Historic Buildings

THE COVERED SLIPS, 1847 – 1855 (Scheduled Ancient Monuments)

The covered building slipways, together with the dry docks, formed the industrial heart of the Dockyard of the age of sail. Most ships were built on slipways that sloped into the river – located both here and in front of Commissioners House, although some were built in dry docks.

4, 5 and 6 slips were built as a group between 1847 and 1848. Their slender cast-iron frames were covered with corrugated-iron (now steel) sheeting. These roofs are an important landmark in the history of wide span iron and steel structures as they predate those of the great train sheds of King’s Cross and Newcastle and were part of the design path to the 1851 Crystal Palace.

The last slip to be built was No.7, erected in 1855 with a frame built out of wrought-iron with integral overhead travelling crane rails. Most of the submarines built at Chatham between 1907 and 1966 were constructed there, including HM Submarine Ocelot. Today, No.7 slip is operated commercially by Turks Shipyard.

NO. 3 COVERED SLIP, 1838 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

During the Napoleonic Wars the Navy Board set about minimising the impact of Dry Rot on ships under construction by building covers over the all the building slips and docks used for shipbuilding.

At Chatham the large slips in front of Commissioners House were tackled first, with No 2 Slip covered in 1813 and No 1 Slip in 1815. No 3 slip was built in 1836 and covered in 1838 with a roof 300 ft. (91m) long and 146 ft. (44.5m) wide. The cantilevered frame was to the design of Sir Robert Seppings and is a remarkable tribute to the skills of the dockyard workforce which built it. Today it remains the sole survivor, No.1 Slip was taken down at the end of the 19th century while No.2 Slip was lost to fire in 1966.

By the 1850s the length of ships had outgrown the slipway and in 1904 a new mezzanine floor was inserted to create a store for ships’ boats.

In 2007, the building underwent some modernisation work with a new lift, two new staircases, three new windows overlooking the river, upgraded cladding on the riverside, upgraded handrails, and new fire detection systems.

NO.3 DRY DOCK, 1820; NO.4 DRY DOCK, 1840 (Scheduled Ancient Monuments)

The dry docks were used for both shipbuilding and ship repair. During the age of sail the Navy Board built more dry docks than any other country. Originally they were built of timber and needed frequent repair and re-building.

No. 3 dry dock, now home to HM Submarine OCELOT, was the first of Chatham’s dry docks to be built in stone. It was designed by naval architect John Rennie, along with the South Dock Pumping Station.

No.4 dry dock, where HMS GANNET is now berthed, was constructed in 1840 and enlarged in 1908 to accommodate larger ships.

Both dry docks were built in the same in the same manner with floor and sides of granite blocks supported underground by an inverted brick arch.

NO.2 DRY DOCK, 1856 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This was the site of the Old Single Dock where VICTORY was built and launched in 1765.

As ship building changed from wood to iron and the size of vessels increased, there was a need to extend the dock. Between 1855 and 1856 it was lengthened and rebuilt in stone. In 1860 this dock was used to construct HMS ACHILLES, the first iron battleship to be built at a Royal Dockyard, a sister ship to WARRIOR, who still survives today at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

DOCK PUMPING-STATION, 1822 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Designed by John Rennie as part of the works to build No 3 Dry Dock, this was Britain’s second large volume steam powered pumping station.

Connected to all three docks and the river by a series of underground culverts it was used to drain the docks when ships were brought in for repair or after a launch. The water was pumped back into the river through the underground drainage system.

The Pumping-Station was powered by two steam powered beam-engine and this was replaced by in 1929 by an electric pump. The pumping-station remains operational and could be used when the docks are drained to carry out major works on the ships, although this does not happen often.

MAST HOUSE AND MOULD LOFT, 1753 – 58 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

One of the most important buildings to survive at Chatham from the age of sail its timber frame is built from re-used warship deck beams and knees.

The first floor Mould Loft was a large drawing board used at the start of the shipbuilding process. Here the most skilled shipwrights converted small scale ships’ plans into to full size lines scribed into the floor that showed the outside shape of the hull.

