Morrisons Daily stores over the next three years, following a successful trial of 30 conversions in the months prior. This extension is of
4928-822: 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
5040-548: The Girlington district of Bradford in 1961. In 1967, Morrisons became a public limited company listed on the London Stock Exchange . In March 2004, Morrisons acquired Safeway , a British supermarket chain which owned 479 stores, giving Morrisons a larger presence in southern England. The company was purchased for £3.3 billion, comprising 1 new Morrisons share (enabling Safeway shareholders to have
5152-482: 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
5264-628: 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
5376-469: The Kestrel, also has a library, hairdressers, a recently refurbished health centre and a Tesco, the second is off Lordswood Lane, and includes a hairdresser, chip shop, bookmakers and general store. There is also a leisure centre off North Dane Way, with a park and playing field. The wood of 'Lords Wood' originally (pre 1900) extended for approximately one mile by three quarters, located on high ground above
5488-531: 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
5600-492: 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
5712-406: The Morrisons Daily fascia. In February 2023, 16 months after the CD&R takeover of the 124-year-old chain, it was reported as having "fallen into a hole that just keeps getting deeper". The chain's underlying profits had dropped by 15% to £828 million in the year ending 30 October; sales dropped by 4.2% despite prices increasing sharply—implying an even greater loss in volume of sales—for
SECTION 50
#17327908974915824-741: 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
5936-407: 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
6048-481: The UK. Following the acquisition of Safeway, Morrisons encountered a number of difficulties. The company had issued five profits warnings since the acquisition, and it was felt that Morrisons' "northern" format did not work as well in the south. To reinvigorate its new national image, Morrisons appointed Dutchman Marc Bolland , the chief operating officer of Heineken , as its new Chief Executive. On 13 March 2008, Sir Ken Morrison retired as chairman after 55 years at
6160-433: The Walderslade prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Princes Park is lower down the valley to the north. It has a community hall, pub, newsagents, Indian Takeaway and a supermarket (currently Morrisons , formerly Safeway ), petrol station, 2 primary schools (Maundene and Kingfisher) and a Church (Christ the King). The original farm house, which is a mid 17th century, Grade II listed building, can still be seen by
6272-427: The Walderslade valley with Lidsing at its south-south/east corner. Along with other local woodland, it was originally associated with a much larger wood called Great Cowbeck Woods. Before the area was cleared for housing, Lords Wood included dense woodland associated with difficult terrain, probably similar to other extensive wood land in the area at that time including the nearby Malling and Weeds Woods. Running through
6384-417: 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
6496-431: The abbreviation Wm Morrison, it began as an egg and butter stall in Rawson Market, Bradford. Until 2004, its store locations were focused in the North of England but, with the takeover of Safeway in that year, the company's presence increased significantly in the South of England , Wales and Scotland. As of February 2021, Morrisons employed 110,000 employees and served around 11 million customers each week. The company
6608-413: The aim of having a store within 15 minutes of every UK home. Marc Bolland departed to become the CEO of Marks & Spencer in December 2009, and Dalton Philips was appointed as his replacement in January 2010. In 2010, Morrisons signed a deal with budget retailer Peacocks , the first concession store opened as part of a refurbishment at the retailer's store in Idle, Bradford. The Peacocks section
6720-412: The area include Walderslade Girls' School and Greenacre Academy (boys). Access to Walderslade is off the M2 motorway at junction 3 and not far from junction 6 of the M20 motorway . This gives access to the Channel Tunnel and cross channel ferries as well as road and rail links to London, the M25 motorway , Dartford bridge/tunnel, Blackwall tunnel and the rest of Britain. Bus services focus on
6832-467: The area) were associated with the clearance of local woodland to help supply Chatham Dockyard with oak for the building of wooden sailing ships. Chatham dockyard constructed ships such as HMS Victory, launched at Chatham in 1765. Most of the larger and more valuable oak trees would have existed in the richer soil of the Valley bottoms and slopes (Walderslade, Shawstead etc.) where the farms were typically located. The ruins of Upper Shawstead Farm are now within
