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77-726: Medway Ports , incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks is part of Peel Ports , the second largest port group in the United Kingdom . The Ports authority is also responsible for the harbour, pilotage and conservancy matters for 27.3 nautical miles (50.6 km) of the River Medway , from the Medway Buoy to Allington Lock at Maidstone, and the Swale . Part of the Chatham Docks site

154-812: A rolling mill . PeelPort now own the site and are preparing it for reopening as a steel mill. The port has a seafarers' centre, which was refurbished in May 2015, and is operated by Apostleship of the Sea, a seafarers' charity. The seafront is popular with tourists, and in 2007 Sheerness' recently refurbished town centre had more than 200 shops. At the 2001 UK census, 35.8% of residents aged 16–74 were employed full-time, 11.6% part-time, 5.8% self-employed and 6.2% unemployed, while 1.5% were students with jobs, 3.4% students without jobs, 11.9% retired, 10.6% looking after home or family, 8.5% permanently sick or disabled and 4.8% economically inactive for other reasons. The unemployment rate of 6.2%

231-508: A royal pardon for all crews, reassignment of some of the unpopular officers, and a pay raise and abolition of the purser's pound. Afterwards, the mutiny was to become nicknamed the "breeze at Spithead". Inspired by the example of their comrades at Spithead, the sailors at the Nore , an anchorage in the Thames Estuary , also mutinied, on 12 May 1797, when the crew of Sandwich seized control of

308-504: A seaside resort , with tourists arriving by steamboat and train. The Sheppey Light Railway opened in 1901, connecting the new Sheerness East station with the rest of the island. However, by 1950, lack of demand led to the railway's closure. The Sheerness and District Tramways , which opened in 1903, only lasted until 1917. In 1944 the United States cargo ship SS  Richard Montgomery ran aground and sank 1 mile (1.6 km) off

385-537: A seaside resort . Industry retains its important place in the town and the Port of Sheerness is one of the United Kingdom's leading car and fresh produce importers. The town is the site of one of the UK's first co-operative societies and also of the world's first multi-storey buildings with a rigid metal frame. The first structure in what is now Sheerness was a fort built by order of Henry VIII to prevent enemy ships from entering

462-567: A 50% increase in mutinies among European navies and merchant companies. Scholars have linked it to the radical political ideologies developing at the time, including the development of working class consciousness among sailors. Both explanations have been the subject of extensive academic investigation. Political analyses often emphasize the radical discourse and conduct of the Nore mutineers as evidence of their ideological motivation. Class analyses often emphasize harsh discipline and economic grievances of

539-564: A French port in the West Indies. Other mutinies took place off the coast of Ireland and at the Cape of Good Hope and spread to the fleet under Admiral Jervis off the coast of Spain. On HMS Defiance , a court martial took the evidence of the oaths of allegiance to the United Irishmen and eleven men were sentenced to hang for it. In the years following Spithead and the Nore, there was about

616-565: A day, seven days a week from Minster-on-Sea. In October 2011 BRFM was granted a five-year extension to its broadcast licence by regulator Ofcom . The station is run by 20 volunteers and plays a wide range of music, with news, weather and local events being broadcast around the clock, the station also provides for specialist music during weekday evenings. Sheerness and the Isle of Sheppey is also served by former online, and now FM, radio station, Sheppey FM , which broadcasts on 92.2FM from Sheerness across

693-689: A ferry service to Vlissingen in the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. The A249 road terminates at Sheerness, running from Maidstone via Sittingbourne. The road crosses the M2 motorway near Sittingbourne, and the M20 motorway near Maidstone. Until September 2009, The Isle of Sheppey was the only area in Kent to still have a middle school system. On the island, primary schools taught pupils from ages 4 to 9, middle schools 9–13 and secondary schools 13–18. Minster College in

770-411: A flotilla of fifty loyal ships to prevent the mutineers moving on the city of London. It was largely fear of this blockade moving down river that made the mutineers reconsider their actions and begin to waver. The mutineers expanded their initial grievances and blockaded London, preventing merchant vessels from entering the port, and the principals made plans to sail their ships to France, alienating

