page_title: Great Lines Heritage Park
section_title: The Lower Lines
hierarchical_section_title: Great Lines Heritage Park / The Lower Lines
caption_attribution_description: English: Entrance to park from Johnson Avenue
context_page_description: The Great Lines Heritage Park is a complex network of open spaces in the Medway Towns, connecting Chatham, Gillingham, Brompton and the Historic Dockyard. The long military history of the towns has dominated the history of the site and the park. The Great Lines Heritage Park, consists of Fort Amherst, Chatham Lines, the Field of Fire, Inner Lines, Medway Park together with the Lower Lines.
  The Lines, were constructed in Napoleonic times. They were never used but they have been used to be a barrier to development, keeping the fort and the Lines mostly untouched.
  Most of the park is accessible to all at most times.
  It has many pedestrian and cycle links for residents of the two towns of Gillingham and Chatham.
context_section_description: Built in 1804, as an extension of the 'Chatham Lines' (built in 1755). They are large deep ditches with brick lined walls (similar to the upgraded Fort Amherst fortifications).
  It is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
  In June 1808, after an act of parliament was passed, a road from Gillingham heading north towards St Mary's Island was closed, for the building of the Lower Lines.
  Afterwards in the 1800s, the Lower Lines were used to train the Royal Engineer sappers, including mining, removing defence foundations and escalading.
  In the 1930s, several tunnels and underground shelters were built into the land. Some accounts record they were built by Cornish tin miners. The tunnels and rooms are 80–100 feet below ground, they then became the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore,  during the Second World War.
  The headquarters were enhanced by the 'Francois Cementation Co Ltd', the same company that later built the Ramsgate Tunnel war shelters.
  The lines fortifications were also used to site several anti-aircraft guns positions. Some of the remains of these positions still remain in the park with new visitor information panels.
  Along Medway Road, surviving concrete pimple anti-tank obstacles can be found in the Inner Lines. They are now Grade II listed.
  In 1963, Captain J. S. M. Richardson DSO RN (Rtd) was invited to set up a Royal Naval Reserve Headquarters Unit in Chatham. It used the underground bunker. As a Commander RNR, he had served as the first Commanding Officer of MHS Wildfire - a name long associated with Sheerness Naval Base. The Unit was commissioned on 10 September 1964 with 13 Officers and 39 Ratings. They had to improve the structure which had not been looked after very well since the wartime period. The Unit used the communications/ exchange area which was improved along with the plotting area. Other ancillary rooms were converted into offices and classrooms. The Unit's primary function was a training facility.
  The tunnels and Headquarters remained in use until 1983, with the closure of Chatham Naval Base and HMS Wildfire moved to
  Later, the tunnels were damaged when a fire broke out soon after their closure. Access to them has proved difficult due to the poor air quality within the complex. Due to the creation of the park they were sealed to protect the tunnels from further damage.
  In December 2008, the government announced a further £2m of investment from its "Parklands" fund, to be invested in pathways, lighting, entrances and a pedestrian bridge connecting the Great Lines to Fort Amherst. Then MidKent College, who built a new campus on part of the Lower Lines, gave £7million to the Heritage Park to improve the Lower Lines.
  The Lower Lines Park is 5.5 hectares of the open land linked to the Lines fortifications. It has been re-developed with new signs, paths, planting areas, children play area and wildlife trail.
  In January 2010 the park was opened to the public. On 2 June 2010, it was officially opened to the public by Admiral Sir Ian Garnett with the Mayor of Medway, Cllr David Brake, project director for the construction of MidKent College's Medway Campus and the Lower Lines Park, Jane Jones, and Chairman of the Park's Charitable Trust, John Spence. The ceremony was also attended by local sea cadets who performed a guard of honour.
  The Lower Lines Trust are the managers of the Park maintenance and development. The 'Friends of the Admiral’s Garden' is a voluntary group who look after the Lower Lines Park. Lower Lines Park is accessible at all times.
caption: Entrance to park from Johnson Avenue
exif: {"Image Make": "EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY", "Image Model": "KODAK DX4530 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "230", "Image YResolution": "230", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "506", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2624", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5053", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2003:01:03 11:22:39", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2003:01:03 11:22:39", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6", "EXIF ApertureValue": "3", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "8", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2580", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1932", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2320", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "140", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}