Chatham in Kent

Chatham is a City in the county of Kent.

Chatham has some interesting old buildings and Chatham’s history is revealed through the historical landmarks throughout Chatham.

Chatham first became important as a result of its location. Chatham is situated next to Chatham Dockyard, one of the most important naval dockyards in England.

Chatham’s history is closely linked with the navy and Chatham has many historical landmarks including Georgian houses, Victorian villas, The Clock House, Chatham Town Hall and Chatham Naval Memorial.

Chatham is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Ceteham which was a large settlement at that time.

One of the most famous landmarks in Chatham is The Clock House, Chatham which can be found on King Charles Street and another historical landmark is Chatham Town Hall, Chatham which stands in Chatham High Street.

Chatham postcode: ME4 6

Retail in Chatham

There are great places to visit near Chatham including some great towns, historic buildings, beaches, parks, museums, castles, shopping centres, cities, ruins, country parks, lakes, coastal parks and airports.

Don't miss Faversham, Broadstairs, St Peter's, Ramsgate, Chatham, Margate, and Dover's towns if visiting the area around Chatham.

Historic Buildings to visit near Chatham include Nuckell's Alsmshouses, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Palace Cinema, Clock Tower Broadstairs, The Look Out House, Bleak House, and Home for Smack Boys.

There are a number of beaches near Chatham including Viking Bay, and Dumpton Gap.

Victoria Gardens is one of Chatham's best, nearby parks to visit in Chatham.

Places near Chatham feature a number of interesting museums including Ramsgate Maritime Museum.

Don't miss Dover Castle, Rochester Castle, Leeds Castle, and Tonbridge Castle's castles if visiting the area around Chatham.

There are a several good shopping centres in the Chatham area like Royal Victoria Place, and Bluewater Shopping Centre.

Places near Chatham feature a number of interesting cities including Canterbury.

Chatham is near some unmissable ruins like Tonbridge Castle,

Chatham has some unmissable country parks nearby like Haysden Country Park, and Barton's Point Coastal Park.

There are a number of lakes near to Chatham including Barden Lake.

The area around Chatham's best coastal parks can be found at Barton's Point Coastal Park.

Don't miss Lydd Airport's airports if visiting the area around Chatham.

Chatham History

There are some historic monuments around Chatham:

Places to see near Chatham

History of Chatham

It long remained a small village on the banks of the river, but by the 16th century warships were being moored at Jillingham water (Gillingham), because of its strategic sheltered location between London and the Continent. It was established as a Royal Dockyard by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568 and most of the dockyard actually lies within Gillingham. Initially a refitting base, it became a shipbuilding yard; from then until the late 19th century, further expansion of the yard took place. In its time, many thousands of men were employed at the dockyard, and many hundreds of vessels were launched there, including HMS Victory which was built there in the 1760s. After World War I many submarines were also built in Chatham Dockyard. In addition to the dockyard itself, defensive fortifications were built to protect it from attack. Upnor Castle had been built in 1567, but had proved ineffectual; the Dutch Raid on the Medway in 1667 showed that more was required. The fortifications, which became more elaborate as the threat of invasion grew, were begun in 1756 as a complex across the neck of the peninsula formed by the bend in the River Medway, and included Fort Amherst. The threat of a land-based attack from the south during the 19th century led to the construction of even more forts. The second phase of fort-building (1806-1819) included Fort Pitt (later used as a hospital and the site of the first Army Medical School). The 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom ordered, inter alia, a third outer ring of forts: these included Fort Luton, Fort Bridgewood, and Fort Borstal. These fortifications all required military personnel to man them and Army barracks to house those men. These included Kitchener Barracks (c 1750-1780), the Royal Marine Barracks (c 1780), Brompton Artillery Barracks (1806) and Melville Barracks (opened 1820 as a Naval hospital, RM barracks from 1905). H.M.S. Collingwood and H.M.S. Pembroke were both naval barracks.

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Lakes near Chatham