Chatham Dockyard


Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham.
It came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional defences. For 414 years Chatham Royal Dockyard provided over 500 ships for the Royal Navy, and was at the forefront of shipbuilding, industrial and architectural technology. At its height, it employed over 10,000 skilled artisans and covered. Chatham dockyard closed in 1984, and of the Georgian dockyard is now managed as the Chatham Historic Dockyard visitor attraction by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

Outline history

The Treasurer of the Navy's accounts of the King's Exchequer for the year 1544 identifies Deptford Dockyard near London as the dockyard that carried out all the major repairs to the king's ships that year. That was soon to change.

Jillyngham Water

Chatham's establishment as a naval dockyard was precipitated by the use of the Medway as a safe anchorage by the ships of what was to become England's permanent Royal Navy. In 1550, a decree was issued to the Lord High Admiral that:
all the Kinges shippes should be harborowed in Jillyngham Water – saving only those that be at Portsmouth

Even prior to this, there is evidence of certain shore facilities being established in the vicinity for the benefit of the King's ships at anchor: there are isolated references from as early as 1509 to the hiring of a storehouse nearby and from 1547 this becomes a fixed item in the Treasurer's annual accounts. The storehouse would have furnished ships with such necessary consumables as rope, pulleys, sailcloth and timber. Careening took place on the river, according to a Privy Council instruction of 1550; for more specialised repairs and maintenance, however, ships would have had to travel to one of the purpose-built royal dockyards.

The early dockyard

1567 is generally seen as the date of Chatham's establishment as a Royal Naval Dockyard. In the years that followed the ground was prepared, accommodation was secured and in 1570 a mast pond was installed. The following year a forge was built for anchor-making. At around the same time a large house was leased for administrative purposes ; among other things it contained the Pay Office, and remained in Naval use for the next 150 years.
The renowned Tudor shipwright Mathew Baker was appointed to Chatham in 1572. Under his supervision the site was developed to include sawpits, workshops, storehouses and a wharf with a treadmill crane. Most significantly, Chatham's first dry dock was opened in 1581. The first ship to be built at the dockyard, a pinnace named HMS Sunne, was launched in 1586.
The dockyard received its first royal visit, from Elizabeth I, in 1573; later, in 1606, James I used Chatham dockyard for a meeting with Christian IV of Denmark.

Relocation

In the early 17th century the government resolved to invest in a new specialised facility for refitting and repairing warships. By 1611 Chatham had been chosen as its location. The decision established Chatham as the country's premier naval industrial complex; nevertheless, concerns were already being raised over its river being prone to silting.
The decision required the dockyard to move from its original location, which was too constricted, to a new site to the north. By 1619, the new dockyard consisted of a new dry dock and wharf with storehouses, all enclosed within a brick perimeter wall. The growing importance of the dockyard was illustrated with the addition soon afterwards of a mast pond, and the granting of additional land on which a second dry dock was constructed, along with a sail loft, a ropery and residences for the dockyard officers: all of which were completed by 1624.
Peter Pett, of the family of shipwrights whose history is closely connected to the Chatham dockyard, became commissioner in 1649. In 1686 two new dry docks were built, in addition to the old single and double dry docks; all four were rebuilt and expanded at various points in subsequent centuries. Although the yard focused mainly on refitting and repairs, some shipbuilding continued to take place. It made do with a single shipbuilding slip for much of the 17th century. Also in 1686 a 'Great Long Store-house' was built, alongside the ropery on what is now Anchor Wharf; and two new mast ponds were constructed, in what was then the northernmost part of the yard, in 1697 and 1702.

Sheerness

One of the disadvantages of Chatham was their relative inaccessibility for ships at sea. Therefore, rather than risk being constrained by wind, tide and draught on a journey upriver, ships would seek as often as possible to do running repairs and maintenance while at anchor, and would only travel to the dockyard when necessary. Thus deliveries of victuals, ordnance and other supplies were made by small boats, sailing regularly between Chatham and The Nore.
Seeking to alleviate this less-than-satisfactory situation, the Navy Board explored options for developing a shore facility with direct access from the open water of the Thames Estuary. The escalating Anglo-Dutch wars forced their hand, however: several temporary buildings were hastily erected in Sheerness, at the mouth of the Medway, to enable ships to re-arm, re-victual and be repaired as quickly as possible. In 1665, the Navy Board approved Sheerness as a site for a new dockyard, and building work began; but in 1667 the still-incomplete Sheerness Dockyard was captured by the Dutch Navy and used as the base for a humiliating attack on the English fleet at anchor in the Medway itself. Sheerness remained operational as a royal dockyard until 1959, but it was never considered a major shore establishment and in several respects it operated as a subsidiary yard to Chatham.

