Chatham, Kent

Chatham is an English town that developed around an important naval dockyard on the east bank of the River Medway in the county of Kent. Together with Rochester, Gillingham and Strood it is today part of the Medway Towns conurbation.

Communications

Roads

Chatham stood on Watling Street, the Roman road from London to the Kent Coast; the length of it from Chatham to Canterbury was turnpiked in 1730, to become the A2 main road in the 1920s. In 2005 the motorway M2 diverts all through traffic south of the Medway Towns. The central bus station for the towns is in Chatham.

Related Topics:
Watling Street - Canterbury - Turnpiked - Motorway - M2

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Railways

The railway came to Chatham in 1858: first when the East Kent Railway opened a line to Faversham; and later in the year when the short section to connect with the North Kent Line to London was opened. The station is the main one for the Medway towns.

Related Topics:
East Kent Railway - Faversham - North Kent Line

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River Medway

The river, apart from its use by warships to and from the dockyard, was an important means of communication to the interior of Kent. Timber from the Weald for shipbuilding and agricultural produce were among the cargoes. Sun Pier in Chatham was one of many such along the river.

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