847-538: A population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town of Minster which has a population of 16,738. Sheerness began as a fort built in the 16th century to protect the River Medway from naval invasion. In 1665 plans were first laid by the Navy Board for Sheerness Dockyard , a facility where warships might be provisioned and repaired. The site was favoured by Samuel Pepys , then Clerk of

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924-512: A relatively high percentage of workers in manufacturing, transport and communications, and a relatively low percentage in agriculture, hotels, restaurants, education, health, social work and finance. At the 2001 UK census, 4,292 of the town's residents were employed and there were 5,532 jobs within the town. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, the average gross weekly income of households in Sheerness from April 2001 to March 2002

1001-692: A rigid metal frame. In 1904 the RN established a torpedo school in Sheerness, with HMS Actaeon used as training hulk. The school closed in 1922. From the completion of the dockyard until 1960 Sheerness was one of the bases of the Nore Command of the Royal Navy , which was responsible for protecting British waters in the North Sea . The command was named after the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary , about 3 miles (5 km) east of Sheerness. In 1863, mains water

1078-537: Is 36 feet (11 m) tall and was built in 1902 at a cost of around £360 to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII . In 2002, the clock tower was restored to celebrate the Silver and Golden Jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II . The Sheerness Times Guardian is now the only newspaper serving the town and island at large, owned by the KM Group . The Sheppey Gazette closed in 2011 after around 100 years of publication. It

1155-431: Is a branch of Canterbury College that provides a range of further education courses. On 1 September 2009, Cheyne Middle school and Minster College merged to become The Isle of Sheppey Academy (now Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey ). Danley Middle school closed and St George's Middle School changed into a primary school with a £3 million fund, and Richmond First School now houses an extra year of students. This change

1232-454: Is an industrial area, and Sheerness has become the largest port in the UK for motor imports. Prior to the closure of the Dockyard, twenty-five of its historic buildings were listed in recognition of their "architectural distinction and value"; regardless of this, the majority were subsequently demolished (including Admiralty House and the quadrangular Great Store) and others were left to decay. In

1309-454: Is being regenerated as "Chatham Waters", a mixed-use development scheme promoted by Peel. This Kent location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sheerness Sheerness ( / ʃ ɪər ˈ n ɛ s / ) is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent , England. With

1386-464: Is now the name of the north-west area of Sheerness lying just beyond the current dockyard perimeter). The modern town of Sheerness has its origins in Mile Town, which was established later in the 18th century at a mile's distance from the dockyard (Blue Town having by then filled the space available). In 1797, discontented sailors in the Royal Navy mutinied just off the coast of Sheerness. By 1801

1463-614: The Articles of War , eventually expanding to a demand that the King dissolve Parliament and make immediate peace with France. These demands infuriated the Admiralty, which offered nothing except a pardon (plus the concessions already made at Spithead) in exchange for an immediate return to duty. Captain Sir Erasmus Gower commissioned HMS Neptune (98 guns) in the upper Thames and put together

1540-541: The Channel Fleet , commanded by Admiral Lord Bridport , protested against the living conditions aboard Royal Navy vessels and demanded a pay rise, better victualling , increased shore leave, and compensation for sickness and injury. On 26 April a supportive mutiny broke out on 15 ships in Plymouth , who sent delegates to Spithead to take part in negotiations. Seamen's pay rates had been established in 1658, and because of

1617-576: The River Medway and attacking the naval dockyard at Chatham . In 1666 work began to replace it with a stronger fort. However, before its completion, this second fort was destroyed in 1667 by the Dutch Naval Fleet in their capture of the town, as part of what would be known as the raid on the Medway . The Secretary to the Admiralty , Samuel Pepys , subsequently ordered the construction of Sheerness Dockyard as an extension to that at Chatham. There

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1694-715: The Shoeburyness Boom , which ran across the Thames Estuary to protect shipping from submarine attack, ran from Sheerness to Shoeburyness in Essex. A similar structure was built along the same alignment in the early 1950s to protect against Soviet submarines. The Sheerness end of the boom was demolished in the 1960s. In March 1960 the Royal Navy ceased operating the Sheerness dockyard and the Medway Port Authority took over