The ground floor was a series of Mast Houses where the mastmakers made masts and spars from fir logs that had been seasoned under water in the dockyard’s mast ponds.

VICTORY’S lines were almost certainly laid down in this building and her masts and spars made here too.

WHEELWRIGHTS SHOP, c.1786 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Built as three parallel Mast Houses it is thought to have been erected to store masts and spars from ships returning to Chatham at the end of the American War of Independence.  It was later adapted to form workshops for some of the minor trades involved in warship construction – including the capstan makers, pump makers, the coak & trenail makers and the wheelwrights.

In 1995 archaeologists discovered the remains of part of the frame of an 18th century warship beneath its floor. Archaeological and historical research has identified the ship as being the NAMUR, a 2nd Rate ship of the line built at Chatham in 1756.

NO.1 SMITHERY, 1808 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

In 1805 the dockyard officers petitioned the Navy Board for a new Smithery at Chatham to replace an earlier and smaller 18th century Smiths’ Shop as a result of the “great introduction of iron work in Building and repair of Ships”.

The work was given to Edward Holl, the Navy Board architect, and built between 1806-08. It is now the most complete example of a smithery from the age of sail to survive in a dockyard.

During the mid-19th century the use of iron in shipbuilding increased dramatically and the building was adapted and extended to provide space for new workshops and steam powered tools. Naysmith hammers, rivet making machines and a large frame bending floor were all introduced. No1 Smithery remained in use until 1974.

Today No 1 Smithery houses collections from Royal Museums Greenwich and Imperial War Museums, as well as the Historic Dockyard’s temporary exhibition gallery.

NO.1 MACHINE SHOP 1861; ARMOUR PLATE SHOP 1865 (Grade II* Listed Buildings)

The decision to build ACHILLES at the Dockyard in 1861 led the requirement for new buildings to be able to house the machine tools required to work with iron. ACHILLES was to be built in No.2 Dock and it was decided that the new building, No.1 Machine Shop, should be built adjacent to it, allowing an easier transfer of the shaped iron for construction.

The building had enough room to take two new plate furnaces and two angle-iron furnaces. In addition hydraulic machinery for bending the iron plate, punching holes, shearing and planning the metal work were installed. In 1865 the building was extended with the Armour Plate Shop, now the Trust’s railway workshop and waggonstop canteen. In a stark contrast to the hand tools used for wooden warship construction, both would have been noisy working spaces.

Despite their appearance, both are important structures that mark the transition from the timber-hulled sail-powered ship of the age of sail to the arrival of the iron and steel hulled steam powered Navy.

THE SAIL AND COLOUR LOFT, 1723 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

In the 17th century most of the manufacture and repair of sails were carried out by civilian sailmakers. However, the yard’s officers became unhappy with their speed of work, especially in times of war. In 1716 the Navy Board ordered the majority of sail making to be undertaken in-house within the Royal Dockyards. As part of the major rebuild of Chatham Dockyard in the 1720s the Sail Loft was constructed.

Along with sails, flags were made here . It is likely that during Victory’s Great Repair in 1803, she was fitted with sails and flags made here. Those flags would have flown Nelson’s famous signal prior to the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 – “England Expects Every Man To Do His Duty”.

As the Navy’s use of flags increased a separate female workforce was employed to make them and they soon became known as the ‘Ladies of the Sail Loft’.

HOUSE CARPENTERS SHOP, 1740 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Built for the carpenters who looked after the dockyard’s own buildings, the House Carpenters shop was constructed to harmonise with the adjacent Officers terrace. The building now forms part of a series of craft workshops and is open to visitors.

TIMBER SEASONING SHEDS, 1774 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

In May 1771, the Earl of Sandwich and other Commissioners of the Admiralty Board visited Chatham and were shown how ships constructed from poorly seasoned timber had rotted. Shortly afterwards plans were made to provide timber seasoning sheds in all the Royal Dockyards so that timber could be carefully stored and seasoned before use.

