Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1816 to 1821

Summary from record TQ 76 NE 129 :

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

Monument Types

• DRY DOCK (DRY DOCK, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• SITE (Post Medieval - 1816 AD to 1821 AD)

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
762-1/8/77
No.3 Dry Dock
GV II*
Dry dock. 1816-21, by Sir John Rennie Snr. Granite ashlar. Round-ended dry dock has stepped sides in two sections separated by a walkway, with a stair flights at the end, and 4 further to each side, with stone slides for goods. Inner timber gates fit into recesses in the sides, and outer caisson to W river entrance.
HISTORY: the first stone dry dock to be built at Chatham, drained by steam-powered pumps in the nearby dock pumping station (qv). The earliest of 3 uncovered dry docks, with capstans and former cannon bollards. The engineering is intermediate between Bentham's dry docks at Portsmouth, and Rennie's slightly later docks with iron gates and caissons at Sheerness (qv). Docks are the most significant structures in the operation of the Yard, determining the scope and scale of its work. No.3 dock was not only a major advance for Chatham, but was an important step in the development of the modern dry dock, at Sheerness.
(Sources: Coad J: The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850: Aldershot: 1989: 99-107; Archaeologia Cantiana: MacDougall P: Granite and Lime, Chatham Dockyard's First Stone Dry Dock: 1989: 173-192).
Listing NGR: TQ7586969305

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

Related records