1771-656: The Southern Counties East Football League . In 2022/23 the club will be playing in the Isthmian League having secured promotion in the 2021/22 season. Sports can be played for free at the town's recreation grounds at Beachfields Park, Festival Playing Field, and Seager Road Sports Ground. The annual arts and heritage Sheerness Promenade Festival opened in September 2011 with appearances by Michael Palin and Dan Cruickshank . It takes place in late July at

1848-639: The Thames Estuary . To the west, the outlet of the River Medway flows into the Estuary. An area of wetlands known as The Lappel lies between the river and the south-western part of town. Marshland lies to the south and the east. The main rock type of the Isle of Sheppey is London Clay , which covers most of North Kent. Along with most of the Kent coast, the uninhabited coastal areas of the island have been designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest , due to their wildlife and geological features. The nearest towns to Sheerness are Minster , 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) to

1925-510: The administrative county of Kent. Over much of the past century, the Labour Party has received the most support in Sheerness, mainly due to the town's industrial nature. As early as 1919, the town had four Labour councillors; Faversham elected its first only in 1948. Sheerness is in the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in North Kent. To the north, sandy beaches run along the coast of

2002-428: The 2011 census is not yet available to give specific numbers. The Port of Sheerness is a significant feature of the Isle of Sheppey's economy. Covering more than 1.5 million square metres, it is one of the largest foreign car importers in the UK, and it handles thousands of tonnes of fruits and meat products from all over the world. Inexpensive land and good infrastructure, including a rail network that branches off

2079-491: The 2015 local elections, two of those seats were held by the Labour Party and one by UKIP. Swale Borough Council is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and council housing ; Kent County Council is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning and road maintenance. From 1894 to 1968, Sheerness formed its own local government district, Sheerness Urban District, and lay within

2156-411: The 20th century, the society had spread across the Isle of Sheppey and had been renamed the Sheerness and District Cooperative Society. In the early 1820s a fire destroyed the old Blue Houses. New houses and a major redevelopment of the dockyard followed. A high brick wall and a moat were constructed around the yard to serve as a defence measure and remained in place until the end of the 19th century. As

2233-418: The 34% in all of Swale. According to the 2001 data, Sheerness has a low proportion of foreign-born residents compared to the rest of England, at 3%. Ninety-eight per cent of residents were recorded as white; the largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.1% of the population. The 2000s saw a rise in the foreign-born population, with the town now having a significant eastern European population. Data from

2310-453: The Acts of the navy, for shipbuilding over Chatham inland. After the raid on the Medway in 1667, the older fortification was strengthened; in 1669 a Royal Navy dockyard was established in the town, where warships were stocked and repaired until its closure in 1960. Beginning with the construction of a pier and a promenade in the 19th century, Sheerness acquired the added attractions of

2387-579: The Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club, Beachfields Skatepark, Sheerness East Table Tennis Club, Catamaran Yacht Club, and Sheerness Swimming Club and Lifeguard Corps. Sheerness Golf Club was founded in 1906, and has an 18-hole course just to the south-east of town. The main football club on the island is Sheppey United . The club were formed in 1890 and have played in the Southern League , Kent League , Aetolian League , Greater London League , Metropolitan London League , Kent County League and are currently in

Medway Ports - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-459: The Little Mill, a smock mill that was standing before 1813 and burnt down on 7 February 1862; The Hundred Acre Mill, a small tower mill which was last worked in 1872 and demolished in 1878 leaving a base which remains today; The Great Mill , a smock mill, the building of which was started in 1813 and completed in 1816, which was demolished in 1924 leaving the base, upon which a replica mill body

2541-521: The Royal Navy". HMS Defiance , which had been part of the "floating republic" at Spithead, did see United Irish oaths administered (according to court-martial evidence) in a further mutiny during the Irish rebellion in the early summer of 1798 . Eleven of the crew were hanged and ten sentenced to transportation . In September 1797, the crew of Hermione mutinied in the West Indies , killing almost all

