The Historic Dockyard in Chatham has been one of the most significant centres of warship building and repair in Britain for more than four centuries. Responsible for the construction of over 400 warships, including HMS Victory, ensured domination of the seas. Today it is still as commanding, comprising a site of 80 acres with much to explore!
Our experience day there was led by Stephen Billington, Head of Lifelong Learning – Stephen gave us a fascinating tour of the Dockyard entertaining us with insider stories and information! We saw the remains of a leading war ship left buried underground for hundreds of years and heard about the amazing architect who built around the timber, rather than try to move it. Stephen pointed out how the construction of the buildings had progressed through the ages from all wood, to wood and metal combined, to all metal, showing how long the buildings had been in use.
We walked around a collection of lifeboats – an exciting glimpse of the progress of saving lives at sea! Unfortunately we were unable to go on the submarine, but even from the outside it was a formidable sight – apparently its activities during the war are still top secret! We were able to walk around the decks of two beautiful warships – HMS Gannet and HMS Cavalier. The ‘Hidden Heroines’ exhibition provided a unique glimpse into life at the Dockyard from a woman’s perspective, something often disregarded or simply unknown.
Today, the Dockyard is not only the great visitor attraction it is, alongside this it is a successful commercial business estate, a residential estate and home to Kent University Medway campus. Many films and television programmes have used the site as location for filming, including ‘Call The Midwife’ – there is even a specific tour with tour guides dressed as midwives!
Following our tour, we had a lunch break then separated into groups to have time in the classroom with three different lectures. All of these provided invaluable insight into the variety of areas that comprises the Dockyard, from Marketing and Business, to Media, to Heritage. Each group learnt a great deal from their sessions, enjoying the opportunity to listen and ask questions of their lecturer.
Overall, it was a truly fascinating day, we all came away feeling enthused and enlightened about Britain’s navel past!
EP would like to thank Stephen Billington and his team at the Dockyard for hosting us and supporting the Scheme.