120-707: Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway , Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway . Today the two villages are mainly residential and a centre for small craft moored on the river, but Upnor Castle is a preserved monument, part of the river defences from the sixteenth century. Upnor meant "at the bank" being "æt þæm ōre" in Old English and "atten ore" in Middle English and "atte Nore" in 1292. However,
240-504: A Templar farm ) has plans for 600 homes to be built along with 161,458 square feet (15,000 square metres) of commercial space and a new two-hectare (4.9-acre) site for Morgan's Timber. Throughout the 19th century there had been proposals to join the Medway towns under a single authority. By 1903 moves began to take place: that year saw the creation of the Borough of Gillingham, to which, in 1928,
360-549: A curtain wall and towers, with a triangular gun platform projecting into the river. It was garrisoned by about 80 men with a peak armament of around 20 cannon of various calibres. Despite its strategic importance, the castle and the defences of the Thames and Medway were badly neglected during the 17th century. The Dutch Republic mounted an unexpected naval raid in June 1667, and the Dutch fleet
480-693: A 74-acre (30-hectare) area of brownfield land between the river and the railway line is being developed with high-density housing. Up to 50 homes per hectare will be built. The site will also include a primary school, two hotels, business centre, health centre, cafes, restaurants, bars and various commercial units. Numerous developments are proposed for the Chatham area including widening and straightening Union Street, development and improvements to The Brook and new developments at Gun Wharf and Chatham Waterfront. One such development at Chatham Waterfront (the area between Rochester railway station and Chatham Dockyard )
600-496: A Royalist uprising took place in Kent and Essex, with the royalists seizing a number of towns, including Gravesend , Rochester , Dover , and Maidstone . The Royalists were defeated in the Battle of Maidstone on 1 June, and the castle was restored to Parliamentary hands. Parliamentary commander-in-chief Sir Thomas Fairfax inspected the castle and ordered further repairs and strengthening of
720-447: A Thomas Devinisshe of Frindsbury . It was acquired by the Crown – possibly compulsorily purchased – for the sum of £25. Military engineer Sir Richard Lee was given the task of designing the new fortification, but he appears to have been fully occupied with working on the defences of Berwick-upon-Tweed , and the project was carried out by others to his designs. His deputy Humphrey Locke took
840-493: A landscaped play area were completed in the 1990s, but there are plans to extend this development further along the river beyond Strood railway station with another 500 to 600 homes to be built, the waterfront developed with new recreational and leisure facilities, and access to the station, town centre and Medway City estate to be improved. This 173-acre (70-hectare) area between the river and Morgan's Timber yard in Strood (formerly
960-548: A long and varied history dominated originally by the city of Rochester and later by the naval and military establishments principally in Chatham and Gillingham . Rochester was established on an Iron Age site by the Romans , who called it Durobrivae (meaning "stronghold by the bridge"), to control the point where Watling Street (now the A2) crossed the River Medway . Rochester later became
1080-556: A new purpose of supplying munitions to naval warships anchored in the Medway or the Swale. Guns, gun carriages, shot, and gunpowder were stored in great quantities within the main building of the castle, which had to be increased in height and its floors reinforced to accommodate the weight. By 1691, it was England's leading magazine, with 164 iron guns, 62 standing carriages, 100 ships' carriages, 7,125 pieces of iron shot, over 200 muskets of various types, 77 pikes, and 5,206 barrels of powder. This
1200-517: A north-east/south-west direction on the west bank of the Medway. Later known as the Magazine, it has been changed considerably since its original construction. It would have included limited barrack accommodation, possibly in a small second storey placed behind gun platforms on the roof. After the building was converted into a magazine in 1668 many changes were made which have obscured the earlier design. The second storey appears to have been extended across
1320-588: A pit near the Church, and William Burgess Little built 25 five barges at his yard between 1843 and 1871. The first was the Sarah Little and the last called W.B.Little Finish. James Little built three barges here in 1891, 1893, and 1895. A potter's kiln can be seen on an 1830 watercolour by Susan Twopeny, now in Rochester Guildhall Museum. The ecclesiastical parish of Upnor split from Frindsbury in 1884 and
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#17328594472341440-495: A railway engineering force. They built a standard gauge railway from Chattenden to Upnor in 1872–73. This was abandoned before 1881 and a 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) gauge line was built in 1885 or by the 8th (Railway) Company R.E. in 1898. One branch went to Lower Upnor, and the other to the camp by Tower Hill. This line was used to supply armaments from Chattenden , the Lodge Hill Ammunition Depot and
1560-476: A result their city status was rescinded. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when they discovered that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office 's list of cities. Medway applied for city status in the 2000 and 2002 competitions, but was unsuccessful. In 2010, it started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by
1680-461: A round arch leads into a passage that gives access to the courtyard. Above the gateway is a late 18th-century clock that was inserted into the existing structure. A wooden bellcote was added in the early 19th century, and a modern flagpole surmounts the building. The curtain wall is surrounded by a dry ditch which was originally nearly 10 m (33 ft) wide by 5.5 m (18 ft) deep, though it has since been partially infilled. Visitors to
1800-562: A series of forts including Fort Amherst and the Lines, Fort Pitt and Fort Borstal . The majority of surviving buildings in the Historic Dockyard are Georgian. It was here that HMS Victory , Admiral Lord Nelson 's flagship at Trafalgar , was built and launched in 1765. Sir Francis Drake learned his seamanship on the Medway; Sir John Hawkins founded a hospital in Chatham for seamen, and Nelson began his Navy service at Chatham at
