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THE HISTORIC DOCKYARD CHATHAM
A MARITIME STORY WORTHY OF RECOGNITION
BY SOPHIE SHORTER
© Pete Joyce
Standing proudly on the banks of the River Medway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has spent more than four centuries shaping Britain’ s maritime story. From building iconic warships for the Royal Navy like HMS Victory to helping establish the nation as a global power, few places in Kent can claim such a significant role in history.
Built in the 16th century to provide a safe anchorage and base for England’ s expanding navy, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is widely recognised as the world’ s most complete dockyard of the Age of Sail- a period when Britain’ s naval dominance helped shape the course of global trade, exploration and warfare.
The dockyard’ s story began long before the site we recognise today. The earliest recorded evidence of naval activity on the River Medway dates back to 1547, with the rental of two storehouses. As demand increased, facilities including a wharf, slipway and storehouses were established below Chatham Church, creating the foundations of what would become one of the county’ s most important naval centres. The first known warship built there was the Merlin, a ten-gun pinnace launched in 1579.
By 1618, the dockyard had relocated to its current position to accommodate the navy’ s expansion. The former Tudor yard was redeveloped as Gun Wharf for the Ordinance Board’ s facilities, while the new site quickly evolved with additional storehouses, slips and workshops. By 1625, a dry dock had been built and houses for senior officers erected.
The move proved transformative, with the dockyard becoming the Royal Navy’ s principle fleet base, a role it retained until the 18th century where it progressed into Britain’ s principle shipbuilding and repair yard, building many of the largest ships of the fleet.
New facilities were required for the dockyard’ s expanding role, resulting in extensive redevelopment that shaped much of what is still visible today. Two mast ponds were excavated to store and season timber used for ship masts and both remain today with one standing as an important archaeological site and the other recognised as the dockyard’ s earliest surviving visible historic structure.
Among its most notable buildings is the Commissioners House, completed in 1704 for Captain George St Lo. Widely regarded as the oldest surviving intact naval building in Britain, it has appeared in major
productions including Netflix’ s Bridgerton and BBC’ s Call the Midwife.
Today, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’ s most celebrated attractions, preserving over 400 years of maritime history while continuing to engage new generations through exhibitions, events and immersive experiences.
Visitors can step aboard HM Submarine Ocelot, a Cold War submarine; explore HMS Cavalier, the Navy’ s last surviving WWII Destroyer; and walk the deck of HMS Gannet, a Victorian sloop. Alongside its historic fleet, the dockyard hosts an extensive programme of events including the Call the Midwife Location Tour, the Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition and Steve Backshall’ s Awesome Oceans Family Trail.
From its earliest days serving England’ s navy to the landmark destination recognised today, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has never strayed far from its purpose. For generations it has played a defining role in history and now remains a place where visitors can still experience that story firsthand.
thedockyard. co. uk dockyard. chatham
32 • www. insidekent. co. uk