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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 76 NE 1235
Type of record:Listed Building
Name:NUMBER 2 DRY DOCK

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1858 to 1861

Summary from record TQ 76 NE 129 :

Dry docks, 16th century (site of) and later

Grid Reference:TQ 75863 69245
Map Sheet:TQ76NE
Parish:ROCHESTER & CHATHAM, MEDWAY, KENT

Monument Types

  • DRY DOCK (DRY DOCK, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • SITE (Post Medieval - 1858 AD to 1861 AD)
Protected Status:Listed Building (II*) 1378633: NUMBER 2 DRY DOCK; Scheduled Monument 1003413: Chatham Dockyard, Dry Docks Nos 2, 3 and 4

Full description

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The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TQ 76 NE CHATHAM MAIN GATE ROAD
Chatham Dockyard
762-1/8/83
No.2 Dry Dock
GV II*
Dry dock. 1858-60. Granite and concrete. Stepped sides in two sections, with haulage slides; sides of entrance curved to accept former gates, now closed by a C20 steel caisson. A concrete platform extends along the N side for a travelling crane, built 1861 for fitting armour plating to Achilles.
HISTORY: originally excavated in 1623 as a single dock. Nelson's Victory was built in the remodelled C 18 slip; lengthened 1855-6 for the building of HMS Mersey (the navy's longest-ever wooden warship) and rebuilt 1858-60 for the Achilles, floated out of this dock in December 1864 and the first of the Royal dockyards' iron battleships. No.1 Workbase (qv), which adjoins the dock, was built as a plate-bending workshop for the Achilles.
A good example of mid C19 dry dock technology, exemplifying significant developments in the design of C19 warships.
(Source: Evans D: Archive Research for English Heritage: 1996).
Listing NGR: TQ7586369245

Description from record TQ 76 NE 129 :
(TQ 7610 6950) SAM No. 390 [Dry docks Nos 2, 3 and 4: scheduled]. (1) The first dry docks to be constructed as part of the late seventeenth century expansion of the dockyard complex were started c. 1685. These early docks were of wooden construction and needed constant and expensive repairs. The early docks were expanded and enlarged as the size of warships increased. Four docks were in use up until the early 19th century when the first completely new dock at Chatham since the seventeenth century was built. The new dock was entirely stone built. (2) Detailed review of the technological progress made at the time of the construction of the new stone dock by John Rennie, 1816-1821. (3)


Archaeologia Cantiana 107 1989 173-193 (P McDougall) (OS Card Reference). SKE37326.

English Heritage 1:1250 SAM location maplet (OS Card Reference). SKE41612.

Jonathan G Coad, 1989, The royal dockyards 1690-1850: architecture and engineering works of the sailing navy. No.1, Plate Nos. 87-88 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6362.

Weeks, 1999, Planning application for the 3 ships attraction at the Historic Dockyard dry docks 2, 3 & 4 for Chatham Dockyard (Unpublished document). SKE15831.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
---Unpublished document: Weeks. 1999. Planning application for the 3 ships attraction at the Historic Dockyard dry docks 2, 3 & 4 for Chatham Dockyard.
---OS Card Reference: Archaeologia Cantiana 107 1989 173-193 (P McDougall).
---OS Card Reference: English Heritage 1:1250 SAM location maplet.
---Bibliographic reference: Jonathan G Coad. 1989. The royal dockyards 1690-1850: architecture and engineering works of the sailing navy. No.1. Plate Nos. 87-88.