1920-540: A small section was built to access the Hempstead development and its shopping centre. However, the key middle stretch was left unbuilt, a link road to central Chatham via Luton, the B2156 North Dane Way was also left incomplete with no road to link to. The removal of Medway from Kent (which the incomplete section would lay in) and the recent widening of M2 leaves the proposed project with little chance of completion in
2040-519: A tri-partite collaboration of the University of Greenwich , the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University on a single campus in Chatham, together with the Medway School of Arts . Because of its strategic location by the major crossing of the River Medway , the borough has made a wide and significant contribution to Kent, and to England, dating back thousands of years, as evident in
2160-541: A walled town and, under later Saxon influence, a mint was established here. The first cathedral was built by Bishop Justus in 604 and rebuilt under the Normans by Bishop Gundulf , who also built the castle that stands opposite the cathedral. Rochester was also an important point for people travelling the Pilgrims' Way , which stretches from Winchester to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury . The Pilgrims' Way crossed
2280-470: A whole are expected to rise dramatically in residents as increased development and housing prices are considerably less than most of Kent and London, which is 30 miles away. In 2004, Medway Council announced its development strategy for the Medway Waterfront area. The report set out a 20-year framework plan for the redevelopment of up to seven miles (11 km) of waterfront and surrounding areas along
2400-568: Is HMS Unicorn (a 46-gun "Leda" class frigate) laid down in February 1822, and launched 30 March 1824. She never saw active service and has been restored and is (as of 2005) preserved afloat in Dundee , Scotland. On 25 November 1914 the battleship HMS Bulwark was moored at buoy number 17 at Kethole Reach on the River Medway. She was taking on coal from the airship base at Kingsnorth , on
2520-542: Is The Quays, a mixed-use development comprising two 20-storey residential towers, designed by WilkinsonEyre architects. A major development in Strood between Medway Valley Park and junction 2 of the M2 motorway , much of the Medway Gate development is inside a large abandoned chalk pit. The area has seen the building of over 400 homes since work began in 2006, including 125 affordable homes . Redevelopment including new homes and
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#17328594472342640-608: Is a single carriageway A road. The A228 runs along the west bank of the Medway, through Strood. Intersecting the M2 at its second junction, crossing the A2 through the centre of Strood and meeting (and encompassing for a short stretch) the Northern Relief Road (A289). The road then carries on to the Isle of Grain . Throughout its passage through Strood it is single carriageway, but the stretches to
2760-526: Is administered by Medway Council , which is independent from Kent County Council . The borough had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The borough contains the towns of Chatham , Gillingham, Rainham , Rochester and Strood , which are collectively known as the Medway Towns . Medway is one of the boroughs included in the Thames Gateway development scheme. It is also the home of Universities at Medway ,
2880-654: Is also used for other training purposes by the Royal School of Military Engineering including practice and test bomb disposal tasks by the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal School, until its move to Bicester . Medway Medway is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England . It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham , and
3000-453: Is bypassed to the north by the dualled Corporation Street. The A2 then crosses the high street, climbs Star Hill and follows New road by Fort Pitt / Jackson's Field to bypass Chatham to the south (by the Station, via a flyover known as New Cut). As it approaches Luton it is a dual carriageway for a short stretch, where a major junction lies with the railway (Chatham Main line) passes overhead — this
3120-415: Is free of rocks, while the surrounding hills provide shelter from the south-west wind. These characteristics made the section of the river below Rochester Bridge a desirable anchorage for large ships, as they could be anchored safely and grounded for repairs. The complexity of the channel's navigation also provided it with defensive advantages. During Henry VIII 's reign, the upper Medway gradually became
3240-550: Is in the village of Upnor , opposite and a short distance downriver from the Chatham Dockyard , at one time a key naval facility. The fort was intended to protect both the dockyard and ships of the Royal Navy anchored in the Medway. It was constructed between 1559 and 1567 on the orders of Elizabeth I , during a period of tension with Spain and other European powers. The castle consists of a two-storeyed main building protected by
3360-558: Is known as Luton Arches. It then climbs Chatham Hill (to Gillingham) now has a separate bus lane. The A2 / Watling street traditionally bypasses central Gillingham which lies to the North. From the main road to Gillingham (Canterbury Street), the A2 is dual carriageway. Here the Northern Relief Road (A289) rejoins at the Will Adams roundabout. This is swiftly followed by the Bowater roundabout where
3480-516: Is largely unbuilt. The Medway Towns Southern Relief Road was proposed to link the (then) new developments to the south of Chatham (Walderslade) and Gillingham (Hempstead, Wigmore and Parkwood) with M2's J3 and the A229 to the east and the M2's J4 and A278 in the west. A single carriageway road was built south of Walderslade to access the Walderslade Woods and Lordswood developments. At the other end
3600-513: Is on the Chatham Reach of the River Medway, directly opposite St Mary's Creek. The London Stones are in Lower Upnor on the shoreline. They mark the limit of the charter rights of London fishermen. The older stone has the date 1204 carved on it as part of an eighteenth-century inscription. Like other parts of Frindsbury , chalk has been extracted, high quality moulding sand has been taken from