Consolidation

By the late 17th century a number of prestigious new buildings were erected, several of which are still in place. At the same time, the nearby village of Brompton began to be developed to provide housing for the dockyard's growing workforce.
From the very start of the 18th century, however, Chatham began to be superseded in both size and importance, first by Portsmouth, then Plymouth, when the main naval enemy became France, and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations. In addition, the Medway had begun to silt up, making navigation more difficult. As a result, it was acknowledged by 1771 that Chatham had no future as a front-line fleet base; nevertheless, following a visit by the Admiralty Board in 1773, the decision was taken to invest further in Chatham, and to develop it as a building yard rather than a refitting base.
By this time the establishment, including the gun wharf, stretched in length, and included an area of in excess of. Alongside the four dry docks it now had a total of six shipbuilding slips, albeit three of the six were under in length and suitable only for building smaller warships. The docks varied from to in length. The officers and men employed in the yard had also increased, and by 1798 they numbered 1,664, including 49 officers and clerks and 624 shipwrights. Additionally required were the blockmakers, caulkers, pitch-heaters, blacksmiths, joiners and carpenters, sail makers, riggers, and ropemakers, as well as bricklayers, labourers and others. Building works at Chatham did not compare with the substantial expansions underway at Portsmouth and Plymouth at this time; but the southern part of the yard was significantly redeveloped, with construction of two new storehouses on Anchor Wharf and a major reconfiguration of the ropery.
Among the vessels built in this Dockyard which still exist are and .

Mechanisation

Following the appointment of Robert Seppings as Master Shipwright in 1804, iron began to be introduced into the structure of ships being built at Chatham; the following year work began on a new, much larger smithery, commissioned by Samuel Bentham, designed by Edward Holl and fitted out by John Rennie. Among other things, the use of iron in ship construction enabled larger vessels to be built, and between 1836 and 1851 Chatham gained five new covered slipways, much larger in scale than the ones they replaced..
In 1811, Marc Brunel recommended the installation of steam-powered sawmills in the royal dockyards, to replace the manual labour of the saw pits. Money was only made available for one such installation, however, and Chatham was chosen as its location. Land was purchased to the northeast for its construction, and the new saw mill began operation in 1814. The following year, John Rennie was engaged to build an entirely new dry dock which was the first in the dockyard to be built entirely of stone; it was built on the site of the old smithery. Unlike the earlier timber docks, which were drained using gravity, this new dock was pumped dry using a Boulton & Watt steam engine. After completion of the new dock in 1821, reconstruction of the other docks in stone followed ; they were likewise emptied using steam power, provided by the same engine and pumps. Another novel application of steam power was embarked on in 1817, with the building of a 'Lead and Paint Mill', in which a single beam engine powered a rolling mill and a series of devices for grinding pigment and mixing paint; the plant was operational from 1819. It was not until 1837, however, that steam power was first introduced into the ropery, and the smithery received its first engine in 1841.
At the same time, moves were being made towards the application of steam power to ship propulsion. The first steam-powered ship to be laid down at Chatham was HMS Phoenix, one of four paddle steamers built concurrently across the royal dockyards in the early 1830s, each designed by a different leading shipwright. HMS Bee, launched at Chatham in 1842, was an experimental vessel fitted with both paddles and a propeller, each of which could be driven independently from the same engine for comparison. Following the success of such early trials with screw propulsion, several older sailing ships were taken into dry dock and retro-fitted with propellers, beginning with HMS Horatio. Another hint of changes to come was seen in the launch of HMS Aetna, the first armour-plated vessel to be built at Chatham, in 1856. All these developments were to come together with the construction of HMS Achilles, in a newly expanded No 2 Dock, between 1860 and 1864: the first true iron-hulled battleship to be launched in a royal dockyard.
To meet the new demands of building in iron, metal mills were built alongside the smithery in 1845, containing rolling machinery and furnaces for reprocessing iron. Holl's smithery was itself enlarged with the addition of a foundry in the 1850s, and its courtyard was roofed over for a steam hammer shop in 1865. By 1861, No 1 Dock had been filled in and a machine shop constructed in its place for heating, bending and planing armour plate for HMS Achilles which was being built alongside. For the time being, however, marine steam engines were not manufactured on site but were ordered from Thames-based private contractors.

