St Mary's Island, is part of the Chatham Maritime development area in Medway, South East England.[1] It is located at the northern end of Chatham, adjacent to Brompton and Gillingham. Once part of the Royal Dockyard, Chatham, the area had consisted of a mixture of sports fields and warehousing during the later years of the Royal Navy's time in occupation.
St.Mary's Island is divided from mainland Chatham by three basins used by the dockyard.
History
The Romans were the first people to use the Island. They constructed a road through the marshy swamp criss-crossed by tidal channels land, and established a ferry route from the Island to the Hoo Peninsula. The ferry was named 'Prince's Bridge' on early maps, it was used until the final years of the last century.[2]
The 3 dockyard basins are sited on St Mary's Creek, which passed from the River Medway, near Gillingham to the River Medway (again) near Chatham. In 1575, the creek was blocked with stakes, as a defensive method against the Spanish forces. In 1585, a chain was placed across the River Medway, secured on the island and linked with a Wheelhouse at Upnor Castle. It would have been raised in times of danger. In the 1600s, a fort was built at the mouth of the creek, since the creek was now a passageway to the thriving dockyard. The fort had 54 guns of various calibres, but it has since been demolished. It was called Gillingham Fort. In 1663, Samuel Pepys mentions St.Mary's Creek, twice in his famous diaries, while travelling towards the dockyards.[3]
A map of the dockyard in 1746, shows the marshland of the island, but it also shows a small mast pond, a reed house and timber storage land had been constructed on the north banks of the stream.
During the Napoleonic Wars, St. Mary's Island was used as a burial ground for the French POW's who died on the prison hulks moored in the Medway. The bodies of the prisoners were exhumed, and then re-interred in the grounds of St George's Church, now the St George's Centre (within the grounds of the Universities at Medway).[4]
In 1847, 19 Acres was purchased by the Crown to enlarge the dockyard. Then in 1854, another 185 acres were purchased. This meant the whole of the island was now in the hands of the Crown and the dockyard.
Between 1854 and 1856, St Mary's Prison was built on the island. It had approximately 1,700 prisoners and staff of 232 (including 117 armed wardens). The prison was demolished in 1898.[5]
In 1862, the dockyard was again re-modernised by engineer John Rennie the Younger. Most of the new work concentrated on St Mary's Island. Which had been recently purchased by the Admiralty for the new works. This included the three huge basins along the creek, linked by passageways. This shortened the time taken to reach the dockyard from Sheerness. A plan was also drawn-up for the bend of the river to be converted into a 50-boat basin. This was estimated to cost too much and was rejected.[6] The spoil from the basins was spread acrost the island, filling the marshes.[2] Also machine shops and 4 graving docks(a form of drydock) were built. Also a sea wall was built around the island, using convict labour. At one-time there were over 1 thousand prisoners working on the site.
A timber landing jetty was constructed beside the seawall, so that materials could be off loaded from ships. Blue Gault clay came from Burham and yellow sand from Aylesford.[5] A 21-acre brickfield was also built on the northern end of the island for the docks. The brick earth came from the digging out of the basins. This was mixed with imported material. More than 23,000 bricks were made each week, and about 110 million bricks were manufactured overall.[5]
Sixty-foot timber piles were driven into the marsh ground, to form the stable foundations of the basins. The excavated earth was then transported by tramways and spread over the island marshes. This subsequently raised the ground level, to approx. 6ft above the high water mark at spring tide of the river Medway. Portland stone was shipped in and used to face the sides of the drydock.[5]
While excavating, the remains of HMS Charles V ship were found, as well as several cannons. Two were restored and placed in the new dockyard.[7] In 1871, the 1st phase of work was completed, but it took until 1885 for all the work to be completed. An official opening took place on 26 September 1885.[5]
In 1940, during the Second World War, the island was used as a training ground for mock battles, which were staged against the dockyards. More than 2,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the dockyard during the war. In December 1940, a bomb hit a factory and caused the death of 8 workers and injured 63 others.[5]
In 1944, an abandoned German submarine was towed by Royal Navy vessels and repaired in No.3 Basin.[5]
Re-development phase
The fishing village houses of St Mary's Island
In 1984, the dockyard was closed. Its huge site was then broken up into three large zones. The largest zone was for the historic section of the dockyard, now the Chatham Historic Dockyard. The next zone (including St Mary's Island, and No 1 and No 2 Basins) was to be re-developed as residential and commercial accommodation. The final zone, of No.3 Basin and the lock gates, was taken over by the Medway Ports authority and is now a commercial port. It includes Papersafe UK[8] and Nordic Recycling Ltd.[9]
In the late 1990s, government agency English Partnerships and housing developer Countryside, came together to build homes on the island, under the development name Countryside Maritime.[10] In due course, some parcels of land were allowed to be developed by other builders, including Redrow.
