Chatham Dockyard 1567 - 1984

1567-1984, dockyard, Chatham, Medway, Kent, England, British

1547 - established in the Medway. 1567 - established by Queen Elizabeth I. 1581 - first dry dock built. 1590 - large, three storey storehouse built. 1599 - Phineas Pett became keeper of the Plank Yard. 1605 - special workshops for galley repair constructed. 1619 - construction of a new shipyard started. 1620 - sail loft completed. 1621 - rope house completed. 1622 - officers’ residences completed. Moved from original (now the gun wharf to the south) to present location. 1623 - second dry dock completed. 1624 - graving dock completed. 1626 - new shipyard completed. 1630 - Phineas Pett appointed Resident Commissioner. 1667 - Peter Pett dismissed as Commissioner. 1670 - the Prince completed. 1685 - new store houses and two dry docks built. 1689 - Edward Dummer served as Assistant Master Shipwright. 1703 - the double dock lengthened. 1719 - a new ropery built. 1722 - a clock tower store built. 1734 - a new sail loft built. 1758 - shipwrights set up a bakery. 1765 - Victory launched. 1772 - new timber seasoning sheds and two additional slips completed. 1790 - new rope-house constructed. 1795 - Ville de Paris launched. 1811 - a covered slip created. 1832 - the steam powered paddle sloop Phoenix launched. 1860 - the Warrior completed. 1862 - Extensive rebuilding of the dockyard started, partly because of the introduction of iron built ships. Royal Oak launched. 1863 - the first armoured battleship, the Achilles, built at a royal dockyard, launched. 1885 - extensive building work completed. 1908 - C.17 submarine, constructed in secrecy, launched. 1910 - the C.34 submarine launched. 1916 - following extensive damage from mines and torpedoes, the Nubian and the Zulu joined together to create the Zubian. 1940 - a direct hit on a factory by German bombers resulted in the loss of 23 lives. 1957 - closure of the dockyard was averted by the laying down of the conventionally powered submarine, Oberon. 1965 - decision announced to make the dockyard a nuclear refitting base. 1968 – Royal Canadian Navy submarine Okanagan, the last vessel built at the dockyard, launched from No 7 slip. The nuclear complex completed.