In its time, many 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.

Upnor Castle had been built in 1567, but had proved ineffectual; the Dutch raid on the Medway in 1667 showed that more defences were required.

The fortifications, which became more elaborate as the threat of invasion grew, were begun in 1756 as a complex across the neck of the peninsula formed by the bend in the River Medway, and included Fort Amherst.

The importance of Chatham Dockyard gradually declined as Britain's naval resources were reduced or moved to other locations, and eventually, on 31 March 1984, it shut.

Part of the St Mary's Island section is now used as a marina, and the remainder is being developed for housing, commercial and other uses, branded as "Chatham Maritime".

Compared with opposite bank, the river is fast-flowing and deep; the illustration (1), an early print of the settlement, is taken from the point where Fort Pitt now stands.

Beyond the Chatham Dockyard was marshy land, now called St Mary's Island, and has several new developments of housing estates.

The photograph (3), taken from the Banks and looking south, shows the village in the centre, with the rows of Victorian terraced housing, which unusually follow the contour lines.

[22] From early April 1984 to December 1985, and onwards, the Medway Towns began to have an increase in alcohol and drug-related, antisocial behaviour, which many residents then realized had largely been caused by the closure of the Royal Navy Dockyard on 31 March 1984, and the resulting mass redundancies.

The Grade II listed building Chatham Town Hall was built in January 1900;[24] it stands in The Brook, and is of a unique architectural design.

There were many events held within the Medway Arts Centre, including stage plays, themed nights and snooker tournaments.

Likewise during May 1990, the Medway Arts Centre organised a large parade, composed of dancers, musicians, artists and sculptors, who stood upon theatrical lorry floats.

The vehicles were initially parked up next to the entrance into the Theatre Royal Cafe, a popular restaurant in the Chatham Town Hall, on Whiffens Avenue, and then started to travel along Military Road in Chatham, and onward to Rochester, Strood and Frindsbury, where sweets, chocolate, posters, badges, plastic hats, leaflets, stickers and T-shirts were handed out to the crowds, to promote the Medway Arts Centre.

escalators and stairs in the Pentagon Shopping Centre, to get on board the green buses, coaches and minibuses that were managed by Maidstone & District Motor Services.

The Medway, apart from Chatham Dockyard, has always had an important role in communication: historically it provided a means for the transport of goods to and from the interior of Kent.

This fact means that the existing roadway system has always proved inadequate for the amount of traffic it has to handle, and various schemes have been tried by Rochester-Upon-Medway City Council, to alleviate the congestion.

The basic west–east routes are The Brook to the north and New Road to the south, but the additional problems caused by the situation of the Pentagon Bus Station meant that conflicting traffic flows were the result, from 1975 and onward.

From April 1986 and onward until October 1987, the town centre remodelling of Chatham began, and Railway Street was realigned into becoming part of an inner ring road, that became a one-way system.

This redevelopment included the demolition of the House of Holland department store in January 1987, and the construction of the Sir John Hawkins Flyover in Chatham, that was opened in February 1989, so the traffic could be carried from south to north over the High Street.

Several Medway Delta bands gained international recognition, including The Milkshakes, The Prisoners (see also James Taylor Quartet) and The Dentists.

Alongside such individuals was Alan Denman, who became a well established lecturer at KIAD, and who founded The Flying Circuits in April 1984, which became an urban theatre movement in the Medway Towns.

The scenes performed by The Flying Circuits were entirely based upon excerpts from the Electronic Town, a screenplay written by Alan Denman from January 1984 to October 1984, which concerned a futuristic science fiction dystopia.

Alan Denman also helped to form The Medway Poets with Billy Childish, Robert Earl, Bill Lewis, Sexton Ming and Charles Thomson.

Chatham has always had a strong musical and creative arts heritage that has remained centred on local groups, many of whom were also part of the KIAD.

[40][41] There was a resurgence in the live music scene in February 2001, with an initial focus on the Tap 'N' Tin venue at 24 Railway Street in Chatham.

It had promoted several arts exhibitions and gigs at The Barge, at 63 Layfield Road, in Gillingham (now closed) and the Nag's Head at 292 Rochester High Street, but disbanded in 2013.

[42] The Medway Poets were formed in August 1975 and disbanded in March 1982 having performed at the Kent Literature Festival and many others in South East England and on TV and Radio.

[43] Recent Medway artists of note include Kid Harpoon, Crybaby Special and The Monsters, Red Light, Underground Heroes, Tyrannosaurus Alan,[44] Pete Molinari, Lupen Crook, Brigadier Ambrose, Stuart Turner and Theatre Royal.

Before the Chatham Dockyard was closed down on 31 March 1984, the cultural idea of the Chav did not exist in the Medway Towns.

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.