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Sheerness Heritage Centre Rose St |
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THE PAST RECREATED |
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We welcome your comments,good or bad,in our Guest Book The Royal Dockyard
Samuel Pepys secretary to the Board of the Navy Start of the Dockyard Sheerness stands at a point on the East bank of the River Medway,where it flows into the Thames estuary. This strategic location was first fortified in the 16th century when Henry V111 was king of England from 1509 to his death in 1547. Apart from the fortifiactions he had built he is famous for his many wives and causing England to leave the Roman Catholic Church and become a largely protestant country. The Royal Dockyard was in that part of Sheerness known as Bluetown. From the 17th century to its closure in 1960 it was the major employer on the Isle of Sheppey. Warships had been brought here for careening for some time before Charles11's famous visit recorded by Pepys in his diary on 18thAugust 1665 "To Sheernesse where we walked up and down laying out the ground for to be taken in for a yard to lay provisions for cleaning and repairing ships and a very proper place it is for the purpose.” However it is from this visit that the history of the dockyard and of Sheerness can be dated. Unfortunately work had hardly started when the Dutch made their daring raid on the Medway which Pepys recorded in his diary on 11th June 1667. "This morning Commissioner Pett writes us word that Sheernesse is lost last night after two or three hours dispute"
The Royal Charles was captured and taken to the Netherlands where her transom is still on display in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Sheerness Fort and docks by Isaac Sailmaker engraved by Johannes Kip Dutch marine painter active in England. "Sailmaker’ may be a nickname referring to his earlier occupation. According to some sources, he was born in Scheveningen and came to London at an early age to work for the Dutch painter George Geldorp. He was ‘imployed to paint for Oliver Cromwell a prospect of the Fleet before Mardyke when it was taken in 1657’. A portrait of Cromwell holding baton with a sea battle in the background, attributed to Sailmaker, was in the Haworth Sale, Christie’s, 14 December 1923, lot 11. In 1708 he was commissioned by Colonel John Lovett MP to paint the second Eddystone Lighthouse, a wooden construction designed by John Rudyerd. Sailmaker made four versions of this painting, of which three have survived (National Maritime Museum, London; two in the Sotheby’s Sale, London, 8 April 1998, lot 1). His work is of an uneven quality, generally naive but neatly executed. The merits of his paintings lie first and foremost in their documentary qualities. He portrayed ships (‘An East Indiaman of the Time of King William III’ and ‘HMS Britannia in two positions’ both in the National Maritime Museum, London) and recorded the actions of the English fleet (‘The Battle of Malaga, 13 August 1704’, National Maritime Museum, London), adding to the historical subjects such traditional elements of imaginary seascapes as sea creatures. His painting of the Eddystone Lighthouse, destroyed by fire in 1755, is a topographical record of a structure that no longer exists. Johannes Kip (1653 - 1722) was a Dutch draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer who was active in England, after producing works for the court of William of Orange in Amsterdam. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Kip accompanied the Court to England and settled in Westminster, where he conducted a thriving print selling business from his house in St. John's Street. He also worked for various London publishers producing engravings, largely for book illustrations. His most important works were the execution of the illustrations for Britannia Illustrata, 1708; The Ancient and Present State of Gloucestershire, 1712, and Le Nouveau Theatre de la Grande Bretagne, 1715 When peace was restored at the Treaty of Breda on 21st July 1667 the King returned to laying out the new dockyard and its associated fort. The dockyard was still only small and grew in a very haphazard manner. At the beginning of the 19th century. the Admiralty decided the dockyard needed modernising. John Rennie was engaged to do the work which took from 1808 to 1823. Unfortunately he died before the work was completed so his son John Jnr took over the work which cost about one and a half million pounds at the time. This is the dockyard which locals will recall because it remained virtually unchanged until the royal Dockyard closed in 1960.It is now a flourishing poort operated by Peel Ports
Model of Rennie's dockyard which is stored at Gosport museum Hampshire The start of the Royal Dockyard Warships had been brought here for careening for some time before Charles 11's famous visit recorded by Pepys in his diary for 18th August 1665 "To Sheernesse where we walked up and down laying out the ground for to be taken in for a yard to lay in provisions for cleaning and repairing ships and a very proper place it is for the purpose" However it is from that visit that the history of the dockyard and of Sheerness can be dated.. Unfortunately work had hardly started when the Dutch made their daring raid on the Medway which Pepys recorded in his diary for 11th June 1667 "This morning Commissioner Pett writes us word that Sheernesse is lost last night after two or three hours dispute.The enemy hath possessed himself of that place which is very sad and puts us in fear of Chatham ”. Pepys, himself secretary to the Admiralty, was so worried that on June 13th he writes “ I have also made a girdle by which with some trouble I do carry about with me some 300l in gold about my body so that I may not be without something in case I should be surprised”. Andrew Marvell a satirical 17th century poet wrote "Black day accursed!............ When agèd And Medway chaste ravished before his face, And their dear offspring murdered in their sight, Thou and thy fellows held'st the odious light. Sad change since first that happy pair was wed, When all the rivers graced their nuptial bed, And Father Neptune promised to resign His empire old to their immortal line!
