Chatham, Kent Totally Explained

Everything about Chatham England totally explained

ť For the municipality in Ontario, see Chatham-Kent.

Chatham (pronounced "chat-um" |) is a large town that has developed around an important naval dockyard on the east bank of the River Medway to the southeast of London in Kent, England. Together with Rainham, Gillingham and Rochester it's today part of the Medway Towns conurbation.

History

Chatham was first recorded as Cetham in 880, its name coming from the British root ceto and the Old English ham thus meaning a forest settlement.. The origin of the word 'Chatham' may have come from the same root as Catti or 'Chatti' that migrated into Britain. Chatham Dockyard was established by Elizabeth I in 1568 and the small village of Chatham grew to service it. At one point 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 One many submarines were also built in Chatham Dockyard. The dockyard was shut as an operational site in 1984 by the Margaret Thatcher, and the Conservative Government; a large part of it became a historic site (operated by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust) and the rest has been developed for housing, industrial sites and as a commercial marina.

The Defences

Fortifications to protect the dockyard from invasion, were built around Chatham. The Great Lines, in full the "Great Lines Of Defence", were built across the neck of the peninsula formed by the bend in the River Medway. By 1758 this stretched for more than a mile, from Fort Amherst (today a heritage site) to Gillingham Reach. Forts were built around the town, among them Fort Clarence (1805-1811) (demolished) and Fort Pitt (1805-1819). Fort Pitt was later used as a military hospital and was visited by Queen Victoria during the Crimean War. As a result of Florence Nightingale's privately circulated Notes on matters affecting the health, efficiency and hospital administration of the British Army (1858) the first Army Medical School was established at Fort Pitt in 1860. In 1859 a Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom ordered to be built a second, outer ring of forts, to strengthen the defences: Fort Horsted. Fort Luton (also a heritage site),Fort Bridgewood, Fort Darland and Fort Borstal.
Chatham Town was also the location for several British military barracks: the Kitchener Barracks (c 1750-1780), the Royal Marines Barracks (c 1780). Brompton Artillery Barracks (1806), Melville Barracks, H.M.S. Collingwood and H.M.S. Pembroke. Although the postal address of Brompton Barracks (the headquarters of the Royal Engineers) indicates Chatham as its location, Brompton was an entirely separate village within Gillingham parish. H.M.S Pembroke is now the home to the University of Greenwich at Medway based within the Medway Campus, Chatham Historic Dockyard.

Religion

Chatham's parish church, St Marys, which stood on Dock Road, was rebuilt in 1788. St John's was built in 1821, but remodelled in 1869, and abolished in 1964. St Paul's New Road was built in 1854; declared redundant in 1974, it has been demolished. St Peter's Troy Town was built in 1860.

Commercial

Chatham became a market town in its own right in the 19th century, and a municipal borough in 1890. By 1831 its population had reached more than 16,000. By 1961 it had reached 48,800.. The Pentagon Bus Station ("The Pentagon") for the towns is in Chatham, within walking distance of the Chatham Railway Station.

Railways

The railway came to Chatham in 1858: first when the East Kent Railway opened a line to Faversham; and later in the year the short section connecting with the North Kent Line was opened, giving a route to London. Chatham railway station is the main interchange for the Medway Towns. Chatham Station lies in a cutting between the Fort Pitt tunnel and the Chatham Tunnel, the next station down line is Gillingham , and the next station upline is Rochester. The line passes over the Rochester Bridge and divides. One line takes the former London, Chatham and Dover Chatham Main Line via Cuxton and Meopham to Bromley South and Victoria while the other takes the former South Eastern Railway (UK) North Kent Line via Dartford and Woolwich Arsenal.
There are 4 trains an hour to London, Victoria, two trains an hour to London Charing Cross, and from November 2007 there will be a service to Ebbsfleet (change for Paris and Brussels) and London St. Pancras. Two trains an hour run to Dover and Ramsgate.
Part of the railway in what is now Chatham Historic Dockyard is still in operation, run by the North Kent Industrial Locomotive Society.