Expansion

A significant disadvantage for Chatham was that fitting out had always taken place on the river. When Achilles, for example, had been completed and floated out of dry dock, she spent almost a year moored in Gillingham Reach, where not only her engines, boilers, funnels and a propeller, but also masts, sails, rigging, guns, coal, food, ammunition and furnishings were either loaded or installed. It was partly to address this problem that the Admiralty undertook a huge building programme at Chatham, between 1862 and 1865, which quadrupled the size of the yard and provided specialist facilities for steam-powered ships with metal hulls. Three basins were constructed along St Mary's creek, from west to east: No 1 Basin, No 2 Basin and No 3 Basin. Along the southern edge of No 1 Basin four new dry docks were built, each long. Initially a purpose-built 'steam factory' was planned, but following the closure of Woolwich Dockyard in 1869 a number of slip covers were removed from that site and re-erected at the head of the new dry docks to serve as factories for building and fitting engines and for boilermaking.
No 1 Basin was officially opened in 1871, with HMS Invincible being brought into No 5 Dock for repairs, with great ceremony. Work on the other docks and basins followed, with No 3 Basin finally being completed in 1883. Two years later the project was largely complete, with facilities provided alongside for gun mounting and mast rigging, as well as a victualling depot and a coaling area. Much of the excavation and building work had been done by convict labour. In 1897 a naval barracks was built on the site of the prison to provide crew accommodation for ships anchored in The Nore; for the next sixty years it served as the headquarters of Nore Command, whose Commander-in-Chief was accommodated in the adjacent Admiralty House.
, c.1910.
In 1897 a new, even longer dry dock was opened on the north side of No 1 Basin: at its opening, this was the largest in the world at long by wide. At around the same time, in the older part of the dockyard, No 7 Slip was extended to accommodate the building of HMS Prince of Wales, and a new slipway was built a little to the north ; at this was one of the longest slips in the world and was designed for building battleships. The first battleship to be built on the new No 8 Slip was HMS Africa, launched in 1905; however it also proved to be the last, as it was announced that Chatham Dockyard would be unable to accommodate Dreadnoughts. Proposals were made for a fourth Basin of, together with additional large docks of up to, to cover the remaining land on St Mary's Island; but these were soon superseded by plans to build an entirely new dockyard at Rosyth.
Nevertheless, Light cruisers and other smaller vessels continued to be built at Chatham during the first half of the 20th century. Also with the 20th century came the submarine. The first submarine to be built at a royal dockyard was, launched from No 7 Slip in 1908 and then fitted out in No 2 Dock; three more of the same class followed. During World War I, twelve submarines were built here, but when hostilities ceased, uncompleted boats were scrapped and five years passed before a further ship was launched. In the interwar years, eight S-class submarines were built at Chatham but this was a period of decline.

Last years

In February 1958 it was announced in Parliament that Sheerness Dockyard would close in 1960, with Nore Command to be abolished the following year. At the same time, it was made clear that at Chatham "the dockyard will be retained; but the barracks and other naval establishments will be closed".
The final boats constructed in Chatham were s – was the last vessel built for the Royal Navy, and the final vessel was built for the Royal Canadian Navy and launched on 17 September 1966. In 1968, a nuclear submarine refitting complex was built between Nos 6 and 7 dry docks, complete with refuelling cranes and health physics building. In spite of this in June 1981, it was announced to Parliament that the dockyard would be run down and closed in 1984.

Closure

The closure of Chatham Dockyard was announced in Parliament in June 1981 and scheduled to take place in 1984. Redundancy notices were served, but then abruptly withdrawn following the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands; the dockyard was heavily involved in preparing ships for the South Atlantic, and in repairing damaged vessels on their return. Nonetheless, the dockyard closed, as planned, on 31 March 1984.