3720-639: Is on the north slope of the North Downs , including the suburbs of Walderslade , Luton , Hempstead and Wigmore . Over half of the unitary authority area is rural in nature. Medway includes parts of the North Kent Marshes , an environmentally significant wetlands region with several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Other similar areas of conservation include Ranscombe Farm on chalk grassland and woodland between Strood and Cuxton, with rare woodland flowers and orchids . The Medway area has
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3840-736: Is run by Creative Medway, a sector-led organisation drawing together business, cultural sector organisations and freelancers. There are five theatres in Medway, two run by the council and three independent. The council theatres are the Central Theatre (966 seats hosting a variety of tribute acts) and the Brook Theatre in the Old town hall (400 seats hosting a variety of shows). The independent theatres are Medway Little Theatre (96 seats), The Oasthouse Theatre and Kings Theatre (110 seats). Watling Street (the A2 ),
3960-559: Is run by the Shaftesbury Homes and Arethusa . In 1849, HMS Arethusa was the name of the training ship moored near the shore. The society had moored a training ship here for over 105 years. The first was Chichester , but after then all the ships were called Arethusa . The last but one Arethusa was the Peking , one of the R.F Laeisz's Flying P-Liner four-masted barques, built in 1911, and acquired after 1918 as war reparations. She
4080-536: The Admiralty and the War Department , Upnor going to the former, Chattenden to the latter. The Admiralty therefore embarked on building a new inland depot, next to Chattenden, at Lodge Hill ; opening in 1898, it dealt principally with cordite . At Upnor itself further Shell Stores was built in the 1880s, supplemented by new buildings for storing wet and dry guncotton (used in torpedoes and mines ) in 1895. The site
4200-528: The Advertising Standards Authority . Medway Council made a further bid for city status in 2012, when three cities were afforded the honour as part of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee civic honours competition. Ultimately Medway was unsuccessful with the eventual winners being Chelmsford (Essex), Perth (Perthshire), and St Asaph (Denbighshire). The council comprises 59 councillors representing different wards . The party political breakdown of
4320-532: The Bear and a third boat or hulk served as a kitchen. The floating venue was devised by the naval engineer Phineas Pett . After dinner they took coaches from Upnor towards Gravesend, and stopped to watch cannon salutes from Windmill Hill . Upnor Castle fell into Parliamentary hands without a fight when the English Civil War broke out in 1642, and was subsequently used to intern Royalist officers. In May 1648,
4440-471: The Borough of Medway , a local government district in the county of Kent. Gillingham chose to remain separate. Under letters patent the former city council area was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city". The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979,
4560-682: The Bulwark ' s dead, who were mostly drawn from the Portsmouth area. The explosion could be heard from up to 20 mi (30 km) at Southend and Whitstable . In terms of loss of life it remains the second worst explosion in British history. Less than six months later there was a second explosion. This time it was the Princess Irene . She was a 1,500-passenger liner built at Dumbarton in 1914 for Canadian Pacific . Before she could leave Britain she
4680-572: The Isle of Grain when an internal explosion (most likely the result of cordite charges stored alongside a boiler room bulkhead and failure to follow guidelines on the storage of shells) ripped the ship apart. In all, the explosion killed 745 men and 51 officers. Five of the 14 men who survived died later of their wounds, and almost all of the others were seriously wounded. There are mass and individual graves in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham for
4800-660: The M20 . The A278 Hoath Way links the A2 at Gillingham to its southern suburbs (Hempstead, Wigmore and Parkwood) to the M2's fourth junction. It is dual carriageway throughout. The A289 was built in the 1990s as the Medway Towns Northern Relief Road . Constructed in three stages, firstly it bypasses Strood with a dual carriageway from Three Crutches (M2 J1) to the A226 and the A228 (The Wainscott Northern Bypass). It then joins
4920-560: The Royal School of Military Engineering (Riverine Operations section) maintains classrooms, workshops and a hard in Upnor for training Royal Engineers assault boat operators and watermanship safety officers, who continue to operate craft on operations all over the world. The section operates Mk 1 and 3 Rigid Raiders , and combat support boats , as well as teaching use of the Mk 6 Assault Boat . The area
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5040-527: The A228 (as The Wainscott Eastern Bypass) — these two parts are dualled. A dualled link road leads to the Medway Tunnel to the Chatham Dockyard . Here it meets Dock Road ( A231 ) that leads to Chatham. The A289 continues between northern Gillingham and the river, and then turns southwards through Gillingham Golf Course to rejoin the A2 at the Will Adams roundabout. The A2045 is the A289's counterpart, however it
5160-566: The A278 Hoath Way leads to the M2 to the South, this is so named and distinctive because of the former paper mill Bowaters at this location that left a giant water tower. A large Tesco supermarket currently inhabits the site. As the road progresses into Rainham it becomes single carriageway again. Connecting Medway with neighbouring Gravesend is the A226 . This leaves the A2 on the hill above Strood. It
5280-418: The Borough of Medway was renamed as Rochester-upon-Medway , and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough. The modern borough was created on 1 April 1998 as part of the 1990s local government reforms . The way the change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county , both of which were called 'Medway Towns', each covering
5400-429: The Dutch attack prompted the government to order that it be maintained "as a fort and place of strength". In the end, the raid marked the end of the castle's career as a fortress. New and more powerful forts were built farther down the Medway and on the Isle of Grain with the aim of preventing enemies reaching Chatham, thus making the castle redundant. It was converted into "a Place of Stores and Magazines " in 1668 with
5520-516: The First World War, Upnor became a Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD), one of a group of such facilities around the country. The castle and magazine were used for a time as a proofyard for testing firearms and explosives. The castle remained in military ownership, but it became more of a museum from the 1920s onwards. During the Second World War , the castle was still in service as part of
