Just as the pandemic hit in early 2020 a new £20 note entered circulation in the UK. The portrait on the reverse of the banknote is of the 19th century artist JMW Turner and behind him can be seen details of his 1839 work The Fighting Temeraire, Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up, 1838. This picture depicts a once-grand ship of the line, famed for its performance at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, masts bare, being hauled away for dismantling by a low dark churning paddle-steamer. It represents the replacement of the age of sail with that of steam. More generally, it represents the passing away of greatness. It provided a sombre leitmotif to my visit to Chatham Historic Dockyard. The Temeraire was constructed in the Chatham shipyards on the River Medway, and it was from Sheerness at the mouth of the river that it departed for its final voyage. And at the dockyard itself visitors can view the last remains of the similarly-feted HMS Namur, broken up just six years before the Temeraire and its timbers used to support the floor of a workshop. Chatham reached its apogee in constructing these romantic warships of the age of sail. But as sail turned to steam and then oil and ships became larger and more complex Chatham Dockyard was outmatched. In the 1980s she, too, was broken up, sold off and built over.

The core remains in the form of the Chatham Historic Dockyard, however, and provides a very enjoyable, informative – and full – day out. It calls itself ‘the most complete Dockyard of the Age of Sail in the world’. Its core is a collection of buildings from the 18th and early 19th century, the peak of Britain’s maritime power, situated on the southern bank of the River Medway which flows east from here to empty into a wide estuary of islets and banks south of the mouth of the River Thames. Visitors enter through the mid-18th century wooden mast house which houses the ‘Command of the Seas’ exhibition (explaining the background and purpose of the Royal Dockyard – to support Britain’s growing overseas interests by constructing naval ships). To the right on the riverbank are the 19th century covered slipways and dry docks where ships were constructed. To the left is the Smithery. Walking forwards brings you to the Ropery and the ‘Steel, Steam and Submarines’ exhibition which looks at the history of the dockyard itself. Other period buildings are dotted about, from the grand Commissioner’s House and garden all the way up past the dockyard church to the barracks and then the main gate, emblazoned with the crests of Kings George I and III. During our visit a period steam train of the early 20th century shuttled back and forth, adding to the ambiance.

The historic environment is complimented by some of the exhibits. The two exhibitions mentioned above do a good job of drawing out the OUV. My 1-year-old daughter loved the huge ship’s figureheads dotted about. One of the highlights is the Ropery, which proved to be the most interesting 30 minutes devoted to the history of rope-making I’ve ever spent! I have always thought of rope as just a component part but rope was (and still is) made here on site with hemp fibre twisted together to make yarn, which is twisted together into strands, which are twisted together into hawsers (the ropes people will actually be handling), which may be twisted together into cables. Apparently the only ‘rope’ on board a boat will be that of the ship’s bell. Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, which was built at Chatham needed 31 miles of rope in total. On an annual basis the quarter-mile long ropewalk at Chatham would have made enough rope to stretch all the way to Moscow.

There are three vessels stationed in the dry docks to have a look around. HMS Gannet is an example of a late 19th century sail ship built here and the Cold War-era HM Submarine Ocelot was the last vessel constructed here for the Royal Navy (though three sister submarines were constructed immediately afterwards for the Canadian Navy). HMS Cavalier is a WWII destroyer with only a tenuous connection to Chatham (she was decommissioned here). Gannet and Cavalier were accessible to look around on your own, but due to the confined spaces Ocelot was only visitable on a (free) timed tour on our visit; we were taught both the ‘safe’ and the ‘fun / cinematic’ ways to pass through the sub’s hatches though.

Like Cavalier, some of the other stuff on display at Chatham did feel slightly tenuous (the collection of historic lifeboats for example).

I think that the range of extant preserved buildings, the way they are presented to the public, and the fact that they represent the Age of Sail (and the growth of what came to be the world’s greatest naval power) do merit inscription for the Historic Dockyard. And looking at the UK’s current T-List I would argue that only the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland proposal rivals it in terms of value. While Chatham does have a long history dating back to the reign of King Henry VIII as first a naval harbour and then a Royal Dockyard I think that any nomination should focus on the 18th and 19th centuries. The dockyard of the 17th century Stuarts may have laid its foundations but there is nothing to see of it. With regards to the similarly-nominated defences, it is possible to sneak views of the 16th century Upnor Castle across the Medway but I don’t believe it adds anything to the site (and it did little to prevent the infamous 1667 Raid on the Medway when the nascent Dutch Republic sailed up the river, destroyed 13 ships of the Royal Navy and towed away the king’s flagship). In comparison, if the landward defensive lines are to be included (a topic on which I cannot comment because I did not visit them) then the nomination should also include the mid-19th century river defences – Hoo and Darnet Forts which were built on islands in the inner estuary and, ideally, Garrison Point Fort at Sheerness at the mouth of the river (though I understand that continued reuse and adaptation for a variety of port roles has severely undermined its integrity).

As other posters have commented, entrance is expensive – I paid £57 for two adults and a child. Tickets do permit unlimited visits within the space of 12 months, which helps to get the most out of an extensive site (in fact children can take part in a series of ‘Dockyard Explorer’ challenges on subsequent visits whereby they ‘climb the ranks’). That isn’t much use for people who do not live locally. The other problem I found was that, due to limits on numbers due to Covid, three of the attractions had to be pre-booked for specific ticketed slots on arrival. These were the rope-making demonstration (which I would describe as highly useful for people looking to understand the importance of the site), the tour of the Ocelot (enjoyable but not imperative), and a children’s science show looking at fundamental forces like buoyance / upthrust, gravity and levers (which my 5-year old enjoyed). Put those together and you have already lost two hours out of your day before you even have chance to look at anything else. I would recommend you plan your day carefully and think what aspects will interest you the most.

The site is perfectly feasible as a day trip from London. Trains take 40 minutes to Chatham from Victoria Station, with a 1.5 mile walk to the Dockyard (more if you want to swing by the Great Lines Heritage Park). There are also direct trains that will get you from Chatham to Kent’s existing World Heritage Site in Canterbury in 45 minutes.

 

(Visited August 2021)