2618-732: The Sheppey Little Theatre, the Heritage Centre in Blue Town and various other venues in Sheerness. Sheerness has a library and clubs for photography, music, singing, dancing and writing. The youth club in Meyrick Road, in East Sheerness has been operational for over 50 years and has played a vital role in the development of many young people. Sheerness's town centre is home to the largest freestanding cast iron clock tower in Kent. It

2695-562: The Spithead mutiny, the government and the Admiralty were not inclined to make further concessions, particularly as they felt some leaders of the Nore mutiny had political aims beyond improving pay and living conditions. The mutineers were denied food and water, and when Parker hoisted the signal for the ships to sail to France, all of the remaining ships refused to follow. Meanwhile, Captain Charles Cunningham of HMS  Clyde , which

2772-625: The Valentine Joyce in question was Irish and a republican has been disputed, and while that "rebellious paper, the Northern Star " (from Belfast) may have circulated as reported among the mutineers, no evidence has emerged of a concerted United Irish plot to subvert the fleet. In Ireland there was talk of seizing British warships as part of a general insurrection, but it was only after the Spithead and Nore mutinies that United Irishmen awoke to "surprising effectiveness" of formulating sedition within

2849-487: The additional time at sea greatly altered the rhythm and difficulty of seamen's work. The Royal Navy had not made adjustments for any of these changes, and was slow to understand their effects on its crews. Impressment (a common practice) meant that some of the seamen were onboard ship against their will. Finally, the new wartime quota system meant that crews had many landsmen from inshore (including some convicted criminals sent in lieu of punishment) who did not mix well with

2926-418: The average annual minimum temperature is 6 °C (43 °F). The warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average 21 °C (70 °F). The coolest time of the year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average 2 °C (36 °F). The average annual rainfall in Sheerness is 28 inches (711 mm). The average annual duration of sunshine is 1,700 hours;

3003-406: The blockade, and only Royal Navy victualling (i.e., supply) ships be detained. The ostensible reason provided in the order was that "the release of the merchant vessels would create a favourable impression on shore", although this decision may have had more to do with such a wide and complex undertaking as interdicting all the merchant traffic on the busy Thames . After the successful resolution of

3080-464: The career seamen, leading to discontented ships' companies. The mutineers were led by elected delegates and tried to negotiate with the Admiralty for two weeks, focusing their demands on better pay, the abolition of the 14-ounce " purser's pound " (the ship's purser was allowed to keep two ounces of every true pound —16 ounces—of meat as a perquisite , equivalent to 57 g in every 454 g), and

3157-527: The coast of Sheerness, with large quantities of explosives on board. Due to the inherent danger and projected expense, the ship and its cargo have never been salvaged; if the wreck were to explode, it would be one of the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. A 2004 report published in New Scientist warned that an explosion could occur if sea water penetrated the bombs. During the Second World War

Medway Ports - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-454: The early 21st century a concerted effort was made to save the remaining buildings and several have been restored to residential use. In July 2013 Swale Borough Council announced that a deal had been reached to secure restoration of Rennie and Taylor's Royal Dockyard Church (which had been gutted by a fire in 2001), with a view to new uses such as displaying the above-mentioned model of the Dockyard. Sheerness has had four windmills . They were

3311-411: The east, and Queenborough , two miles (3.2 km) to the south. The villages of Minster-on-Sea and Halfway Houses are 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-east, and the village of Grain is 2 mi (3 km) to the west, across the River Medway. The main commercial and leisure areas of the town dominate the north coast, where there is easy access to the pleasure beach. The industrial areas are in

3388-495: The first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World . Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies differed in character. The Spithead mutiny was a simple, peaceful, successful strike action to address economic grievances, while the Nore mutiny was a more radical action, articulating political ideals as well, which failed. The mutinies were extremely concerning for Britain , because at