5640-531: The Joint Amalgamation Committee decided in favour of the amalgamation and invited representatives from Strood Rural District Council to join the Committee. In 1960, a proposal was made by Rochester Council that the merger be effected by the city absorbing the two other towns, to safeguard its ancient charters and city status. This led to Gillingham Council voting to leave the committee, as it believed
5760-518: The Magazine Establishment and was damaged by two enemy bombs which fell in 1941. The bombing dislodged pieces of plaster in the castle's south tower and gatehouse, under which were discovered old graffiti, including a drawing of a ship dated to around 1700. Following the end of the war in 1945, the Admiralty gave approval for Upnor Castle to be used as a Departmental Museum and to be opened to
5880-538: The Medway in June 1667, part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War . The Dutch, under the nominal command of Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter , bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness , sailed up the Thames to Gravesend , then up the Medway to Chatham. They made their way past the chain that was supposed to block the river, sailed past the castle, and towed away HMS Royal Charles and Unity , as well as burning other ships at anchor. The Dutch anchored in
6000-983: The Medway near Cuxton . In Rochester, parts of the Roman city wall are still in evidence, and the city has many fine buildings, such as the Guildhall (today a museum), which was built in 1687 and is among the finest 17th-century civic buildings in Kent; the Corn Exchange, built in 1698, originally the Butcher's Market; the small Tudor house of Watts Charity endowed by Sir Richard Watts to house "six poor travelers" for one night each; Satis House and Old Hall, both visited by Queen Elizabeth I , built in 1573. In Medway there are 82 scheduled ancient monuments , 832 Listed buildings and 22 conservation areas . The Royal Navy opened an anchorage dockyard in Gillingham (Jillingham Water) during
6120-418: The Medway overnight on 12 June, while the Duke of Albemarle took charge of the defences and ordered the hasty construction of an eight-gun battery next to Upnor Castle, using guns taken from Chatham. The castle's guns, the garrison's muskets, and the new battery were all used to bombard the Dutch ships when they attempted a second time to sail past Upnor to Chatham. The Dutch were able to burn some more ships in
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#17328594472346240-405: The Medway via two bridges in a dual carriageway (see Rochester Bridge ). One bridge is Victorian and in the position of the original Roman bridge. The second bridge is more recent and build upon the piers of the original London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) main line railway bridge (the Chatham Main Line uses the South Eastern Railway 's branch line's bridge). In Rochester the High street
6360-522: The North are dualled partially toward Grain. The road to Grain was an accident black spot, this and increased traffic from the major port of Thamesport which is located to the north-west along the Medway Estuary prompted the construction of a new dual carriageway . The A228 Main Road to Ropers Lane project was provisionally approved by the government in December 2001. Design work started in March 2000 and in February 2004, contractors got under way with moving services such as water, gas and fuel pipes. This work
6480-422: The River Medway. The project aims to create between 6,000 and 8,000 new homes and 8,500 jobs, against central government targets of 16,000 new homes and 23,000 new jobs for the Medway area as a whole. Among the transport proposals set forth for consideration were a new bridge linking the Medway City industrial estate to central Chatham; the removal of Chatham's gyratory system along with an associated relocation of
6600-436: The Roman road between the Port of Dover on the English Channel and London, runs through Medway. This route became particularly congested and led to the building of the M2 to bypass the Medway Towns to the south in the 1960s and was subsequently widened extensively at the turn of the 21st century. The A2 through the Medway Towns varies from single carriageway to dual carriageway to "one way" systems. In places it deviates from
6720-428: The South where at Fort Horstead / Rochester Airport / Mid Kent College it meets the branch from Chatham (the A230 which starts at Chatham Station / New Cut). From here it continues south, becoming dual carriageway and meeting the M2 at its third junction, which also provides access with Walderslade . This road then proceeds down Blue Bell Hill (from the summit of the North Downs) to the county town of Maidstone and
6840-419: The adjoining parish of Rainham was added. In 1944, a Medway Towns Joint Amalgamation Committee was formed by the borough corporations of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, to discuss the possibility of the towns forming a single county borough . In 1948 the Local Government Boundary Commission recommended that the area become a "most purposes" county borough, but the recommendation was not carried out. In 1956
6960-434: The age of 12. Other notable sea-faring and naval figures, such as William Adams , were raised on the Medway but apprenticed elsewhere. The river was further protected by such fortifications as Upnor Castle which, in 1667 in varying accounts says it was partly successful in thwarting the Dutch raid on the dockyard , or the commanding officer fled without firing on the Dutch. Another warship built at Chatham that still exists
7080-491: The anchorage, but they were unable to make further progress and had to withdraw. The outcome of the raid has been described as "the worst naval defeat England has ever sustained." The castle had acquitted itself well in the eyes of contemporary observers, despite its inability to prevent the raid, and the dedication of its garrison was praised. The pro-government London Gazette reported that "they were so warmly entertained by Major Scot, who commanded there [at Upnor], and on
7200-435: The attack and it was decommissioned soon afterwards. Though the castle was only operational as a fort for about 100 years, it was retained as a gunpowder magazine and ammunition store until the end of the First World War; continuing in military use through World War II, it was opened to the public as a museum in 1945. Upnor Castle served as a gunpowder magazine for the Board of Ordnance from 1668, providing powder for