SECTION 60
#17327908974916944-412: The boundary of Capstone Farm Country Park . Most of this farmland belonged to Shawstead Manor. Settington Farm was located close to where Morrisons Supermarket now stands in Walderslade Valley and existed up until the 1950s. Walderslade farm existed close to where Walderslade village exists today and extended along the Valley to Settington Farm. The 16th century Walderslade manor farmhouse still exists as
7056-442: The business as an egg and butter merchant in Rawson Market, Bradford , England, operating under the name of Wm Morrison Limited . His son Ken Morrison took over the company in 1952, aged 21. In 1958, Morrisons opened a small shop in the city centre. It was the first self-service store in Bradford, the first store to have prices on its products, and it had three checkouts. The company opened its first supermarket , "Victoria", in
7168-433: The closure of Safeway and BP joint venture convenience store/petrol station. Under the deal, the premises had been split 50/50 between the two companies. Morrisons also sold Safeway's Channel Islands stores, in Guernsey and Jersey , to CI Traders where the stores continued to trade as Safeway , although the products they sold carried the brand names of chains such as Iceland . In 2011, Sandpiper CI/CI Traders sold
7280-429: The company in March 2015. Morrisons also announced the closure of ten loss-making stores (eight former Netto UK stores and two former Somerfield stores, bought under Philips's leadership) in Cramlington , Accrington , Ravensthorpe , Bransholme ( Hull ), Telford , West Bromwich , Wallasey ( Seacombe ), Newton le Willows , Rugby and Crawley . In addition, six unprofitable convenience stores would close, and
7392-408: The company's forecourts. In 2019, Morrisons Daily stores operated by MPK Garages and Essar began to trade under a similar deal. In 2018, Morrisons agreed on a franchise and wholesale supply deal with SandpiperCI to operate 43 Morrisons Daily convenience stores in the Channel Islands, which were previously operated under the Nisa brand. By 2022, SandpiperCI had converted 19 of their stores in
7504-445: The company, and was made Honorary President. When the Co-operative Group completed its takeover of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, it was required to sell a number of stores by the Competition Commission . Morrisons purchased 35 stores from the combined group, mostly trading under the Somerfield name. These new stores were the first of more than 100 identified by Morrisons for expansion into smaller supermarkets, with
7616-414: The company. In July 2021 a bid to take over Morrisons, led by US private equity firm, Fortress Investment Group and backed by the Canada Pension Plan and Koch Industries , valuing the company at £6.3 billion ($ 8.7 billion), was made. This bid was provisionally accepted by the board, subject to shareholder approval, on 3 July 2021. Following the Fortress bid, Apollo Global were considering
7728-412: 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,
7840-446: The cost of 720 jobs. In September 2015, Morrisons announced the sale of its 140 M Local stores to Mike Greene and Greybull Capital , to be re-branded My Local , for £25 million and that it planned to close 11 supermarkets, with a reported 900 jobs lost. In January 2016 Morrisons bosses announced that a further 7 stores would be closing to help optimise their existing assets and address areas of underperformance. Following
7952-495: 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
8064-620: 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
8176-574: 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
8288-503: 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
8400-740: The edge of the original woodland, Lords Wood Lane originally followed the brow of the hill above Walderslade Valley (and still does in places). Archaeological finds and other evidence in the area suggest that Lords Wood Lane may originate from at least the Bronze Age period and is probably the oldest lane in Walderslade. Lordswood still retains a small number of large mature trees saved from the clearance of woodland for housing and other purposes. Primary schools in Walderslade include Kingfisher Community Primary School, Maundene School, Oaklands Infant School, Oaklands Junior School, Tunbury Primary School and Walderslade Primary School. Secondary schools serving
8512-708: 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
