Editing Chatham, Kent (section)

==History==
The [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2 road]] passes by Chatham along the line of the ancient [[Celts|Celtic]] route which the [[Druids]] used for ceremonial purposes. It was paved by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], and named [[Watling Street]] by the Anglo-Saxons. Among certain archaeological finds here have been the remains of a Roman-era cemetery.

Chatham was long a small village on the banks of the [[River Medway]]. By the 16th century, warships were being moored at Jillingham Water ([[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]]), because of its strategic sheltered location between [[London]] and the [[European continent]]. It was established as a Royal Dockyard by Queen [[Elizabeth I]] in 1568, and most of Chatham Dockyard 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 personnel in the [[Royal Navy]] were employed at Chatham Dockyard, and many hundreds of vessels were launched there, including ''[[HMS Victory]],'' which was constructed from 23 July 1759 to 30 April 1762. After [[World War I]] ended on 11 November 1918 numerous [[submarine]]s were also built in Chatham Dockyard.

[[File:ChathamMedway2654.JPG|thumb|right|Looking from the [[River Medway]] at Sun Pier along the Great Barrier Ditch, to the Gun Platforms at Fort Amherst]] In addition to Chatham Dockyard, 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]] from 19 June 1667 to 24 June 1667, during the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], showed that more defences were required along the banks of the River Medway. The fortifications, which became more elaborate as the threat of invasion grew, were begun during 18 October 1756 as a complex across the neck of the Medway 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 more Napoleonic Forts.

The second phase of fortress-building happened from September 1806 to February 1819, and included [[Fort Pitt, Kent|Fort Pitt]] (later used as a hospital and the site of the initial Army Medical School). The 1859 [[Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom]] ordered, ''Inter Alia'', a third outer ring of Napoleonic Forts: these included [[Fort Luton]],<ref>Now a heritage site</ref> [[Fort Bridgewood|Fort Bridgewoods]], and [[Fort Borstal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fortified-places.com/chatham.html|title=Fortified Places > Fortresses > Chatham|website=fortified-places.com|access-date=4 January 2007|archive-date=17 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217125827/http://www.fortified-places.com/chatham.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

These fortifications required military personnel to man them and Army Barracks to house those men. These included Kitchener Barracks (c 1750-80), the [[Royal Marine Barracks, Chatham|Royal Marine Barracks]] (c 1780), [[Royal School of Military Engineering|Brompton Artillery Barracks]] (1806)<ref>Although the postal address of Brompton Barracks (now the headquarters of the [[Royal Engineers]]) indicates Chatham as its location, Brompton village lies in Gillingham</ref> and Melville Barracks (opened 1820 as a Naval Hospital, RM Barracks from 1905).<ref>{{cite web|title=Medway lines website|url=http://www.medwaylines.com/medwaymaritimehospital.htm|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211162921/http://www.medwaylines.com/medwaymaritimehospital.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> HMS Collingwood and HMS Pembroke were both Naval Barracks.

In response to the huge manpower needs, the village of Chatham and other nearby villages and towns grew commensurately. [[Chatham and District Light Railways Company|Trams]], and later buses, linked those places to bring in the workforce.<ref name="trams">{{cite book| author=Harley, Robert J.| year=1994| title=Maidstone and Chatham Tramways| publisher=Middleton Press|isbn=1-873793-40-5}}</ref> The area between the High Street and Luton village illustrates part of that growth, with its many streets of Victorian terraces.

The importance of Chatham Dockyard gradually declined as the resources of the [[Royal Navy]] in the [[United Kingdom]] were reduced or moved to other locations, and eventually, on 31 March 1984, it shut. The buildings of Chatham Dockyard were preserved as the historic site [[Chatham Historic Dockyard]] (operated by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chdt.org.uk/|title=The Historic Dockyard Chatham – Your Big Day Out in Kent|website=Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust|access-date=12 December 2007|archive-date=8 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608071952/http://www.chdt.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>), which was under consideration as a [[World Heritage Site]]<ref name="unesco">{{cite web | title = Chatham Naval Dockyard | url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1309/ | publisher = UNESCO | access-date = 21 September 2007 | archive-date = 12 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070912033305/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1309/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Sam |last=Masters |date=9 January 2014 |title=Chatham dockyard's bid for Unesco World Heritage Site status is blocked |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chatham-dockyards-bid-for-unesco-world-heritage-site-status-is-blocked-9049750.html |work=The Independent |access-date=17 November 2014 |archive-date=2 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202014126/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chatham-dockyards-bid-for-unesco-world-heritage-site-status-is-blocked-9049750.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the site is being used for other purposes. Part of the [[St Mary's Island, Kent|St Mary's Island]] section is now used as a marina, and the remainder is being developed for housing, commercial and other uses, branded as "Chatham Maritime".<ref>[http://www.seeda.co.uk/what-we-do/seeda-in-action/kent-medway/kent-keyactivities/thames-gateway/chatham-maritime "Chatham Maritime"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126202400/http://www.seeda.co.uk/what-we-do/seeda-in-action/kent-medway/kent-keyactivities/thames-gateway/chatham-maritime |date=26 November 2009 }} article on [[SEEDA]] website. Retrieved 25 August 2010.</ref>