The sheds were to be of a standard design and built in sufficient quantity to provide a 3 year supply of seasoned timber for each yard, at Chatham this equated to 75 bays. All were completed by 1775 and as such the seasoning sheds are probably the first standardised industrial buildings to be erected in large numbers in Britain. Today only two survive – both at Chatham.

THE JOINERS SHOP, 1790 AND THE HOUSE CARPENTERS’ SHOP, 1740 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

The Joiners were responsible for the finishing of surfaces on board a ship prior to its fitting out, including the planning of knees, beams and ledges. Work in the Joiner’s Shop would have included the making of all on board furniture to fit ships, from tables and beds to moving pantries and the preparation of windows for the stern and galleries. The Master Joiner would also survey a ship that came in for refit, identifying what joinery items needed to be replaced or repaired.

The House Carpenters work covered the buildings and maintenance of key infrastructure in the Dockyard. The docks, slips and wharfs were their responsibility as was making sure that domestic houses, offices and fitting shops were maintained. House Carpenters also built the store rooms and magazines on board ships.

Today these buildings are used as offices and creative business units.

BRUNEL SAW MILLS, 1814 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Until 1814 timber was sawn by hand, mostly by pairs of sawyers working in saw pits. In 1812 work commenced on the construction of this building that was to revolutionise timber preparation in the Dockyard. Designed by Marc Brunel it provided a mechanised approach to the whole process. Steam powered reciprocating sawing machines were linked by an overhead travelling crane system to timber storage yards and by underground canal to the South Mast Pond.

THE ROPERY, 1786-91 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Rope has been made on this site since 1618 when the first Rope Yard buildings were completed. Originally there were two long timber single-storey buildings – one used for spinning, the other for rope forming and closing. The present building is a Double Ropehouse where spinning took place on upper floors with the Rope Walk, where the rope was made, on the ground floor.

Rope was an essential commodity in the age of sail with a first rate ship of the line needing around 31 miles of it – over 20 for its rigging alone. The Rope Yard operated as a separate business unit within the dockyard, run by the Clerk of the Ropeyard, with its own workforce recorded separately by the Navy Board to that of the rest of the dockyard.

Today the Ropery is unique –a traditional naval ropery, complete with its original Georgian and Victorian equipment – that still makes rope commercially.

HATCHELLING HOUSE, 1787 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Built as part of the rebuilding of the Rope Yard in the late 18th century, the Hatchelling House was where the ropemaking process began.

Hatchellers, semi-skilled artisans combed the raw hemp fibre across hatchels, boards with long iron pins to straighten out the fibres before they were spun into yarn. Whale oil, known as ‘train oil’ was used to lubricate the fibres. This was very hard manual work that took great strength. In 1803 19 hatchellers worked in this building.

In 1864 the hatchelling operation was mechanised and incorporated in the new Spinning Room built above the Hemp Houses. The hatchellers’ role was passed over to women to work as machine minders following the pattern set in northern textile mills.

HEMP HOUSES AND SPINNING ROOM, 1729 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

The earliest surviving buildings of the Ropeyard are the Hemp Houses, the northern most part (closest to Commissioners House) dating from 1729.Originally a single storey structure the hemp houses were extended in length three times and doubled in width.

They were used to store raw hemp fibre grown in southern Russia and imported through Baltic ports such as Riga. As a result the hemp was often known as Riga hemp and the Baltic became an important supply route for key raw materials of shipbuilding in the age of sail such as hemp and fir logs to be made into ships’ masts and spars.

In 1812 , during the Napoleonic Wars, a second storey was added to double the space available to store the hemp. In 1864 the upper storey was rebuilt to take mechanical hatchelling and spinning machinery. A new workforce of women were recruited as ‘machine minders’ to operate the new equipment and other parts of the ropeyard altered to provide facilities and separate access for the new female workers.

THE CLOCKTOWER BUILDING, 1723 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

The oldest naval store-house to survive in any of the Royal Dockyards. The Clocktower Building was constructed at the head of the docks as a ‘present use store’ for materials and equipment needed by ships under construction or repair. These would include iron, lead, copper, oakum, pitch and tar. The top floor was used as a mould loft and the six ground floor bays at the north end of the building were left open and used as sawpits.