7320-547: The castle and its associated depot came under the full control of the Admiralty, ending an arrangement in which the War Office had managed the site with the Admiralty providing the funding. In 1899 it was noted that the castle was being used to store dry guncotton (a highly-flammable and dangerous explosive), while the less dangerous 'wet guncotton' form was kept on board the ever-present hulks moored nearby. This practice ceased soon afterwards, specialist storage magazines having been built alongside Chattenden at Lodge Hill . After
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#17328594472347440-404: The castle crossed a drawbridge, which is no longer extant, to reach the gatehouse. A secondary entrance to the castle is provided by a sally port in the north wall. On the inside of the curtain wall the brick foundations of buildings can still be seen. These were originally lean-to structures, constructed in the 17th century to provide storage facilities for the garrison. Standing to the west of
7560-413: The castle twenty years later. The garrison's armament included 34 longbows , an indication that archery was still of military value even at this late date. By this time, however, the castle was in a state of disrepair. The drawbridge and its raising mechanism were broken, the gun platforms needed repairs, and the courtyard wall had collapsed. A new curtain wall had to be built to protect the landward side of
7680-523: The castle's landward side. A survey conducted in 1603 recorded that Upnor Castle had 20 guns of various calibres, plus another 11 guns split between two sconces or outworks, known as Bay and Warham Sconces. The castle's armament consisted of a demi-cannon, 7 culverin , 5 demi-culverin , a minion , a falconet , a saker , and four fowlers with two chambers each. Bay Sconce was armed with 4 demi-culverin, while Warham Sconce had 2 culverin and 5 demi-culverin. Eighteen guns were recorded as being mounted in
7800-414: The castle's main gun platform or water bastion, a low triangular structure projecting into the river. The castle's main armament was mounted here in the open air; this is now represented by six mid-19th century guns that are still on their original carriages. There are nine embrasures in the bastion, six facing downstream and three upstream, with a rounded parapet designed to deflect shot. The water bastion
7920-421: The castle). In 1856 a second magazine was constructed alongside the first, to the same design but with more than double the capacity; (this still stands on the river bank, the earlier magazine having been demolished in 1964). At the same time, buildings were constructed (alongside the shifting house) for storing and maintaining artillery shells ; but these soon proved too small, so the site began to be extended to
8040-417: The castle, Upnor Castle House was built in the mid-17th century as accommodation for the Storekeeper, the officer in charge of the magazine. Expanded in the 18th century, it is now a private residence. A short distance to the south-west of the castle is a barracks block and associated storage buildings, constructed soon after 1718. Built to replace the original barrack accommodation within the castle when it
8160-410: The castle. The foundations of Warham Sconce were reported to have been washed away by the tide, and it appears that both sconces were allowed to fall into ruin. In August 1606 King James , Anne of Denmark , her brother Christian IV of Denmark , and Prince Henry came to Upnor Castle by barge from Rochester. They had dinner aboard the Elizabeth Jonas . The ship was connected by a timber bridge to
8280-399: The chair of the council to take the title of mayor . The first elections to the new council were in 1997; it initially acted as a shadow authority to oversee the transition to the new system, before formally coming into office on 1 April 1998. With effect from that day, the incoming council changed the borough and non-metropolitan county's name from Medway Towns to just Medway. Since it was
8400-421: The closure of Chatham Dockyard. A museum dedicated to the Royal Marines can be found close to the dockyard at the Royal Engineers Museum in Brompton. Founded in 1812, it moved to its current site in 1987. It was classed as Grade II listed on 5 December 1996. After World War II, the Medway conurbation expanded to the south as areas including Walderslade, Lordswood, Hempstead and Wigmore were developed, aided by
8520-421: The combined area of the previous local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham. There is no separate county council; instead the district council also performs county council functions, making it a unitary authority. The district remains part of the ceremonial county of Kent for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing
8640-512: The construction of the M2 motorway in the 1960s. The population of Medway is projected to increase to around 300,000 by 2028 according to 2013 projections. Medway Council foresees total investment on development to be in excess of £1 billion over a 20-year period from 2006. As of 2019, the towns in order of population (approximate figures) were Gillingham (85,000 – not including Rainham), Chatham (78,000), Strood (40,000), Rochester (30,000 – not including Strood) and Rainham (25,000). The towns as
8760-514: The conurbation. Outside the urban area, the villages retain parish councils. Cuxton , Halling and Wouldham are in the Medway Gap region to the south of Rochester and Strood. Hoo St Werburgh , Cliffe , High Halstow , St Mary Hoo , Allhallows , Stoke and Grain are on the Hoo Peninsula to the north. Frindsbury Extra including Upnor borders Strood. The southern part of the urban area
8880-457: The council following the 2023 local elections is: Parts of the unitary authority are parished , chiefly the rural areas. There are currently 11 parishes: Medway operates a two-tier education system, with academic selection for admission to secondary schools determined by the eleven plus exam . There are a number of grammar schools located in the area, the other secondary schools in Medway being non-selective (apart from one faith schools and
9000-430: The courtyard, standing about 1 m (3.3 ft) thick and 4 m (13 ft) high. The courtyard is entered on the north-western side through a four-storeyed gatehouse with gun embrasures for additional defensive strength. It was substantially rebuilt in the 1650s after being badly damaged in a 1653 fire, traces of which can still be seen in the form of scorched stones on the first-floor walls. A central gateway with