Now in the ravisher De Ruyter's hand, The and were they mortal, both for grief had died The Dutch fleet attacking Sheppey The fort at Sheerness being attacked Birds eye view
IF WARS were won by feasting, The moneys that should feed us, To aid you in your fight? Our ships in every harbour Mere powder, guns, and bullets, No King will heed our warnings, John Rennie and Sheerness Dockyard John Rennie was born at Phantassie, near East Linton, East Lothian, on 7 June 1761. He was the son of a farmer but showed an interest in mechanics from an early age, often spending time in the workshop of Andrew Meikle (1719-1811) the millwright and inventor of the threshing-machine. He was educated at a local school in Prestonkirk and then in Dunbar, and studied at Edinburgh University until 1783. After his education, Rennie worked as a millwright and established his own business. In 1784 he went to England, visiting James Watt in Staffordshire, and then took charge of the works at Albion Flour Mills in Blackfriars, London, for which Boulton and Watt were building a steam-engine. In 1791 he established himself as a mechanical engineer, setting up in business in Blackfriars. Rennie then directed himself towards canal construction, carrying out work on the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Rochdale Canal, the Lancaster Canal, and the Royal Canal of Ireland. He was also involved in the extensive drainage operations in the Lincolnshire Fens, the construction of the London docks, the East and West India Docks, Holyhead harbour, Hull docks, Ramsgate harbour, and the dockyards at Sheerness and Chatham. Rennie also worked on the construction of bridges and was involved with bridges in Kelso and Musselburgh in Scotland, and the former was his blueprint for Waterloo Bridge. He also designed London Bridge (completed after his death) and Southwark Bridge. Rennie gave advice during the construction of Bell Rock Lighthouse, built between 1807 and 1810 (off the Angus coast near Arbroath). His most imaginative and enduring work is probably the colossal breakwater at Plymouth, constructed across the Sound in deep water. Rennie had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 29 March 1798. John Rennie died on 4 October 1821, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Amati: HMS Pegasus. Swan Class Sloop. 1776 1:64 scale 800mm Pegasus is the name which has been given to nine ships in the British Royal Navy.Pegasus was a winged horse in Greek mythology. These ships included: HMS Pegasus, a ship sloop, was launched in 1776 but foundered a year later.
Map of Sheerness in 1861 showing the early 19th century fortifications,which had already been outgrown by the dockyard and town. By this time de Gomme's inner landward front had disappeared Shipbuilding continued extensively until early in the 20th century when the Admiralty decided that the yard should should be adapted for the refit of DDestroyers and Torpedo Boats. Later the yard concentrated on the refitting of Frigates, Sumbmarines and Minesweepers,together with the construction of torpedo tubes. It was purchased by Messrs.BuildingDevelopments Ltd. for use as a trading estate and they assumed control on
The opening of Sheerness Docks September 1823 This is the dockyard which locals will recall because it remained virtually unchanged until it closed in 1960. We are trying to show what life was like in the 19th and early 20th century because this cottage and the two next door are the last of the many hundreds in which dockyard workers lived and the dockyard was the biggest influence on life on Sheppey for 300 year and still is to a large extent. 19th CENTURY LISTED BUILDING The development of Sheerness Dockyard described in some detail at the beginning of the 20th century From the Army and Navy Illustrated published by Mckearn and Newns It was in the beginning of the last century that the Admiralty took in hand seriously the work of extending the Naval establishments. There was still a great deal of marsh (see end of article) about the place, and it has been estimated that piles to the number of about a million were sunk to enable the foundations of the new buildings to be laid. It is to this period that the main gate and several other houses and edifices at Sheerness belong. They have a family likeness to the buildings erected at other yards. The same necessities, and the taste and experience of those concerned in the design, led to this similarity of character. Ten years were devoted to the creation of Sheerness as a modern establishment. Sir George Rennie was the engineer employed, while Mr. Hole, civil architect of the Admiralty, made designs for the buildings, which cost £969,326, while the outlay upon engineering works is said to have been £1,616,757, thus bringing up the total cost to a sum of £2,586,083, in addition to which the high brick enclosing wall cost about £50,000. The first pile was driven on December 23, 1813, and in the next year Robert Viscount Melville, then First Lord of the Admiralty, visited Sheerness to lay the foundation-stone of the yard, the Commissioner of the yard then being Captain William Granville Lobb, who was succeeded, in 1814, by Captain the Hon. Courtenay Boyle, who held the post until 1822, and thus presided over the work at Sheerness almost until its completion. The new works were opened for public service on The dockyard at Sheerness, completed in 1823, and grafted, if one may use the expression, upon the trunk of its Pepysian predecessor, is that which exists, developed in various ways, at the present time. Geographical and strategical conditions have forbidden it to share to the full in the great advance made by the dockyard establishments in general. It is a yard devoted, so far as constructive work is concerned, to the building of sloops and gunboats, and occasionally of second and third class cruisers. Whatever has been necessary for its completeness, within its restricted limits, has been well provided. There is more important work elsewhere. Thus it is at If operations of such magnitude do not take place at Sheerness, we may point to the inter-relation of the yard with that at
