Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Fort Pitt is a bastioned fort of 1819 subsequently converted to hospital use and then to a school. As well as the Fort itself, though, the land around the site is siginficant as it formed the defended area and was kept clear of obstructions.

Monument Types

• LYNCHET (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• FORT (Post Medieval - 1819 AD to 1847 AD)
• ANTI TANK DITCH (Modern - 1940 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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Fort Pitt is a bastioned fort of 1819 subsequently converted to hospital use and then to a school. As well as the Fort itself, though, the land around the site is siginficant as it formed the defended area and was kept clear of obstructions.

An earthwork survey was undertaken within the western part of Jackson Recreation Ground, Chatham, Kent during September 2007. The purpose of the survey was to determine the extent of earthworks of the Napoleonic Fort Pitt which lay immediately to the east in order to inform designation advice and its future management.
Earthworks of several periods were recorded. These consisted of the remains of a field system oriented along the slope in the north western part of the site including a probable lynchet. Earthworks associated with Fort Pitt were seen to extend several metres into the recreation ground all along the eastern boundary. In the south the remains of outworks, including a substantial bank that had formerly connected to Delce Tower to the west were recorded. Several other 19th century features were also seen though these were not necessarily associated with the fort. In the 1920s the park was substantially remodelled with the creation of a large sports field terraced into the centre of the recreation ground and a smaller terrace now containing a playground to the north west. The terraces to the north of the study area were also remodelled and tennis courts and a bowling green laid out. The recreation ground formed part of the Second World War defences against invasion and earthworks and structural remains from this period were also recorded.
Earthworks associated with Fort Pitt remain within the recreation ground. They run along the eastern side of the survey area parallel to the boundary and extending at least 10m into it. More extensive earthworks were seen on the corner outside the north west bastion and to the west of the south west bastion. These had originally extended across the whole survey area to Delce Tower but have now been destroyed or seriously damaged by the construction of the sports field in the 1920s and the new skateboard park. (7)

Hazel Basford, 2004, Kent VAD - the work of voluntary aid detachments in Kent during the first World War (Unpublished document). SKE31644.

Wessex Archaeology, 2004, Proposed development at Fort Pitt, City Way, Chatham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE52175.

Peter Kendall, 2006, Historic barracks in Medway (Unpublished document). SKE15939.

<1> Kent Arch Rev 47 1977 172-176 (KR Gulvin) (OS Card Reference). SKE45786.

<2> A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 12 (D Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE32802.

<3> The Medway Forts: A Short Guide 1976 7-8 (K R Gulvin) (OS Card Reference). SKE50429.

<4> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1996, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Chatham. Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SWX6696.

<5> Victor Smith and Ron Crowdy, 1994, From Tudor Rose to Mushroom Cloud. The Gazetter of Defence Heritage Sites in the Kentish Part of the Thames Gateway. An Overview (Unpublished document). SKE12458.

<6> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

<7> English Heritage, 2008, Fort Pitt, Chatham, Kent: An Earthwork Analysis of Jackson Recreation Ground. Survey Report (Unpublished document). SKE15972.

<8> Wessex Archaeology, 2014, University for the Creative Arts, Rochester, Kent: Archaeological Evaluation Report (Unpublished document). SKE51992.

Sources and further reading

Related records