9120-449: The defences of Chatham Dockyard and for the fleet based in the Nore . In 1810 a new magazine with space for 10,000 barrels of gunpowder was built downriver from the castle (which had long needed to expand its capacity) along with a 'shifting house' for inspecting powder that had arrived by sea (though demolished, its surrounding earth traverse is still in evidence, midway between the magazine and
9240-472: The dockyard itself. The raid exposed the weaknesses of the Medway defences and led to the castle losing its role as an artillery fortification. New and stronger forts were built further downriver over the following two centuries, culminating in the construction of massive casemated forts such as Garrison Point Fort , Hoo , and Darnet Forts . Upnor Castle became a naval ammunition depot, storing great quantities of gunpowder, ammunition, and cannon to replenish
9360-425: The foreseeable future. The vast majority of local bus routes throughout Medway are centred upon the newly opened Waterfront bus station (replacing Pentagon bus station ) in Chatham. Most bus routes are run by Arriva Southern Counties , which took over the locally owned Maidstone & District bus company in the 1990s. Other local bus companies including Nu-Venture provide certain services, some under contract to
9480-423: The full length of the building, covering over the earlier rooftop gun platforms. This gave more room for storage in the interior. The ground floor was divided into three compartments with a woodblock floor and copper-sheeted doors to reduce the risk of sparks. Further stores were housed on the first floor, with a windlass to raise stores from the waterside. A circular staircase within the building gives access to
9600-459: The gun platforms. It appears that the height of the gatehouse was also increased at this time, and the north and south towers were built up. They appear to have been left open at the back (on the landward side), but this was remedied in 1653 in the course of further repairs, making them suitable for use as troop accommodation. The castle only saw action once in its history, during the Dutch Raid on
9720-474: The late 16th century, tensions grew between Protestant England and Catholic Spain, leading ultimately to the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 . Spain was in a strong position to attack the south of England from its possessions in the Spanish Netherlands . New fortifications were erected along the Medway, including a chain stretched across the width of the river below Upnor Castle. The castle itself
9840-484: The line of the ditch around the castle's perimeter. They were later adapted for use as accommodation, with their backs closed with bricks and the towers increased in height to provide a third storey. Traces of the gun embrasures can still be seen at the point where the original roofline was. The South Tower was said to have been for the use of the castle's governor, though their lack of comfort meant that successive governors declined to live there. The two towers are linked to
9960-447: The local authority. Buses are numbered between 100 and 199 for local services, with buses numbered in the 700s to show Kent County Council subsidised services including those to Walderslade and Bluewater Shopping Centre , and in the 600s for school bus services. Upnor Castle Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located on the west bank of the River Medway in Kent . It
10080-441: The local government district of Rochester-upon-Medway that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local government districts with city status that were abolished around this time ( Bath and Hereford ) appointed charter trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester-upon-Medway City Council had decided not to and as
10200-421: The magazines, more apartments were planned within the surviving concrete traverses (blast walls) of a demolished set of shell-filling rooms (dating from 1906). Meanwhile, the surviving buildings to the north were also being refurbished for light commercial and retail use. The inland depots, latterly known as Chattenden and Lodge Hill Military Camps , were put up for sale in 2016. The army used this area to train
10320-471: The main building by a crenellated curtain wall where additional cannon were emplaced in two embrasures on the north parapet and one on the south. The castle's principal buildings are situated on the east side of a rectangular courtyard within which stand two large Turkey oaks , said to have been grown from acorns brought from Crimea after the Crimean War . A stone curtain wall topped with brick surrounds
10440-643: The meaning changed to "upon the bank" (Middle English: "uppan ore") and by 1374 it was "Upnore". A skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant was excavated in 1911, during the construction of the Royal Engineers' Upnor Hard. Lower Upnor faces the Upnor Reach of the River Medway. It was a single row of houses, separated from the river by the roadway and the hard. Located here is the Arethusa training centre, which provides residential school trips and educational visits and
10560-457: The mid-1960s. Thereafter they remained in military hands as part of the Royal School of Military Engineering until the mid-2010s. The Lower Upnor site was put up for sale in 2014. Two years later, the Grade II* listed 'B' Magazine was being converted into offices, while a residential building of similar proportions was being erected on the footprint of the demolished 'A' Magazine alongside; behind
10680-529: The most favourable light Charles [II's] ministers were unsurpassed." Samuel Pepys , secretary of the Navy Board , got closer to the truth when he noted in his diary that the castle's garrison were poorly provisioned: "I do not see that Upnor Castle hath received any hurt by them though they played long against it; and they themselves shot till they had hardly a gun left upon the carriages, so badly provided they were." Upnor Castle had been neglected previously, but
10800-515: The north, where additional shell stores were built from the 1860s onwards. A little further to the north, a group of large houses were bought to serve as offices for the depot. There was not enough space, though, for further bulk storage of gunpowder, so in 1875 a separate set of five magazines were built, inland at Chattenden , and linked to Upnor by a narrow-gauge railway (see below) ; the Upnor magazines were then converted into filled shell stores. In 1891 Britain's Ordnance Yards were split between