3465-491: The island. It is a community radio station licensed by Ofcom. In July 2013 the island received some notoriety for an attack on a tour bus of Jewish boys by local youths who shouted epithets, and threw stones and eggs, telling the boys to "go back to where you came from!" The town is served by Sheerness-on-Sea railway station on the Sheerness Line which connects the town with Sittingbourne , 6 miles (10 km) south on

3542-458: The last dog watch , as that had been the signal to begin the mutiny. The authorities were more than ready to see in the mutinies, not only the hand of English radicals but also among the large contingent of Irish sailors, the hand of the United Irishmen . Much was made of Valentine Joyce, among the delegates at Spithead, described by Edmund Burke as a "seditious Belfast clubist". That

3619-448: The main passenger line, have attracted industries to the port area, including producers of pharmaceuticals, steel, sausages and garden gnomes . The major employers are HBC Engineering Solutions, Sheerness Steel , Regis Furniture and The Bond Group - although HBC has closed and the Steel plant is currently closed but is currently being changed and upgraded ready for reopening. The steel mill

3696-612: The mainland of Kent. The station is served by an hourly train service to Sittingbourne (increasing to half-hourly at peak times), from where connections can be made to London Victoria , London St Pancras International , Ramsgate and Dover Priory . Bus Services in Sheerness are operated by Chalkwell Coaches who operate services 334, 360, 361 and 362. These services provide connections to Queenborough , Rushenden , Minster , Eastchurch , Warden , Leysdown-on-Sea , Iwade and Sittingbourne . No passenger ferry services currently operate from Sheerness, although Olau Line used to run

3773-406: The months May to August have the most hours of sunshine. On average, there are fewer than six days of lying snow per year, and 16 days with thunder per year. At the 2001 UK census , Sheerness had a population of 11,654. The Office for National Statistics estimated the population in mid-2005 to be 11,000, a decrease of 5.6% since the 2001 census. The population density at the 2001 census

3850-419: The mutiny and go to sea immediately if French ships were spotted heading for English shores. Because of mistrust, especially over pardons for the mutineers, the negotiations broke down, and minor incidents broke out, with several unpopular officers sent to shore and others treated with signs of deliberate disrespect. When the situation calmed, Admiral Lord Howe intervened to negotiate an agreement that issued

3927-716: The neighbouring town of Minster was the only secondary school on the island. Sheerness had one middle school, Isle of sheppey Academy, with 800 pupils, although Danley Middle School and St George's Middle School were found in Halfway and Minster, respectively. In 2006, the Cheyne Middle School's Key Stage 2 performance ranked 322nd among Kent's 386 primary and middle schools. The town's primary schools are Richmond First School, Rose Street Primary School, St Edward's Roman Catholic Primary School and West Minster Primary School, all of which cover ages 4–11. Sheppey College, in Sheerness,

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4004-480: The officers in revenge for a number of grievances, including throwing into the sea, without proper burial, the bodies of three men killed by falling from the rigging in a desperate attempt not to be the last men on deck, which was punishable by flogging. The Hermione was taken by the crew to the Spanish port of La Guaira . On 27 December, the crew of Marie Antoinette murdered their officers and took their ship into

4081-468: The population of the Minster-in-Sheppey parish, which included both Sheerness and the neighbouring town of Minster , reached 5,561. In 1816, one of the UK's first co-operative societies was started in Sheerness, chiefly to serve the dockyard workers and their families. The Sheerness Economical Society began as a co-operative bakery but expanded to produce and sell a range of goods. By the middle of

4158-449: The regular English sailors and losing more and more ships as the mutiny progressed. This gave rise to a fear in the Admiralty that ships still at sea might be taken to France, but that was generally unfounded. When word of the mutiny reached the squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren , cruising off Ushant, the crew of HMS Galatea seized her, confining her captain, Richard Goodwin Keats , but

4235-458: The removal of a handful of unpopular officers. Neither flogging nor impressment was mentioned in the mutineers' demands, even though ending impressment had been one of the motivations for the Mutiny. The mutineers maintained regular naval routine and discipline aboard their ships (mostly with their regular officers), allowed some ships to leave for convoy escort duty or patrols, and promised to suspend