Medallion struck in memory of John Rennie The great changes at Chatham Dockyard, and the increase of constructive facilities there, have done much to increase the importance of SHEERNESS, because of the fact that many ships necessarily make a stay at the latter port for compass adjustment, taking in ammunition, and sometimes for coaling. About five years ago the channel of the Medway was deepened and widened so as to admit of the largest vessels passing to and fro between Chatham and the sea at every tide, and in order that sufficient water might be obtained for mooring ships. These improvements have done much to increase the value of the twin ports on the east side of the island. The comparative Naval value of Sheerness as a dockyard may have tended in some degree to diminish, but in case of war there can be no doubt that the place would immediately regain its old importance, and ships of the smaller classes would find facilities in the yard for extensive repair without going up the Medway to Chatham. At the present time the establishment possesses three docks entered from the steam basin, and two from the lower camber, as well as one important building slip adjoining the latter. The dockyard basin is 521-ft. long, and has an extreme breadth of a little over 300-ft., and upon its margin is the great mast sheers and boiler sheers, as well as a powerful crane. The largest of the docks is No.3, with a length of 286-ft. 8-in. No.1 dock is only a few inches less, but no.2 dock, which is housed in, does not exceed 224-ft. Two of these docks have been increased in length by about 25-ft. since they were first constructed, and the Admiralty some years ago entertained the idea of still further enlargement, in order that second-class cruisers, or even larger vessels, might be docked but for various reasons which do not seem to be well known, but which were doubtless concerned with considerations of high policy, the idea appears to have been abandoned. Docks Nos.4 and 5, which are entered from the lower camber, are smaller than the others, and are adapted for sloops and gunboats only. All the docks at Sheerness are of the best workmanship, and in their character leave a little to desire, although the officers of the yard may well wish they were adapted for larger work. It must, however, be remembered that SHEERNESS and Chatham are in a very real sense sister establishments, each being complementary to the other, and that what Sheerness cannot do can be undertaken with ease at the larger yard, which I shall presently have an opportunity of describing. The mention of the docking and building facilities at SHEERNESS brings us appropriately to a consideration of the classes of vessels, which have been built and are being built there. The largest ever constructed in the yard was the was the second-class cruiser “Charybdis.” Of 4,360 tons, 320-ft. long, with 49-ft. 6-in. beam, which was launched in 1893. She had been preceded two years earlier by the “Brilliant,” of 3,600 tons, and several third-class cruisers have been built in the yard including the “Barracouta,” 1,580 tons, and the “Pelorus,” and several other vessels of the “P.” class. The building of sloops is constantly in hand. The “Swallow” in 1885, the “Buzzard” in 1887, the “Daphne” in 1888, and the “Rosario” and “Condor” in 1898, are among those built at SHEERNESS, and the new sloops, “Vestal,” Shearwater,” “Odin,” “Merlin,” “Fantome,” and “Espiegle” are the work of the yard. The gunboats and torpedo gunboats which have been constructed there are also very numerous. They include the “Pigmy,” “Goldfinch,” “Alarm,” “Circe,” “Leda,” “Hebe,” “Gossamer,” and “Gleaner.” Other gunboats, also, like the “Speedy,” “Onyx,” “ The most considerable additions made in the establishment since it was completed in 1823 have been the building, and the more recent extension, of the steam factory near the south gate. Engine building began here in 1889, when the “Goldfinch,” “Gossamer,” and “Gleaner,” followed by the “Hebe,” and the “Torch” and “Alert” sloops, wee both built and engined I the yard. The steam factory is not, however, by any means a rival of Keyham, which has supplied much machinery for SHEERNESS-built boats. The Admiralty, however, wisely recognises the importance of maintaining machine shops and steam factory in constant work at this point of vantage and ready access on the east coast. Adjoining the steam basin is the The great storehouse, which is illustrated, is the largest building in the yard, and is stated to have been erected on some 6,000 piles. Here is collected a huge aggregate of the immense variety of stores required for His Majesty’s Ships. Here, also, are the rigging house, the chart office, and the sail loft. On the road leading from the main gate are the smithery, the boiler shop, the saw mills, the joinery, the pay office, and the office of the dockyard reserve, as well as the timber sheds, the muster offices, a dining-room