Chatham Historic Dockyard facts for kids

Dockyard Plan of 1774, showing the old layout.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a really cool maritime museum located in Chatham, Kent, in South East England. It's built on part of what used to be a huge Royal Navy dockyard.

This dockyard was once massive, covering 400 acres (about 1.6 square kilometers)! For hundreds of years, it was one of the main places where the Royal Navy built and repaired its ships. It finally closed in 1984. After it closed, the dockyard was split into three parts. One part became a commercial port, another was turned into homes and shops, and the most historic 80 acres (324,000 square meters) became what you see today: a visitor attraction run by a charity called the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. People say it's the most complete old dockyard from the "Age of Sail" (when ships used sails) left in the world!

What You Can See and Do

HMS Gannet, one of the historic ships you can explore.

HMS Ocelot, a submarine on display.

A model of HMS Victory inside the museum.

No.1 Smithery, a historic building at the dockyard.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham has lots of amazing things to explore:

• Three Historic Warships: You can go aboard and explore three real warships!
  • HMS Gannet (built in 1878)
  • HMS Cavalier (a destroyer from World War II)
  • HMS Ocelot (a submarine!)
• The Ropery: This is a super old factory where ropes have been made for hundreds of years, using machines from the Georgian and Victorian times. It's still working today!
• Steam, Steel and Submarines: This exhibit tells the story of how Chatham Dockyard changed over the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with the arrival of steam power, steel ships, and submarines.
• Lifeboat: This museum is all about the brave work of the RNLI (the people who rescue others at sea). It has 17 historic rescue boats.
• 3 Slip – The BIG Store: This huge building was once where ships were built. Now, it's a giant display area for large objects from the dockyard and the nearby Royal Engineers Museum.
• No 1 Smithery: This old iron-working building has been made new again as a cool visitor and exhibition center. It even stores thousands of ship models from the National Maritime Museum and Imperial War Museum.

The entrance to 'Command of the Oceans'.

• Command of the Oceans: This exciting area opened in 2014. It has a new entrance and a discovery center that connects the old naval base with other important historic sites nearby. This project became possible after the remains of the Namur warship were found under a building in 1995!

Workers at the dockyard also helped restore the MV Havengore, the boat that carried Winston Churchill's body during his funeral. They also looked after parts of famous ships like the Cutty Sark and the Medway Queen while their main parts were being fixed elsewhere.

Chatham Dockyard built many famous warships. Some of them can still be seen today, even if they are not at Chatham:

• HMS Victory (launched in 1765, now in Portsmouth, England; it was Nelson's ship at the Battle of Trafalgar)
• HMS Unicorn (launched in 1824, now in Dundee, Scotland)
• HMS Ocelot (S17) (launched in 1962, preserved at Chatham)

Dockyard Railway

The dockyard also has its own railway! It has a collection of old locomotives (train engines) and railway cars. Some of these trains are even used throughout the year, so you might see them in action.

Steam Locomotives

Builder	Wheel arrangement	Number and name	Build date	Notes	Photograph
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns	0-4-0ST	7042 Ajax	1941	This train has always been at Chatham Dockyard.
Andrew Barclay	0-4-0ST	2220 Invicta	1946	This train is currently being restored. It also spent its whole working life at Chatham.

Diesel Locomotives

Builder	Wheel arrangement	Number and name	Build date	Notes	Photograph
Andrew Barclay	0-4-0DM	357/WD42 Overlord	1941	This train is often on display in the military exhibition.
F.C. Hibberd	4wDM	3738 Rochester Castle	1955	This train has always been at Chatham Dockyard.
Drewry	0-4-0DM	2503 Thalia	1954	This train is operational.

Seen on TV and in Movies

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular place for filming! With its 80 acres and over 100 old buildings from different time periods, it's perfect for movies and TV shows that need a historic look.

Here are some of the famous shows and films that have used the dockyard:

• Call The Midwife (many seasons)
• SS-GB
• Amazing Grace
• The Halcyon
• The Crown
• Future Tense: The Story of HG Wells
• Mr Selfridge
• Victor Frankenstein
• Jekyll and Hyde
• Suffragette
• The Man From UNCLE
• Grantchester
• Muppets Most Wanted
• Downton Abbey (Season 4)
• Les Misérables
• Great Expectations
• Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
• Loki

In 2020, parts of the TV series Belgravia were also filmed at the dockyard.

Images for kids

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  The inside of the historic ropery.