The store was rebuilt in 1802 when the original timber cladding was replaced with a brick skin, while the saw pits were filled in. In the twentieth century it was converted into offices.

Today the Clocktower Building has been adapted for the University of Kent’s School of Music and Fine Art. It houses a small lecture theatre, seminar rooms and offices.

ANCHOR WHARF (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Anchor Wharf was where supplies and stores were transferred from river to shore. The long expanse allowed easy movement of materials that were brought into the Dockyard to the storehouses that run the length of the wharf. Areas were also used to store ships’ anchors.

With the development of steam technology and the growth of the Dockyard in the mid-19th century, Anchor Wharf became connected with the rest of the site with a new steam railway by 1871. This enabled easier movement of stores across site.

FITTED RIGGING HOUSE, 1796; STOREHOUSE 3 1785 (Scheduled Ancient Monuments)

These two storehouses dominate Anchor Wharf and the largest storehouses ever built for the Royal Navy.

The nearest building is the Fitted Rigging House and Storehouse No 2. This was where the Dockyard’s riggers prepared and stored the rigging for ships being ‘Fitted For Sea’. They used rope made in the Ropery and blocks bought in from private block-makers, or, after 1804, from the Portsmouth Block Mills. The furthest part of the building was used to store new equipment purchased to fit out newly built ships.

The far building, Storehouse No 3, replaced the earlier Long Store in 1785 and was used as a ‘lay apart’ store. Here stores and equipment from warships under repair or lying in Ordinary, or reserve in the Medway, were brought on shore and kept ‘laid apart’ from those of other vessels.

ADMIRALS OFFICES, 1808 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Built as office accommodation for the Master Shipwright and other principal officers of the Dockyard, this building was designed by the Navy Board’s architect, Edward Holl. Its roof-line was kept deliberately low to avoid interference with the view from Officers’ Terrace behind.

During the 20th century it was extended both on the Clocktower side of the building and at the back – both serving to reduce the impact of Holl’s original symmetrical design. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and the Admiralty Board took over the running of the Royal Dockyard with naval officers, first Captains and later Admirals placed in charge. Later on it became the offices of the Port Admiral.

Today a range of different 21st century companies have offices within the building.

ASSISTANT QUEEN HARBOUR MASTER’S OFFICE, c.1770 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This building was constructed next to the Queen’s Stairs, which was the main entry point to the Dockyard from the river during 18th century. This office was built for the Dockyard’s two Master Attendants, who were Principal Officers and were responsible for the ships moored in the river, either in Ordinary or waiting repair and for the trades involved in Fitting Ships for Sea.

In 1865 the whole of the River Medway was designated as a Dockyard Port under the control of the King or Queen’s Harbourmaster, a post held by a senior officer of the Dockyard. The Assistant Harbourmaster worked from this building, responsible for all moorings and ship movements that affected the Navy’s use of the river.

In the 20th century the large mast to the left of the building flew the flag of the Port Admiral.

MAIN GATE, 1722 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This imposing building was the main entrance to the Dockyard. Completed in 1722 in ‘Vanbrugh style’ its first coat of arms of George I now sits on the inside face of the building. It was replaced on the outside in 1811 with the arms of George III.

The gate provided homes for two junior officials, the Yard Porter and Boatswain. The Yard Porter watched over all those who would enter and exit the site.

Workers would have been mustered by the tolling of the muster bell, which is just to the right of the gate. During the Napoleonic Wars, when fears of spies were at their height, Quartermen, or gang leaders, from each trade were required to personally identify each of their men entering the yard. A practice repeated during the world wars of the 20th century.

GUARD HOUSE, 1764 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

The Seven Years War (1756-63) raised the threat of invasion and landward attack to the dockyard as well as increasing concerns about the risks of spies and saboteurs.