The first people to live on the Island following the redevelopment were Alan, Deborah and Michael Searles, who moved there in 1996. There is a plaque dedicated to them on the Island-side of the bridge with a Time Capsule buried underneath.
As well as several hundred new homes, there is a primary school and community church,[11] a community centre, a doctor's surgery and a late-night pharmacy. There is extensive open space between housing parcels, as well as sports fields and play areas.
There are riverside walks and cycle paths on the island, and many of the paths in the middle of the island give views of the surrounding area.
There are no retail facilities on the island: those, and cafes and restaurants, are off the island. The Dockside Outlet Centre shopping precinct is within a twenty-minute walk. This includes a Co-Operative supermarket and The Ship and Trades public house (a Shepherd Neame outlet), while a short drive at Gillingham Pier is a large Asda.[citation needed] The western lock basin (Basin 1) now houses a marina.[4]
Since 2008, with the growth of island community, Youth Club "The Island's Castaways" has been established, providing many activities for children. Also, for retired members of the community, there is St Mary's Island Active Retirement Association (SAINTARA) that is also successfully running since 2008. There is a thriving and influential residents' association (SMIRA)[12] lobbying local authorities to ensure that the island remains an extraordinary place to live, work, study and play.
Recent developments include two large apartment blocks situated on the Marina. These will also house a gym and bar/restaurant.[13]
There is permanent road access onto the island, with good local security, making the island safer than the average new housing development [citation needed].
Chatham is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham.
Rochester is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about 30 miles (50 km) from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillingham. Rochester was a city until losing its status as one in 1998 following the forming of Medway and failing to protect its status as a city. There have been ongoing campaigns to reinstate the city status for Rochester.
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to form Medway Towns. It is now a unitary authority area run by Medway Council, independent of Kent County Council but still part of the ceremonial county of Kent.
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance of 70 miles (113 km). About 13 miles (21 km) of the river lies in East Sussex, with the remainder being in Kent.
Gillingham is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the borough of Medway.
Rainham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham.
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham.
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point.
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is a Saxon word believed to mean 'spur of land' or refers to the 'distinct heel-shape of the ridge of hills' through Hoo. Hoo features in the Domesday Book. The peninsula is home to internationally and nationally protected wildlife sites as well as industrial facilities and energy industries.
Fort Amherst, in Medway, South East England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Fort Amherst is now open as a visitor attraction throughout the year with tours provided through the tunnel complex
The PS Medway Queen is a paddle driven steamship, the only mobile estuary paddle steamer left in the United Kingdom. She was one of the "little ships of Dunkirk", making a record seven trips and rescuing 7,000 men in the evacuation of Dunkirk.
Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation.
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England.
Riverside Country Park is a large coastal public park, situated alongside the River Medway estuary between Gillingham and Rainham. The park covers about 100 hectares - approximately 247 acres (1.00 km2). There are a variety of natural habitats within the park, including mudflats and salt marsh, ponds and reed-beds, grassland and scrub, which provide a haven for wildlife.
Medway Maritime Hospital is a general hospital in Gillingham, England within the NHS South East Coast. It is run by Medway NHS Foundation Trust. It is Kent's largest and busiest hospital, dealing with around 400,000 patients annually. It was founded as the Royal Naval Hospital in 1902 for the Naval personnel at the Chatham Dockyard. The hospital was where the Piano Man was taken after being found wandering in a soaking wet suit and tie.
John H Amos is a paddlewheel tugboat built in Scotland in 1931. The last paddlewheel tug built for private owners, now owned by the Medway Maritime Trust. She is one of only two surviving British-built paddle tugs, the other being Eppleton Hall preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California.
Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
The Drill Hall Library in North Road, Chatham in Kent, England, was built as a military drill hall in 1902, for the Royal Navy as part of HMS Pembroke shore establishment and barracks. The barracks closed in 1984. The Grade II listed buildings of the barracks, which include the Captain's House, a Mess block, the Pilkington Building, the four barrack blocks, the Gymnasium, and the surrounding walls of barracks were then redeveloped as part of the Universities at Medway, a tri-partite collaboration of the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University on a single campus. The three universities share use of the Drill Hall Library.
The Great Lines Heritage Park is a complex network of open spaces in the Medway Towns, connecting Chatham, Gillingham, Brompton and the Historic Dockyard. The long military history of the towns has dominated the history of the site and the park. The Great Lines Heritage Park, consists of Fort Amherst, Chatham Lines, the Field of Fire, Inner Lines, Medway Park together with the Lower Lines.
Old Brook Pumping Station, was a water pumping station operating in Chatham, Kent from 1929 until 1980. It now survives as a working museum.
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