4312-514: The reprisals that followed, 29 were hanged, 29 were imprisoned, and nine were flogged , while others were sentenced to transportation to Australia. One such was surgeon's mate William Redfern who became a respected surgeon and landowner in New South Wales. The majority of men involved in the mutiny were not punished at all, which was lenient by the standards of the time. After the Nore mutiny, Royal Navy vessels no longer rang five bells in

4389-552: The settlement expanded eastwards, away from the dockyard and the Blue Houses, the wider area became known as Sheerness, taking its new name from the brightness or clearness of the water at the mouth of the River Medway. The rebuilt Dockyard contained many groundbreaking new buildings and structures; for example, completed in 1860 and still standing today, the Sheerness Boat Store was the world's first multi-storey building with

4466-438: The ship. Several other ships in the same location followed this example, though others slipped away during the mutiny despite gunfire from the ships that were attempting to use force to hold the mutiny together. The mutineers had been unable to organise easily because the ships were scattered along the Nore (and were not all part of a unified fleet, as at Spithead), but they quickly elected delegates for each ship. Richard Parker

4543-452: The site for commercial use. The dockyard closure led to thousands of job losses, and most of the nearby houses and shops in the Bluetown area were eventually abandoned and demolished. By the 1961 census, the population of Sheerness had fallen to 13,691. The dockyard closure also led to the decline of the Sheerness and District Cooperative Society, as many of its members were dockyard workers. At

4620-510: The stability of wages and prices, they were still reasonable as late as the 1756–1763 Seven Years' War ; however, high inflation during the last decades of the 18th century had severely eroded the real value of the pay. Pay raises had meanwhile been granted to the army, militia, and naval officers. At the same time, the practice of coppering the submerged part of hulls , which had started in 1761, meant that British warships no longer had to return to port frequently to have their hulls scraped, and

4697-570: The time the country was at war with Revolutionary France , and the Navy was the main component of the war effort. There were also concerns among the government that the mutinies might be part of wider attempts at revolutionary sedition instigated by societies such as the London Corresponding Society and the United Irishmen . The mutiny at Spithead (an anchorage near Portsmouth ) lasted from 16 April to 15 May 1797. Sailors on 16 ships in

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4774-478: The time, the society was the island's main retailer, but it has since been reduced to a few shops and been merged with a larger society. The German writer Uwe Johnson lived in Sheerness for the last decade of his life, from 1974 to 1984, having left East Germany . A monograph by Patrick Wright , The Sea View Has Me Again , was published by Repeater Books in 2020. In 2003, the Beachfields Park project

4851-401: The west, beside the wetlands and the River Medway. The Bluetown industrial area and the Port of Sheerness are in the north-western part of the town. The residential districts of Mile Town and Marine Town are in the central and the eastern areas respectively. The mean annual temperature in Sheerness is 10 °C (50 °F). The average annual maximum temperature is 14 °C (57 °F), and

4928-548: The whole squadron nonetheless followed orders to return to Plymouth. There was seemingly no thought of treason – the men just wanted improvements in their conditions. When they returned to shore Keats was released and once prize money was secured and other matters of pay were settled, they returned to their station. Although the port of Brest was unwatched for some weeks the French missed the opportunity to get to sea. On 5 June, Parker issued an order that merchant ships be allowed to pass

5005-595: Was Derek Wyatt of the Labour Party . At the 2010 general election, Gordon Henderson of the Conservative Party won the seat. Before 1997, Sheppey and Sittingbourne were part of the constituency of Faversham . Sheerness is in the local government district of Swale . The town is covered by the local government wards of Sheerness, which has three of the forty-seven seats on the Swale Borough Council. At

5082-420: Was £ 385 (£20,075 per year). Sheerness's sand and shingle beach was awarded a European Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety. Flower gardens decorate the seafront, and a sea wall forms a promenade along the coast. The Sheppey Leisure Complex located near the beach contains a swimming pool and badminton, squash and tennis courts. Other sports clubs include Sheerness Town Bowls Club, Sheerness East Cricket Club,