8624-549: The full Morrisons format. In September 2005, the company announced the closure of former Safeway depots in Kent, Bristol and Warrington with the loss of 2,500 jobs. The Kent depot was later sold to upmarket rival Waitrose, and the Warrington one to frozen food rival Iceland. Part of the Bristol depot was sold to Gist. The store conversion process was completed on 24 November 2005 when the final Safeway fascia disappeared from
8736-456: The higher ground (Lord Wood, Dargets Wood and Hall or Hail Wood) – where substantial woodland remained until the area became subject to new housing development. This started in the early 1900s and expanded considerably from the 1950s onwards. It is possible that the Romans (who were present in nearby Luton) were the first to start the clearance of woodland in the valley. The southern (Boxley) end of
8848-607: The landowners. The Walderslade Woodlands Group (WWG) is voluntary group who manage and maintain the woodlands. Weedswood, to the north and north west of Walderslade village, has a parade of shops, the Poacher's Pocket pub (hook and hatchet pub?) and a kebab shop famed locally for being housed in what once was a public toilet. Greenacre and Walderslade Girls secondary schools are in the area, along with Oaklands Primary School. There are two churches, Emmanuel ( Congregational Federation ) and St Philip & St James ( Church of England ), and
8960-622: 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
9072-483: The north of Walderslade Woods (road). The three valleys are Tunbury (most western), Cossington and Round Wood (most eastern), and these are all classified as ancient woodlands. The five plateaux were made when the M2 and Walderslade Woods (road) were constructed, and so are significantly different from the rest of the woodlands, and also different from each other. The whole area is now protected by having Village Green Status, and so cannot be developed by Kent County Council –
9184-426: The north. There is a small link via Luton, which is connected to Wayfield and Princes Avenue estates. To the east is Capstone country park, a valley preserved from development (although formerly a large landfill). This clearly separates Gillingham and Hempstead from Walderslade. To the south the M2 motorway completes the encirclement of Walderslade. The centre of Walderslade village comprises of St William's Church,
9296-527: 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
9408-566: The observant on Princes Avenue itself closer to the centre of Walderslade village, on the corner of Dargets Road. The closer Settingdon Farm (pre 1950s) was sited almost exactly where Morrisons supermarket now stands. The Davis Estate has a community hall, a parade of shops including a post office, newsagents; several takeaways, the Tiger Moth pub and a garage. Neighbouring is the Horsted retail park where several large retailers are located and
9520-682: The outskirts of Walderslade village, a couple of minutes walk away, is Princes Park recreation ground. On the outskirts are the Alexandra Hospital (Spire – no A&E) – see Walderslade Woods, the Bridgewood Hotel, the Walderslade Working Men's Club. Also, opposite the Poacher's Pocket (formerly called the Hook and Hatchet) public house is a playing field (formerly known as Hook Meadow) which used to be part of
9632-552: The primary bus station of Medway, near to the Pentagon shopping centre in Chatham. Other routes provide links with the neighbouring town of Maidstone . There are also bus links to the Bluewater shopping centre between Dartford and Gravesend . 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
9744-420: The remaining family stake in the supermarket, agreed, telling told the board it needed rescuing, and welcomed the decision by chairman Sir Ian Gibson to leave the business in June 2015. In June 2014, Morrisons announced that plans had been put in place to cut 2,600 jobs as a result of changes to its management structure. Morrisons stated that it had trialled the new structure and believed that better performance
9856-491: 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
9968-430: 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
10080-604: 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
10192-469: The roll-out of the convenience store chain would be slowed, as a batch of 40 sites would no longer be bought. In June 2015, Morrisons cut the price of 200 'everyday items' by up to 33% The store chain's like-for-like sales had fallen by 2.9% in the first three months of 2015, after falling 2.6% in the last three months of 2014. The company responded by deciding to 'simplify' its head office in Bradford at
10304-552: 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 ,
10416-536: The supermarket chain on a 25-year agreement, for a rent of £5.4 million per annum. Following a 3.1% drop in like-for-like sales in the Christmas 2014 trading period, Sir Ian Gibson stood down six months early and was replaced by former Tesco chief financial officer Andrew Higginson at the end of January 2015. On 25 February 2015, Morrisons named former Tesco director David Potts as its new chief executive. Dalton Philips and five other executives also left