Administration

Chatham is the centre of the Medway Towns and Medway Council has chosen to site its offices on Gun Wharf, in the building that was constructed for Lloyds.
The Ecclesiatical Parish of Chatham included Luton and Brompton and also Chatham Intra (Land on the river that was administered by the City of Rochester).
The borough of Chatham was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832, and contained most of Brompton and New Brompton. It became a municipal borough in 1890.

Education

Chatham is served by the following Primary Schools.

All Saints CE Primary
Balfour Junior
Bradfields
Glencoe Junior
Greenvale Infant
Horsted Infant
Horsted Junior
Kingfisher Primary
Lordswood Infant
Lordswood Junior
Luton Infant
Luton Junior
Maundene
New Road Primary School & Nursery Unit
Oaklands Infant
Oaklands Junior
Ridge Meadow Primary
Silverbank Park
Spinnens Acre Junior
St Benedict's Catholic Primary
St John's CE (VC) Infant
St Mary's Island C of E (Aided) Primary
St Michael's Catholic Primary
St Thomas More Catholic Primary
Swingate Infant
Walderslade Primary
Wayfield Community Primary & Nursery Unit Secondary Education, outside the Catholic Sector, is selective. Many pupils attend schools in neighbouring towns.

Chatham Grammar School for Boys

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

Chatham South School

Fort Pitt Grammar School (girls)

Greenacre School

Medway Community College

St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive

Walderslade Girls' School Tertiary

Mid-Kent College is a Further Education College based at Horsted, but is also in partnership with Canterbury Christchurch University at Medway Universities

University of Greenwich at Medway

University of Kent at Medway

Canterbury Christchurch University

Sports

The town's Association Football club, Chatham Town F.C., plays in the Isthmian League Division One South. Lordswood F.C. play in the Kent League. The defunct Chatham Excelsior F.C. were one of the early pioneers of football in Southern England. Football league side Gillingham F.C. are seen to represent Medway as a whole.
Kite Flying, especially power kiting has seen a resurgence in recent months, with the Great Lines becoming a popular area.

Popular Culture

It is claimed by some, that Chatham is the birthplace of "chav" subculture. The "Chav Culture" in Chatham and around the Medway Towns, included the wearing of gold jewellery, shell-suits and earrings. This was first evident from a website about "Chatham Girls" (immortalized in a song by Mark Taylor), which received a huge amount of media interest. The website was so popular it was pulled by Geocities for exceeding its bandwidth.
On a cultural level Chatham also gave birth to several movements in literature, art and music. In the period from 1978 until 1982 the Medway Delta Sound emerged. Several of these bands gained international recognition for example The Milkshakes, The Prisoners (see also James Taylor Quartet), The Dagger Men, The Dentists, Christopher Broderick and The Singing Loins. In recent years there has been a renaissance in the Medway Delta Sound lead by singers such as Pete Molinari. The Medway Poets were formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1982 having performed at major literary festivals and on TV and Radio. They became a major influence to writers in the Medway Towns. From the core of this group the anti conceptual/pro painting movements of Stuckism and Remodernism came into being.
Recent Medway artists of note include Kid Harpoon and Underground Heroes.

Notable People

Charles Dickens lived in the town as a boy, both in 'The Brook, Chatham' and in Ordnance Terrace before Chatham railway station was built just opposite. He subsequently described it as the happiest period of his childhood, and eventually returned to the area in adulthood when he bought a house in nearby Gad's Hill. Medway features in his novels.
Twice BDO World Championship Darts Finalist Dave Whitcombe was born in Chatham and continues to live in Sittingbourne.
The composer Percy Whitlock (1903-1946); the painter and killer Richard Dadd (1819-1887); and, in more modern times, the artist/poet/musician Billy Childish and poet/painter/storyteller and mythographer Bill Lewis lived in Chatham. The poet/screenwriter/film maker and writer Alan Denman, was a lecturer at the Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD) at Fort Pitt in Rochester. The Brit artist Tracey Emin and designer Zandra Rhodes were KIAD students. KIAD is now part of the University College for the Creative Arts (UCCA). Emin also lived at Castle Road, Rochester and in Chatham. The author and screenwriter Stel Pavlou also attended Chatham Grammar School for Boys, as did boyband-singer Lee Ryan. Liam Leslie James Masters, was also born in the town of Chatham in the year of 1990

Further Information

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