Regeneration

At the time of its closure the dockyard covered. Thereafter this was divided into three sections:
, comprising the 18th century core of the site, was transferred to a charity called the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. The Georgian site is now a visitor attraction under the care of the Trust: Chatham Historic Dockyard. The Trust is preparing an application for the Dockyard and its Defences to become a World Heritage Site.
The easternmost basin was handed over to the Medway Ports authority and is now a commercial port. It includes Papersafe UK and Nordic Recycling Ltd. In 2013 Peel Ports, which owns and runs Chatham Docks, announced that it was set to convert a portion of the commercial port into a mixed-use development. The development is called "Chatham Waters". In 2019 Peel announced that Chatham Docks would close in 2025 with the loss of 800 jobs.
The remaining were transferred to the government's urban regeneration agency. Under its remit, the westernmost Basin was turned into a marina, part of the former factory area to the south was transformed into an entertainment and retail complex and the former Barracks became Universities at Medway. St Mary's Island, a, largely undeveloped area to the north of the three basins, was transformed into a residential community for some 1,500 homes. It has several themed areas with traditional maritime buildings, a fishing village with its multi-coloured houses and a modern energy-efficient concept. Many homes have views of the River Medway. A primary school and a medical centre provide facilities for the residents and there are attractive walks around the Island.

Filming

Chatham Dockyard has become a popular location for filming, due to its varied and interesting areas such as the cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Productions that have chosen to film at Chatham Dockyard include: Les Misérables, Call the Midwife, Mr Selfridge, , Oliver Twist, The World Is Not Enough and Grantchester.

Descriptions

described Chatham dockyard as
...stored for the finest fleet the sun ever beheld, and ready at a minute’s warning, built lately by our most gracious sovereign Elizabeth at great expense for the security of her subjects and the terror of her enemies, with a fort on the shore for its defence.

Daniel Defoe, visiting the yard in 1705, also spoke of its achievements with an almost incredulous enthusiasm:
So great is the order and application there, that a first-rate vessel of war of 106 guns, ordered to be commissioned by Sir Cloudesley Shovell, was ready in three days. At the time the order was given the vessel was entirely unrigged; yet the masts were raised, sails bent, anchors and cables on board, in that time''.

Significant buildings within the Georgian Dockyard

Wood and canvas

Victorian Steam Yard

Resident Commissioners of the Navy Board

The Commissioner of Chatham Dockyard held a seat and a vote on the Navy Board in London. The Commissioners were:
In 1832 the post of commissioner was replaced by the post of superintendent, who was invested with the same power and authority as the former commissioners, "except in matters requiring an Act of Parliament to be submitted by the Commissioner of the Navy".

Admiral/Captain superintendents

After the abolition of the post of Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, Chatham's Admiral Superintendent took on the additional role of local Flag Officer and the title Flag Officer, Medway.

Flag Officer, Medway and Admiral Superintendent

Included:
On 5 September 1971 all Flag Officers of the Royal Navy holding positions of Admiral Superintendents at Royal Dockyards were redesignated as Port Admirals. While they retained command over the naval personnel on site, and responsibility for the base as a whole, their oversight of the work of the dockyard was transferred to new civilian Dockyard General Managers, who had management responsibility across all Departments.

Flag Officer, Medway and Port Admiral

An Ordnance Yard was established in the 17th century immediately upriver of the Dockyard. The yard would have received, stored and issued cannons and gun-carriages for ships based in the Medway, as well as for local artillery emplacements and for army use.
A plan of 1704 shows a long Storehouse parallel to the river, the Storekeeper's house and a pair of Carriage Stores. In 1717 the original Storehouse was replaced with the Grand Store. Not long afterwards a large new single-storey Carriage Store, with a long frontage parallel to the river, was constructed, adjoining the Storekeeper's House to the south.
After the demise of the Board of Ordnance, Ordnance Yards passed under the control of the War Office, and were eventually apportioned to either the Army or the Navy. Chatham's yard was split in two, the area south of the Storekeeper's House becoming an Army Ordnance Store, and the rest a Navy Ordnance Store. It remained thus until 1958 when the yards were closed. Most of the 18th-century buildings were demolished, with the exception of the Storekeeper's House of 1719, which survives as the Command House public house. A few later buildings have survived: a long brick shed of 1805, southwest of the Command House, which once housed carpenters, wheelwrights and other workers as well as stores of various kinds, the adjacent building which now serves as a public library, and the building known as the White House.

Defence of the dockyard

Upnor Castle

Dockyards have always required shore defences. Among the earliest for Chatham was Upnor Castle, built in 1567, on the opposite side of the River Medway. It was somewhat unfortunate that, on the one occasion when it was required for actionthe Raid on the Medway, 1667the Dutch fleet were able to sail right past it to attack the English fleet and carry off the pride of the fleet, HMS Royal Charles, back to the Netherlands.