5159-581: Was 9.8 persons per acre (24.2 persons per hectare ) and for every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. Residents of Sheerness had an average age of 34.7 years, younger than the 38.2 Swale average. Of all residents, 51% were single (never married) and 24% married; in Swale, 42% were single and 35% were married. Of the 4,870 households, 34% were one-person households, 15% were married couples with dependent children, and 11% were lone parents with dependent children. Of those aged 16–74 in Sheerness, 44% had no academic qualifications , higher than

5236-463: Was built to serve as flats. On 23 January 2008 a fire started in the mill tower. The fire was declared not to have been a case of arson ; Little is known of the fourth windmill, said to have been a vertical axle windmill designed by Stephen Hooper. Sheerness is in the parliamentary constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey . Since the constituency's creation in 1997 until 2010 the Member of Parliament

5313-653: Was elected "President of the Delegates of the Fleet". According to him, he was nominated and elected without his knowledge. Parker was a former master's mate who was disrated and court-martialled in December 1793 and re-enlisted in the Navy as a seaman in early 1797, where he came to serve aboard the brig-sloop Hound . A list of eight demands was formulated and on 20 May 1797, and presented to Admiral Charles Buckner , which mainly involved pardons, increased pay, and modification of

5390-459: Was established in 1972, designed to recycle scrap steel into rods and coils. It survived a number of closure threats and changes of ownership; from 2003 it was operated by Thamesteel. Thamesteel went into administration in January 2012, with the loss of 350 jobs. Six months later, the plant was bought back by the former owners Al-Tuwairqi Group. As of October 2014 there were plans to reopen the plant as

5467-599: Was high compared to the national rate of 3.4% and was the highest rate throughout the Swale district. Five per cent of Sheerness residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification compared to 20% nationally. Employment by industry was 22% manufacturing; 18% retail; 10% construction; 10% transport and communications ; 9% real estate; 8% health and social work ; 6% public administration ; 5% education; 5% hotels and restaurants; 1% finance; 1% agriculture; 1% energy and water supply; and 4% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, Sheerness had

5544-399: Was installed in the town, and the Isle of Sheppey's first railway station opened at the dockyard. Towards the end of the 19th century, Sheerness achieved official town status and formed its own civil parish, separate from Minster-in-Sheppey. The 1901 Census recorded the Sheerness parish as having 18,179 residents and 2,999 houses. The town's low rainfall and ample sunshine made it popular as

5621-415: Was no established settlement in the vicinity of Sheerness, so most of the workers were initially housed in hulks . By 1738, dockyard construction workers had built the first houses in Sheerness, using materials they were allowed to take from the yard. The grey-blue naval paint they used on the exteriors led to their homes becoming known as the Blue Houses. This was eventually corrupted to Blue Town (which

5698-620: Was organised to publicise Beachfields' heritage and to preserve it for future generations. Students of Cheyne Middle School and Minster College, with assistance from local organisations, researched the funfair, bandstands, Prisoner of the War hut, boating lake and bowling green. As part of the project, students wrote a book, Tales of Beachfields Park , which won the Historical Association Young Historian Primary School Award for Local History. As of 2007, Bluetown

5775-484: Was owned by Northcliffe Media . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent on 96.7 FM, Heart South on 102.8 FM, Gold on 603 AM, and its own community radio station, BRFM 95.6 FM , which can also be heard online at www.brfm.net and broadcasts 24 hours

5852-413: Was there for a refit, persuaded his crew to return to duty and slipped off to Sheerness . This was seen as a signal to others to do likewise, and eventually, most ships slipped their anchors and deserted (some under fire from the mutineers), and the mutiny failed. Parker was quickly convicted of treason and piracy and hanged from the yardarm of Sandwich , the vessel where the mutiny had started. In

5929-416: Was to bring the island up to date with the rest of the UK with the two-tier system (primary school, and then secondary school). Respectively, The Isle of Sheppey Academy now ranges from students of year 6 to 11, as well as housing the island's sixth form students. Spithead and Nore mutinies The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were

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