10920-579: The original route of Watling Street . The A2 leaves the main route (which bypasses Medway by either the Northern Relief Road — The A289 or the M2) at the Three Crutches junction. The road descends through Strood towards the river. During the descent, the road to Gravesend, the A226 joins. In Strood the High Street is bypassed by the one-way system to the north and south encircling the High Street. The A2 crosses
11040-502: The other side by Sir Edward Spragg, from the Battery at the Shoare, that after very much Dammage received by them in the shattering of their ships, in sinking severall of their Long Boats manned out by them, in the great number of their Men kill'd, and some Prisoners taken, they were at the last forced to retire." Military historian Norman Longmate observes tartly, "in presenting damning facts in
11160-459: The principal anchorage for ships of the Royal Navy while they were " in ordinary ", or out of commission. They were usually stripped of their sails and rigging while in this state and the opportunity was taken to refit and repair them. Storehouses and servicing facilities were built in the Medway towns of Gillingham and Chatham which eventually became the nucleus of the Chatham Dockyard. By
11280-584: The public. It subsequently underwent a degree of restoration. The castle was scheduled as an Ancient Monument in January 1960 and is currently managed by English Heritage. It remains part of the Crown Estate . Upnor Castle's buildings were constructed from a combination of Kentish ragstone and ashlar blocks, plus red bricks and timber. Its main building is a two-storeyed rectangular block that measures 41 m (135 ft) by 21 m (69 ft), aligned in
11400-470: The reign of Henry VIII , in 1567 the Royal Naval Dockyard was established in Medway. Although it is called Chatham dockyard, two-thirds of the dockyard lie within Gillingham. The dockyard was closed in 1984, with the loss of eight thousand jobs at the dockyard itself and many more in local supply industries, contributing to a mid-1980s Medway unemployment rate of sixteen per cent. It was protected by
11520-453: The river's south bank, but both were intended to defend landward approaches and were of little use for defence. There was thus a pressing need for proper defences to protect the vulnerable ships and shore facilities on the upper Medway. Upnor Castle was commissioned in 1559 by order of Queen Elizabeth and her Privy Council . Six "indifferent persons" chose a site opposite St Mary's Creek in Chatham, on 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land belonging to
11640-436: The role of overseer, surveyor, and chief carpenter, while Richard Watts , the former Rochester mayor and victualler to the navy, managed the project on a day-to-day basis and handled the accounting. The castle's original appearance differed significantly from that of today. The arrow-shaped Water Bastion facing into the Medway and the main block behind it were part of the original design. There were also towers at either end of
11760-473: The same design as the 1810 magazine, which formerly stood alongside to the south but was demolished in the 1960s; these buildings had space for 33,000 barrels of powder between them). Between the magazines and the castle a Shifting House (for examining powder) had been built in 1811; both it and an adjacent shell store of 1857 were likewise demolished in 1964. They were constructed on top of earlier gun emplacements, of which earthwork traces can still be seen in
11880-557: The school on the peninsula). There are also a number of private schools operating in the area. Medway is also home to the third largest home school population of children in the UK after the Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Medway at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of pounds Sterling. Medway's cultural strategy
12000-570: The siting of Watling Street by the Romans and by the Norman Rochester Castle , Rochester Cathedral (the second oldest in Britain) and the Chatham naval dockyard and its associated defences. The main towns in the conurbation are (from west to east): Strood , Rochester , Chatham , Gillingham , and Rainham . These are traditionally known as the Medway Towns . Many other towns and villages such as Frindsbury and Brompton lie within
12120-577: The standard gauge at Sharnal Street , to the warships and the Upnor Magazine. The service closed on 19 May 1961. In 1965–1967, the Royal Engineers converted the route from Lower Upnor to Chattenden into a road, including building a new bridge over Four Elms Hill (the main road through Chattenden village). The new road is named Upchat Road. The Royal Engineers still have a presence in Upper Upnor;
12240-578: The three towns should go forward as equal partners. On 9 March, the committee held its last meeting, with the Chatham representatives voting to dissolve the body and those from Rochester voting against. The motion to disband was passed on the casting vote of the chairman, Alderman Semple from Chatham. Under the Local Government Act 1972 , on 1 April 1974 the City of Rochester, the Borough of Chatham and part of Strood Rural District were amalgamated to form
12360-518: The time Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, most of the royal fleet used this section of the Medway, known as Chatham and Gillingham Reaches, as an anchorage. Although the Thames had been defended from naval attack since Henry VIII's time, when five blockhouses were built as part of the Device Forts chain of coastal defences, there were no equivalents on the Medway. Two medieval castles – Rochester Castle and Queenborough Castle – existed along
12480-666: The town's bus station; remodelling of Strood's one-way system; and the provision of new cycle lanes and park-and-ride services throughout the area. Chatham's ring road system was subsequently changed into a two-way system in September 2006 with the Sir John Hawkins flyover (pictured right in 2007) being closed before later demolition to make way for a new bus station at the end of 2008. The new bus station opened in October 2011. Other recent and proposed developments include: In Rochester,
12600-527: The warships that came to Chatham for repair and resupply. It remained in military use until as late as 1945. The castle was subsequently opened to the public and is now an English Heritage property. The River Medway is a major tributary of the Thames, merging at an estuary about 35 miles (56 km) east of London . Its upper reaches from Rochester to the confluence with the Thames at Sheerness meander between sand and mud banks for about 10 miles (16 km). The water flows slowly without strong currents and