A new Guard House was built in 1764 to house a force of Marines brought in to supplement dockyard security at Main Gate. The external timber colonnade was added in 1813.

In 1834 the Marines were replaced by a uniformed Dockyard Police force and it, and its successors, occupied the Guard House until the Dockyard closed in 1984. Today the building is used for office accommodation.

THE CASHIER’S OFFICE, LATE 18TH CENTURY (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This substantial building was constructed for the pay clerks and other staff of the Clerk of the Cheque. It was originally a single-storey structure with the upper floors being added later on. John Dickens, father of Charles Dickens, worked as a pay clerk in this building between 1817 and 1822. Paid £200 per year, he attended the regular muster of all the artisans and labourers employed in the Dockyard and met arriving ships to pay the crews. Charles Dickens made many visits to the Dockyard, both then and later, writing some of his experience in his book The Uncommercial Traveller.

The building remains in use as an office today.

COMMISSIONER’S HOUSE, 1703 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

The original house was built in 1640 for the First Resident Commissioner Phineas Pett, his family and servants. In 1703 it was knocked down and rebuilt in its present style for the new Resident Commissioner George St Lo. Lo felt that the original house did not compare to his previous, and newly built, residence in Plymouth and petitioned for a new one to be built of equal grandeur.

The house has changed little since its construction and it is the oldest intact naval building in Britain to survive. Internally the centrepiece is a magnificent ceiling painting above the main staircase. Painted on wood panel and depicting a scene the Greek gods assembling, it is believed to have come from the Great Cabin of the Royal Sovereign an important first rate ship of the line, broken up at Chatham in 1768.

THE ROYAL DOCKYARD CHURCH, 1806 – 10 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Provision for the spiritual welfare of those who worked in the Dockyard was not made until 1755, when a hulk was provided in the river for use as a chapel. In 1804 approval was gained for the construction of a dockyard church. It was designed by Edward Holl and was built largely by the Dockyard’s own workforce. It has an internal gallery supported on slender cast-iron columns. It is one of the first uses of cast-iron in the Dockyard. The last service in the Dockyard Church was in December 1981.

Today the church is available for private hire. This new lease of life has allowed the building to be restored, providing a stable future for the building and is appreciated by all those who use it.

THE SOUTH STABLES, 1737 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

One of two ranges of stables in the Dockyard that provided accommodation for the horses of the Dockyard’s principal officers. The southern block contains a coach-house which was used for the Resident Commissioner’s carriage.

During much of the age of sail the Resident Commissioner at Chatham was also responsible for operations at Sheerness Dockyard. Although only 12 miles away the journey to Sheerness by river could take a long time if winds and tides were unfavourable. The Commissioner was therefore provided with an official carriage and horses.

Today the range of buildings is largely residential.

OFFICERS TERRACE, 1722 – 33 (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This comprises twelve large houses built for the senior offices of the Dockyard. The rooms on the lower floor would have originally been used as offices until the construction of the Dockyard’s first office block in 1750. Each house has its own walled garden, now some of Britain’s few remaining eighteenth-century ‘town’ gardens.

Six of the houses are larger than the others and were for the principal officers. They were the Master Shipwright, the Clerk of the Cheque, the Storekeeper, the Clerk of the Survey and two Master Attendants. The other houses were occupied less senior men: the Clerk to the Ropeyard and Master Ropemaker, the first and second Assistant Master Shipwrights, the Mast Caulker and the Surgeon.

Today these houses are private residences.

THE CASHIER’S OFFICE, LATE 18TH CENTURY (Scheduled Ancient Monument)

This substantial building was constructed for the pay clerks and other staff of the Clerk of the Cheque. It was originally a single-storey structure with the upper floors being added later on. John Dickens, father of Charles Dickens, worked as a pay clerk in this building between 1817 and 1822. Paid £200 per year, he attended the regular muster of all the artisans and labourers employed in the Dockyard and met arriving ships to pay the crews. Charles Dickens made many visits to the Dockyard, both then and later, writing some of his experience in his book The Uncommercial Traveller.

The building remains in use as an office today.