Chain defence

During the wars with Spain it was usual for ships to anchor at Chatham in reserve; consequently John Hawkins threw a massive chain across the River Medway for extra defence in 1585. Hawkins' chain was later replaced with a boom of masts, iron, cordage, and the hulls of two old ships, besides a couple of ruined pinnacles.

The Lines

With the failure of Upnor Castle, it was seen necessary to increase the defences. In the event, those defences were built in distinct phases, as the government saw the increasing threat of invasion:
The Dockyard led to large numbers of military personnel being garrisoned in Chatham and the surrounding area. A good many were engaged in manning the defences, but some had other duties; others were accommodated there for convenience prior to embarking on ships for duties overseas, or following their disembarkation. Initially, soldiers were housed under canvas or else billetted in houses and inns, but from the 18th century barracks began to be constructed. The oldest surviving barracks in the Chatham area is in Upnor; dating from 1718, it housed the detachment of 64 men responsible for guarding the gunpowder store in Upnor Castle.

Infantry Barracks (Kitchener Barracks)

Chatham Infantry Barracks was opened in 1757 to house troops manning the fortifications which had recently been built to defend the Dockyard. Accommodating some 1,800 men, Chatham was one of the first large-scale Army barracks in England.
Within the space of 20 years, it had taken on an additional role as the Army Depôt of Recruits and Invalids: accommodating 'a mixed mass of people, viz. recruits destined for regiments which were abroad, prisoners confined on account of desertion and other military offences, added to which was a proportion of invalids, sent home from foreign stations on account of old age, or bodily infirmity'. The establishment of the Depôt was linked to the appointment in 1778 of an 'Inspector General and Superintendent of the Recruiting of all the Forces employed on foreign service', based in Chatham, who provided a degree of centralised oversight of recruitment. During this time, Chatham Depôt provided basic training for new recruits. This role ceased in 1801, however, when the entire Depôt establishment moved to Parkhurst Barracks on the Isle of Wight.
The Infantry Barracks then went on to serve as a home depot for numerous regiments stationed around the globe. In 1928 the barracks was taken over by the Royal Engineers and renamed Kitchener Barracks. One barrack block remains from 1757; the rest was largely demolished and rebuilt to a more modern design in the 1930s–50s. The barracks remained in military use until 2014.
In 2014 the site was sold to a property developer, with permission given the following year for the building of 295 homes. The main 1930s barracks building is being retained, along with the remaining earlier structures. The new development has retained the name Kitchener Barracks.

Marine Barracks

The Royal Marine Barracks, Chatham were established in 1779, on a site nestled between the Gun Wharf to the west, the Dockyard to the north, and Infantry Barracks to the east. The site was expanded and rebuilt in the 1860s; in 1905 the Royal Marines took over Melville Barracks, which stood between Dock Road and Brompton Hill. The Marines were withdrawn from Chatham in 1950, and the buildings were later demolished. Medway Council offices and car park now stand on the site.

Artillery/Engineer Barracks (Brompton Barracks)

A barracks was built in Brompton from 1804 to 1806 for the Royal Artillery gunners serving on the defensive Lines. There was space for some 500 horses and 1,000 men. In 1812 the Royal Engineers Establishment was founded within the barracks to provide instruction in military engineering. The Establishment grew, and by 1856 the Artillery had moved out; Brompton Barracks remains in service as headquarters of the Royal Engineers.

St Mary's Barracks

St Mary's Casemated Barracks were built during the Peninsular War and initially held French prisoners of war. After the war's end, they went on to serve as a gunpowder store for a time, and were used by the Royal Engineers. From 1844 St Mary's was used as an 'Invalid Barracks', accommodating soldiers having to return from service in different parts of the British Empire because of illness, injury or age. Built within the defensive earthworks to the north of Chatham, St Mary's Barracks was demolished in the 1960s and the land used for housing.

Naval Barracks (HMS ''Pembroke'')

The Naval Barracks opened in 1902; prior to this, most Naval personnel were accommodated on board their ships or on hulks moored nearby. Built on the site of what had been the convict prison, the barracks complex could accommodate 4,742 officers and seamen in a series of large blocks built along the length of a terrace. Below the terrace lay the parade ground and its adjacent drill hall and other amenities. A further 3,000 troops could be accommodated in times of "total emergency". The barracks were set to close in 1961 when the majority of naval personnel were withdrawn from Chatham; however, it went on to serve instead as the RN Supply and Secretariat School in succession to, before finally being closed along with the Dockyard in 1984. The majority of its buildings are still standing, several of them occupied by the Universities at Medway.