12720-498: The water frontage, though these were subsequently replaced by towers of a different design. The gatehouse and moat were later additions. A number of derelict buildings in Rochester Castle, Aylesford , and Bopley were pulled down to provide stone for the castle. The main structure had been completed by 1564, but it took another three years and an infusion of extra funds to finish the project. The total cost came to £4,349. During
12840-484: Was able to breach the defences, capturing two warships and burning others at anchor in the river at Chatham, in one of the worst defeats suffered by the Royal Navy. Upnor Castle acquitted itself better than many of the other defensive sites along the upper Medway, despite its lack of provisioning. Gun fire from the fort and from adjoining emplacements forced a Dutch retreat after a couple of days, before they were able to burn
12960-431: Was additionally protected by a wooden palisade that follows its triangular course a few metres further out in the river. The present palisade is a modern recreation of the original structure. A pair of towers stand on the river's edge a short distance on either side from the main building. They were originally two-storeyed open-backed structures with gun platforms situated on their first floors, providing flanking fire down
13080-502: Was commandeered for war service and became HMS Princess Irene , and was used as a minelayer . After several trips she was back in the Medway for a refit when on the morning of 27 May 1915 a huge internal explosion tore through the vessel, shaking the ground for miles around and showering the surrounding villages with remains of bodies and debris. A total of 278 died, including 78 workers from nearby towns and villages. In one Sheerness street there were ten who died. A Court of Inquiry
13200-454: Was considerably more than was held at the next largest magazine, the Tower of London . In 1811 a new magazine building was erected a little way downstream from the castle, relieving pressure on the castle. Upnor Castle ceased to be used as a storage magazine after 1827 and was converted into an Ordnance Laboratory (i.e. a workshop for filling explosive shells with gunpowder). Further storage space
13320-483: Was erected in front of the Water Bastion to block any attempted landings there. An enclosing ditch some 5.5 metres (18 ft) deep and 9.8 metres (32 ft) wide was dug around the castle. Flanking turrets were constructed to protect the bastion on the site of the present north and south towers. The bastion itself was raised and a high parapet was added to its edge. A gatehouse and drawbridge were also built to protect
13440-412: Was extended further to the north in the early 1900s to allow construction of a much larger store for filled shells and another for mines. At the same time a complex of buildings for filling shells with powder (and later also with trotyl and amatol ) were added behind the original 'A' and 'B' magazines. The three sites, Upnor, Lodge Hill and Chattenden, were active as Royal Naval Armaments Depots until
13560-534: Was founded in 1880, purchased land in Lower Upnor in 1948, now comprising approximately 14 acres (57,000 m). Upnor Sailing Club was formed in the 1962 and moved into its present club house (formed from renovating three existing traditional riverfront cottages) in the 1980s. Upper Upnor comprises a village cobbled high street leading down to Upnor Castle . It has many houses displaying Kentish weatherboarding , some are Grade II listed . It also has some terraced streets including former military housing. Upper Upnor
13680-404: Was held into the loss and evidence was given that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion. The British Army also established barracks here; and the Royal Engineers headquarters is in Gillingham. The Royal Marines also have a long association with Chatham . The Chatham Division was based in Chatham until
13800-448: Was poorly manned until Lord High Admiral Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham highlighted this and recommended that the garrison should be increased. By 1596, it was garrisoned by eighty men who were each paid eight pence per day (equivalent to £6 today). Continued fears of a Spanish incursion led to the castle's defences being strengthened between 1599 and 1601 at the instigation of Sir John Leveson. An arrowhead-shaped timber palisade
13920-492: Was reabsorbed in 1955. The parish church of St Philip and St James (1884) was designed by Ewan Christian . It is virtually unaltered. Upnor Castle was built as an artillery fort between 1559 and 1567 in order to protect Chatham Dockyard and the associated naval anchorage . It was called into action in June 1667 when the Dutch Navy conducted a raid on the ships moored in the river ; the castle proved ineffective in repelling
14040-460: Was redeveloped to convert it into a magazine, it has changed little externally in the last 300 years. It is a rare surviving example of an 18th-century building of this type and was one of the first distinct barracks to be built in England. Depot buildings formerly associated with the castle still survive in the area immediately to the north-east. The earliest is a gunpowder magazine of 1857 (built to
14160-414: Was required, and six hulks were moored alongside to serve as floating magazines; they remained even after a further magazine had been built ashore (1857). These storage problems were only alleviated when a further five large magazines, guarded by a barracks, were built inland at Chattenden (these were linked to Upnor via a 2 ft 6in (76 cm) narrow-gauge line built for steam locomotives). In 1891,
14280-625: Was sold in 1975 to the South Street Seaport Museum in New York. The last Arethusa , a 23-metre two-masted ketch, was sold in 2000 and now sails with the Cirdan Sailing Trust under the name Faramir . In recent times extra housing has been built behind this street, exploiting the land exposed by quarrying the steep hillside that leads to Hoo Common. Lower Upnor is also the home of two yacht/sailing clubs. Medway Yacht Club, which
14400-494: Was vital, as the pipes actually supply the Hoo Peninsula and the power station at Grain. The largest water main that was moved was 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter and the largest gas main 36 inches (914 mm). The road cost £19 million and is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) long. The A229 starts from the A2 at the junction at the top of Star Hill alongside Jackson's Field / Fort Pitt, it follows City Way to
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