Spotlight on Chatham

Chatham’s tremendous history as a naval, shipbuilding and military powerhouse is now likely to be matched by its dazzling future as the centre of regenerated Medway – the emerging new city of the Thames Gateway.

Like a sleeping giant, the town’s previously flagging fortunes have revived dramatically in recent years, with property prices soaring and thrilling long-term regeneration plans jumping from paper into practical reality.

High-speed rail links completing in 2009 will mean that London is only 30 minutes away, Chatham’s main shopping centre is about to receive a £100m makeover, making it second only to Bluewater.

The new Canary Wharf-style upmarket business and residential development known as Chatham Maritime is growing daily, and the historic dockyard and its environs are being put forward for World Heritage Site Status.

A bit of history
William the Conqueror’s brother once owned the quiet fishing and agricultural community of those days, and opinion is divided as to whether it was Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth who established the first naval dockyard here in the 16th century. The Duke of Anjou remarked of Her Majesty that “The Queen of England was reported to be ladie of the Seas.”

In the mid-18th century, the first phase of the Chatham Lines – earthwork defenses with ditches and ramparts – were dug, followed by the arrival of soldiers at Chatham Barracks. During the 1700s, the town’s expansion fostered disease, crime and a high mortality rate, and two serious fires destroyed the ubiquitous cheap timber housing.

The arrival of the railways in the next century boosted its prospects, until the dockyard’s demise, 20 years ago. Now the town is seeing a new dawn due to a fortuitous combination of circumstances: firstly, the Historic Dockyard has been developed as a booming tourist attraction and secondly, this Kentish port has become a magnet for money from South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and central government, because Chatham is considered to be the pivotal city for the vast Thames Gateway regeneration zone.

Did you know?

• The Chatham Chest refers to a mismanaged pension scheme organised by Elizabethan Treasurer of the Navy, Sir John Hawkins, whereby money was gathered in an oak chest for distribution to the needy.
• The young Charles Dickens enjoyed a happy childhood in the town until his impecunious father John had to move the family into the notorious slum district called ‘The Brook’.
• Samuel Pepys was Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board from 1660 – 73, during which time he campaigned for the suffering dockworkers, whom the government refused to pay.
• 12-year-old Horatio Nelson enlisted at Chatham and his famous ship ‘The Victory’ was later built there.
• ‘Number Three Slip’ at the Historic Dockyard, created as a protection during ship construction, was the widest man-made structure in Europe when it was built in 1838, and has recently opened to the public.
• Daniel Defoe visited the yard in 1720 and said ‘The buildings here are indeed like the ships themselves, surprisingly large and in their several kinds beautiful’.

What to see and do

The Historic Dockyard’s 80-acre site (01634 823807) is akin to a self-contained community within the town, and there is ample, and free, parking. There are beautiful buildings to admire, a working ropery and ropery museum and the main dockyard museum, plus two large ships and a submarine are available for inspection inside and out. There’s also Kent Police Museum, and the newly opened Number Three Slip, where there’ll be a small boat collection, a torpedo boat and displays of heavy engineering equipment.

Go down the hill and you’ll find Fort Amherst Heritage park and Caves (01634 847747) on your left, with a bronze statue of Lord Kitchener marking the entrance; there are gun batteries, redoubts and bastions and caves, with a lantern-lit ghost tour on the first Friday of every month. The Royal Engineers Museum and library (01634 822839), in nearby Gillingham, has exhibits of the Corps of Royal engineers and military engineering since 1700, including Wellington’s map from Waterloo and an interactive WW1 trench. The dramatic Naval Memorial is on a hill above the town, just off Wood Street, with its own car park. This impressive white stone column is set in a grassed landscape from where you can see astonishing views across the town.

Dickens World (01634 890421), a themed entertainment visitor attraction based on the life and literature of Charles Dickens, is at nearby Chatham Maritime, and there’s an adjoining cinema complex and themed restaurants and bars.

Across the river is Upnor village, with a castle, excellent pubs and wonderful views. You can take a boat trip down the river on the 1924-built paddle steamer Kingswear Castle (01634 827648).

Chatham has two excellent theatres, The Central Theatre and the Brook Theatre (formerly the Town Hall), which is an arts centre offering gallery exhibitions, theatrical shows and dance classes. (01634 338338 for both theatres)

Regeneration successes and ongoing plans
Chatham Maritime has been built on 140 acres of the former dockyard site and is still in the process of redevelopment. Grade II listed buildings within the area have been converted to new uses: The Ship and Trades Building (1875) was once a Joinery Office and is now a pub, restaurant, hotel and Coop store; The ‘Dockside Outlet Centre’, now accommodating 80 shops, was the dockyard's boiler shop.

Four universities have been established at Chatham Maritime, and there is a new marina. The former Drill Hall (1900s) has been converted to a University library (also open to all Medway residents) and is reputedly the longest University library in the world. A thousand homes have been built on Chatham Maritime’s St Mary’s Island, and another 2000 are planned there and in other parts of the area.

The Historic Dockyard and the surrounding fortifications are being put forward as a World Heritage Site. Project manager for the application, Joanne Cable, says: “The dockyard sites are of undoubted international significance, and Chatham Historic dockyard is the world’s finest surviving defence dockyard from the Great Age of Sail.” Within the last few months, an action plan for the future preservation and promotion of the site has been drawn up.

Within the town, the Pentagon Shopping Centre is going to be completely remodelled, with extra shops and facilities. A new space-age bus station will replace the outdated one, and the old flyover demolished. Tescos, Halfords and Staples store premises in the town are relocating so as to liberate an area on which to build a new cultural centre for performance arts and a gallery. 1500 new homes are planned to be built in the town centre.

Shopping and dining
The Pentagon Shopping Centre has its own car park and more than 90 shops, restaurants, a bowling alley, café and ladies fitness centre, while the long High Street is pedestrianised and has many more shops, including leading chain stores, such as Boots, Debenhams, Sainsbury, Body Shop and Woolworths. In Chatham Maritime the new Dockside Outlet Centre has more than 80 shops and restaurants.

The Ship and Trades (01634 895200) is a spacious pub/restaurant overlooking the marina at Chatham Maritime; the upstairs level has marvellous views across the Medway towards Elizabethan Upnor Castle and St Mary’s Island, with wheelchair access to both floors.

The Pentagon Grill Restaurant (01634 826872) in the Pentagon Centre offers British cuisine, and if you want to dine at the Historic Dockyard, try The Ramada Encore Chatham (0844 8010 313).

---