Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard , located on the River Medway and of which two - thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham , Kent , England , came into existence at the time when , following the Reformation , relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened , leading to a requirement for additional defences . For 414 years Chatham Dockyard provided over 500 ships for the Royal Navy , and was forefront of shipbuilding , industrial and architectural technology . At its height , it employed over 10 , 000 skilled artisans and covered 400 acres ( 1 . 6 km² ) . Chatham dockyard closed in 1984 , and of the Georgian dockyard is now managed as a visitor attraction by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust . Outline history . The Treasurer of the Navy ' s accounts of the King ' s Exchequer for the year 1544 identifies Deptford as the Dockyard that carried out all the major repairs to the King ' s Ships that year . That was soon to change , although Deptford remained a dockyard for over three centuries . In 1547 " Jillingham " ( Gillingham ) " water " , as Chatham Dockyard was then known , is mentioned as second only in importance to Deptford ; followed by Woolwich , Portsmouth and Harwich . In 1550 ships that were then lying off Portsmouth were ordered to be harboured in Jillingham Water , " by reason of its superior strategic location " . Chatham was established as a royal dockyard by Elizabeth I in 1567 . She herself visited the yard in 1573 . By the late 17th century it was the largest refitting dockyard , important during the Dutch wars . It was , however superseded first by Portsmouth , then Plymouth , when the main naval enemy became France , and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations . In addition , the Medway had begun to silt up , making navigation more difficult . Chatham became a building yard rather than a refitting base . In 1622 , the dockyard moved from its original location ( now the gun wharf to the south ) to its present site . Among many other vessels built in this Dockyard , and which still exist , are HMS " Victory " , launched in 1765 – now preserved at Portsmouth Naval Base ( formerly Portsmouth Royal Dockyard ) , and HMS " Unicorn " , ( a Leda class frigate ) launched 1824 – now preserved afloat at Dundee . Between 1862 and 1885 , the yard had a large building programme and St Mary ' s basins were constructed along St Mary ' s creek . The three basins were , and . There were four new dry docks . Much of the work was done by convict labour . The construction materials required regenerated the North Kent brick and cement industries . It is estimated that 110 million bricks were used . These basins formed the Victorian Dockyard . Chatham built on average , two new ships each year . When the yards at Deptford and Woolwich closed in 1869 , Chatham again became relatively important and remained so until its closure in 1984 . With the 20th century came the submarine . HMS " C17 " was launched at Chatham in 1908 , and during World War I , twelve submarines were built here , but when hostilities ceased , uncompleted boats were scrapped and five years passed before a further ship was launched . In the interwar years , 8 ' S ' class submarine s were built at Chatham but this was a period of decline . During World War II there were 1 , 360 refits and sixteen launchings . The final boats constructed in Chatham were Oberon class submarine s – " Ocelot " was the last vessel built for the Royal Navy , and the final vessel was " Okanagan " built for the Royal Canadian Navy and launched on 17 September 1966 . In 1968 , a nuclear submarine refitting complex was built complete with refuelling cranes and health physics building . In spite of this in June 1981 , it was announced to Parliament that the dockyard would be run down and closed in 1984 . The Georgian site is now a visitor attraction , under the care of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust . The Trust is preparing an application for the Dockyard and its Defences to become a World Heritage Site . The Basins have new uses , St Mary ' s Island is now housing and part of the Victorian Dockyard forms the portal to the Medway Tunnel . Other military buildings have now been refitted and are used by the Universities at Medway . Defence of the dockyard . Upnor Castle . Dockyards have always required shore defences . Among the earliest for Chatham was Upnor Castle , built in 1567 , on the opposite side of the River Medway . It was somewhat unfortunate that on the one occasion it was required for action in the Raid on the Medway , 1667 , the Dutch fleet were able to sail right past it to attack the British fleet , to carry off the pride of the fleet the " Royal Charles " back to the Netherlands . Chain defence . During the wars with Spain it was usual for ships to anchor at Chatham in reserve ; consequently John Hawkins threw a massive chain across the River Medway for extra defence . Hawkins ' chain was later replaced with a boom of masts , iron , cordage , and the hulls of two old ships , besides a couple of ruined pinnacles . This arrangement was again upgraded around 1645 . The Lines . With the failure of Upnor castle it was seen necessary to increase the defences . In the event , those defences were built in distinct phases , as the government saw the increasing threat of invasion . The building was as follows [ complete details can be seen at the external link ] : Growth of the dockyard . The growing importance of the dockyard was illustrated between 1619 – 20 with the addition of two new mast ponds , and the granting of additional land on which a dock , storehouse , and various brick and lime kilns were planned . The renewed outbreak of war with Spain demonstrated the need for such readiness , and in 1710 land was ordered to be bought to improve the dockyard . By the year 1770 the establishment had so expanded that , including the gun wharf , it stretched a mile ( 1 . 6 km ) in length , and included an area of in excess of 95 acres ( 384 , 000 m² ) , possessing four slip ways and four large docks . The officers and men employed in the yard also increased , and by 1798 they numbered 1 , 664 , including 49 officers and clerks and 624 shipwright s . Additionally required were the blockmakers , caulkers , pitch - heaters , blacksmiths , joiner s and carpenters , sail makers , rigger s , and ropemaker s ( 274 ) , as well as bricklayer s , labourers and others . The dockyard ' s final task was refitting nuclear submarine s . HMS " Hermione " was the last ship launched from there , though she had not been built there , but merely refitted . Closure and regeneration . The dockyard closed in 1984 . It covered 400 acres ( 1 . 6 km² ) . After closure this was divided into three sections . The easternmost basin ( Basin No . 3 ) was handed over to the Medway Ports authority and is now a commercial port . It includes Papersafe UK and Nordic Recycling Ltd . 80 acres ( 324 , 000 m² ) , comprising the 18th century core of the site , was transferred to a charity called the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and is now open as a visitor attraction . The other tranche was converted into a mixed commercial , residential and leisure development ( including a Marina ) . These are Basins 1 and 2 . Peel Ports who run a portion of the commercial port on Basin No . 3 , are about to transform a former brownfield site into mixed use development incorporating ; offices , an education facility , an ' EventCity ' , hotel , apartments , town houses , food store ( Asda ) as well as landscaped public areas . The development will be called ' Chatham Waters ' , even though it is on East Wharf of the Chatham Docks . A 2nd Planning application for the development has been approved by Medway Council . The originally planning application included plans for a pub / restaurant and a café , these have been removed . St Mary ' s Island , a site , once a part of the Dockyard , has been transformed to a residential community for some 1 , 500 homes . It has several themed areas with traditional maritime buildings , a fishing ( in looks only ) village with its multi - coloured houses and a modern energy - efficient concept . Many homes have views of the River Medway . A primary school ( St . Mary ' s CofE ) and a medical centre provide facilities for the residents and there are attractive walks around the Island . Filming . Over the years , Chatham Dockyard has become a popular location for filming due to its varied and interesting areas such as the cobbled streets , church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods . Productions that have chosen to film at Chatham Dockyard include : Les Miserables , Call the Midwife , Mr Selfridge , , Oliver Twist and The World is Not Enough References . http : / / www . 28dayslater . co . uk / forums / showthread . php ? t = 63123