for the dockyard artisans, and other buildings. Nuclear Device Successfully Detonated Lord Penney who was regarded as the father of the British Atomic Bomb came from Sheerness— Britain’s first atomic bomb sailed from Sheerness Codenamed Hurricane, Britain's first nuclear test was scheduled to take place in the Monte Bello islands off the north west coast of Australia in October 1952. The device was to be detonated on a ship moored offshore to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon, which had been smuggled into a British harbour. Although scientific measurements would have been more easily made with the device above ground on a tower, the more 'realistic' option was chosen to ensure that as much new information as possible about nuclear blast effects would be available for civil defence purposes. Early in June 1952, the device, minus its plutonium core, had been loaded onto .H.M.S Plym, a war surplus frigate, at Sheerness dockyard, having been transported from Foulness where it was assembled. Plym joined the command vessel HMS Campania for the ten thousand mile voyage to the test site. The fissile core was transported to the test site by air in mid September. Safely arrived and with the final preparations of the nuclear device complete, Plym awaited her fate. On
HMS Plym sails towards the The cloud from rises above . Turbulent winds in the upper atmospher twisted the cloud out of the familiar mushroom shape .
It was announced in 1958 that the The Royal Dockyard in Sheerness would close in 1960.The closing programme is shown below
 
1958 was not the first time that the question of the closure of Sheerness Dockyard came to the attention of Parliament vide this extract from Hansard 1865
SHEERNESS DOCKYARD.—QUESTION.
HC Deb § SIR EDWARD DERING said, he would beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, To explain the grounds of his statement that the important Dockyard at Sheerness was among those destined eventually to be abandoned, no such recommendation having been made by the Dockyard Committee of 1864? He said it was not to be wondered at that the statement which had been made a few nights ago by the noble Lord had occasioned a good deal of surprise, because when last year the hon. Member for Finsbury (Sir Morton Peto) alluded specially to this subject, the noble Lord, in reply to the hon. Member, very candidly said he had no hopes of Sheerness being abandoned, as it was a station of great importance, especially for North Sea purposes. He further stated that it was a matter of consideration how far other dockyards should be abandoned; but no Amendment was moved in Committee specifying this particular dockyard. The noble Lord said there was not a single Member who was of opinion that Sheerness ought to be in the number of the dockyards that ought to be sold or abandoned. It should be remembered that Sheerness possessed some special advantages. At any time of the tide ships could be brought up close to the yard, and at low tide within a cable's length of the main entrance there was fifty feet of water; and at a trifling expense the largest ships in the navy might be docked in this harbour at low water. He (Sir Edward Dering) anticipated that the House would be of the opinion expressed by Sir James Graham in his place in that House, that any Government that should seriously entertain the idea of selling or abandoning so useful a harbour as Sheerness would be trifling with the best interests of the country. He could not sincerely believe that the noble Lord bad formed any very serious intention in this matter. He (Sir Edward Dering) main- 470 tained it would be a sacrifice which, if it were placed at half a million of money, would he below the mark. Should he have the honour of a seat in the House in the next Parliament, and the question be brought forward, he should feel hound to give it the most strenuous opposition in his power. He hoped the noble Lord would give the House some assurance that he had no intention of making a sacrifice of this particular dockyard. § LORD CLARENCE PAGET said, the hon. Member had put forward the strongest arguments that could be used in favour of the dockyard at Sheerness. When on a former occasion he had alluded to the contingent probability that at some future time the dockyard at Sheerness would be closed he did not intend to convey the idea that there was any immediate intention of closing the yard. It was true that the dockyard Committee had inserted Deptford, Pembroke, and Woolwich as the dockyards recommended to be closed, and said nothing about Sheerness. It must, however, be borne in mind that the Admiralty, on taking the matter into their serious consideration, had felt that there were extremely powerful reasons against closing Pembroke Dockyard; and, indeed, so far from closing it they had, with the consent of the House of Commons, made there a new dockyard, so to speak, in which to construct iron ships. As to Deptford, also, after giving the recommendation of the Committee full consideration, the Admiralty thought that it would be a very unwise thing to close Deptford yard at the present time. They had, therefore, decided not to close either Pembroke or Deptford Dockyards; but the Admiralty thought it right to consider whether any other of the dockyards should be closed. When the establishment at
WORLD MONUMENT FUNDSHEERNESS DOCKYARD
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Rudyard Kipling wrote in similar vein in 1911
Obverse of medallion
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