Chatham
Chatham maps (2 available)
Map of Kent
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Chatham books (30 available)
Chatham & The Medway Towns
Hardback
- 43 photos on Chatham appear in 1 Frith books - View photos of Chatham
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Chatham and Kent
Chatham memories
Read and share memories of Chatham and Kent inspired by Frith photos
Trying to find
My Father left Kent to go to Australia with the little brother movement in 1916. His name was Lenard Hurbert Jeffery, and I was wondering is there any way of tracing his home address?
Contributed by Pete Jeffery
Kent memories
Trying to find
My Father left Kent to go to Australia with the little brother movement in 1916. His name was Lenard Hurbert Jeffery, and I was wondering is there any way of tracing his home address?
A memory of Chatham contributed by Pete Jeffery
Jezreels Tower
I was born within walking distance of the Jezreels Tower which dominated the skyline & was always a source of fascination for growing children. As there was little traffic in those days we were allowed to play in the streets and wander at will. Whenever possible we would make our way up Canterbury Street to the ruins of the tower and dare each other to explore around it. I remember an old gentleman in a long sweeping coat and wide-brimmed hat who was regularly to be seen around Gillingham. He had the distinctive beard and long pigtail of hair hanging down his back - he was one of the last of the Jezreelite sect still living in the area. The ...read more here
A memory of Gillingham contributed by Doreen Swain
My short life in Gillingham, Kent
I was born in a naval nursing home called "Canada House" on the 18th November 1954. I was the first child and boy - I was spoilt. I went to school at Byron Road Infants school until I was 6 then we moved to Swalecliffe in Kent. I was 5 years old and both my mother and grandmother took me to play and have a picnic on the "Darland Banks". We walked from the "Jezerals" along the top road, and up to the "banks". I was very excited I seem to remember.
We belonged to Green Street Tabernacle Baptist Church, we attended Church regularly. I remember being a bridesmaid to my mother's friend Doreen. My paternal grandma lived in Richmond Road ...read more here
A memory of Gillingham contributed by frances fagg
Extracts From Chatham & Kent books
The virtual absence of
motor traffic suggests that
this photograph may have
been taken in 1956, during
the Suez Crisis petrol
rationing, which did not
end until the following year.
The restrained architecture
of The Eagle Tavern
contrasts with that of both
the Town Hall and the
Chatham Constitution Club
on the right of this picture.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
New in 1772, the road
was built to bypass
congested town
centres from Star Hill,
Rochester to the bottom
of Chatham Hill. Fort
Pitt Hill separates
Rochester’s Fort Pitt
Gardens from Chatham’s
Victoria Gardens, where
the town’s 1920 war
memorial stands in
front of St Andrew’s
Presbyterian church,
behind which are chalk
quarries and the
naval memorial.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
Sitting lofty and proud on the road to the famous dockyard, this majestic building, built in 1900, was once the centre of the town's administration until it moved to Strood during an amalgamation of Medway councils. Now it is known as the Brook Theatre. The architect who designed it, G E Bond, also built the Grade II listed Chatham Theatre Royal in Manor Road in 1899.
An extract from from"Kent Revisited Photographic Memories".
This view of the rear of the Town Hall is taken from Town Hall Gardens. From this point, the building shows the side
fronting Wiffen’s Avenue, with Rope Walk running along the bottom of the gardens.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".
The almost intimidating main gate in Dock Road was built in 1719;
the Royal arms in coloured relief above the main arch are those
of George III, added in 1811. Cannon-barrel bollards protect the
brickwork, and a speed restriction sign limits vehicular speed to
20mph. The figurehead, which may represent the Duke of Wellington
or his brother, Richard Wellesley, was salvaged after HMS Wellesley
(1815) was sunk by enemy action during the Battle of Britain in
September 1940.
An extract from from"Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories".