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Chatham, once home to the Royal Navy and birthplace of HMS Victory. Celebrate its past at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Fort Amherst, Royal Engineers Museum and Upnor Castle. Chatham DockyardShips of the Royal Navy were built and repaired at Chatham Dockyard for over 400 years. During the 17th Century the Dockyard was Britain’s premier fleet base. In 1667 it was the target of a raid by the Dutch fleet who succeeded in breaking the defensive chain across the River Medway and captured the Royal Charles, flagship of the English fleet.
By the 18th Century, the Dockyard was the Royal Navy’s main shipbuilding and repair yard. It built many of Britain’s finest ships of the Age of Sail, including HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. |
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| HMS Polyphemus, a torpedo ram warship, in dry dock at Chatham |
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| HMS Bellerophon, battleship, under construction in Dry Dock |
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Today The Historic Dockyard is an 80-acre site of international maritime heritage importance. Many of its buildings have been restored and returned to use with people again living and working on site. The Historic Dockyard is a major maritime museum site with galleries (the Museum of the Royal Dockyard, Ropery and Wooden Walls) and historic warships (HMS Cavalier, HMS Gannet and HMS Ocelot) that celebrate Chatham’s naval past.
The site is also the home of Lifeboat!, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s national collection of historic lifeboats. |
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