Chatham Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Kent, and around 30 miles east, and slightly south, of central London, is the town of Chatham.

The first recorded reference to Chatham dates back to 880 AD when it was written as 'Cetham'. Geographically it is situated at the confluence of the River Thames and River Medway in a continuous urban development with Rochester to the immediate west and Gillingham to the immediate northeast.

During the mid 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I established a royal dockyard at Chatham. In 1667 it was subject to a raid from a Dutch fleet who sailed up the Medway during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch scored a successful attack on the English warships in what was one of the worst defeats in the history of the Royal Navy.

In 1756 the Seven Years' War began. The Chatham Lines of Defence were built to defend the dockyard in 1758, and stretched for over a mile between Chatham at one end and Gillingham at the other. The war ended in Anglo-Prussian coalition victory after, well, seven years. Additionally, HMS Victory was constructed at Chatham Dockyard during the war, and first launched in 1765. The ship would later see action, perhaps most famously in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar.

In 1812 the Corps of Royal Engineers moved from their original base at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich to Chatham, where they have been garrisoned ever since. The Royal Engineers are commonly known as Sappers (derived from the French word 'sappe' meaning 'spadework', or 'trench') and provide military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

In 1858 the railway arrived in Chatham, initially with a single line eastwards towards Faversham. Today the railway station has connections to London to the west and the Kent coast to the east. Among its services are high speed trains direct to St Pancras Station, known as Class 395 Javelins, which are built in Japan by Hitachi.

In 1984 Chatham Dockyard closed. Following closure, part of the site was converted into what is now the Chatham Historic Dockyard museum.

Author Charles Dickens grew up in Chatham. His novels drew particular inspiration from both Chatham and the neighbouring town of Rochester, where he spent his final years.

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Filmed: 10th March 2022

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/z39hxd65MMnuzSsK9

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 High Street
8:03 Pentagon Shopping Centre
8:09 High Street
12:18 Medway Street
12:43 Sun Pier
15:40 Medway Street
16:06 High Street