10528-523: The takeover. Two closed for other reasons, John Lewis Partnership purchased 19 to be part of its Waitrose chain, J Sainsbury plc purchased a further 14, and Tesco bought 10 in October 2004. At the time Morrisons chose not to move into the convenience store sector, although it later did so with its M Local stores. In accordance with this policy decision, 114 smaller 'Safeway Compact' stores were sold to rival supermarket chain Somerfield in 2004 in
10640-681: 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
10752-567: 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
10864-572: 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
10976-453: 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
11088-588: 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
11200-519: The valley – still retains some woodland. Google Earth Historical Imagery option shows the extent of local woodland as it existed in the 1940s and 1960s. There were originally four farms in the Walderslade and surrounding areas, including Walderslade Farm and Settington Farm – which both existed within Walderslade Valley. Also Gibraltar Farm and Shawstead Farm (the last two still exist in a nearby valley). Shawstead Farm (and probably others in
11312-405: 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
11424-597: 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
11536-534: Was achieved via these methods. These cuts would primarily affect department manager and supervisory positions. Morrisons claimed they would create 1,000 jobs in Morrisons ;M local convenience stores and 3,000 in new supermarkets. Following this, Morrisons sold its distribution centre in Kent to a real estate investment company for £97.8 million. The depot in Kemsley was to be immediately leased back to
11648-558: 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
11760-570: Was criticised by the British Veterinary Association and the Kennel Club , as raisins are harmful to dogs. Morrisons said that veterinarian advice they received said that there would be minimal risk. In May 2013, Morrisons formed a partnership with Ocado to use its technology systems and distribution infrastructure to help launch its own online service. Richard Pennycook, who had joined Morrisons in October 2005,
11872-650: Was criticised for retaining Paula Vennells on its board, despite her role as CEO of the Post Office during the subpostmasters' scandal and criticism of her leadership there as "both cruel and incompetent" by a Conservative peer and various MPs. Vennells eventually left her role as a non-executive director on 26 April 2021. On 16 August 2021, a worker led a protest against the company for raising deformed birds at four of its intensive farms. The Independent reported that campaigners from Open Cages, Animal Equality UK and The Humane League UK were urging Morrisons to sign
11984-669: 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
12096-453: Was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in October 2021. Many changes were made after the takeover, and the company was struggling financially. Morrisons is the fifth largest supermarket in the United Kingdom by market share (8.8%), overtaken for fourth place by Aldi in September 2022. The company was founded in June 1899 by William Morrison, who started
12208-462: Was recommended by the board of Morrisons to shareholders; the board dropped its recommendation for Fortress's offer. In October 2021 the £7 billion CD&R bid was accepted; the takeover was approved by the High Court on 26 October 2021. In May 2022, Morrisons purchased McColl's in a pre-packaged insolvency arrangement with its administrator, with all stores eventually converting to
12320-460: Was replaced as Chief Financial Officer at Morrisons in June 2013 by Trevor Strain, previously Finance Director Corporate. In February 2014, it emerged that younger members of the founding Morrison family, who own 10% of the company and who are thought to include two of Honorary President Sir Ken Morrison's children, William Morrison Junior and Andrea Shelley, along with Sir Ken Morrison's niece and her husband, Susan and Nigel Pritchard, had approached
12432-457: Was rolled out into other stores before launching its own children's-wear brand 'Nutmeg' into 85 stores on 21 March 2013. The first Morrisons M local store opened in Ilkley , Yorkshire, in 2011. All M Local stores were later rebranded as the short-lived " My Local " chain in 2015. In December 2012, a television advertising campaign which showed a dog being given pieces of Christmas pudding
12544-545: 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,
#490509