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Upper Upnor is the pretty village where Upnor Castle is situated. It is nestled on the bank of the River Medway, and grew up around the castle. To reach the castle visitors walk through the quaint high street where they can take in the fine views across the river to Chatham Historic Dockyard & Rochester. Upnor CastleUpnor Castle was originally ordered by Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1559, for the protection of her warships anchored in the Medway, and completed in 1567 under the supervision of Richard Watts, who secured old stone from Rochester Castle to help the work along.
Although the castle was an important link, it was not well maintained. Despite stout efforts by the garrison it proved ineffective when the Dutch sailed up the Medway in June 1667 to attack the British fleet. The cannons in the grounds were recovered from ships sunk during the battle. An audio-visual interpretation model tells the story of this raid in graphic manner. |
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| The Castle Grounds |
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| Upnor Castle |
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The castle became a magazine for Ordnance stores in 1668 and at one time stored more powder than the Tower of London. Interpretational material shows the storage and handling of gunpowder within a magazine of the period. |
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