Chatham Historic Dockyard’s latest project

It’s recently been announced that The Historic Dockyard at Chatham has been awarded a £4.53m grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund.  This will in turn stimulate additional funding for the Dockyard from its supporters and partners, further contributing to the targeted £8.75m that will finance the “Command of the Oceans” project.  The Dockyard has a number of long-standing partners, including the Homes and Communities Agency, all of whom are committed to working together to achieve the charity’s aim of being awarded World Heritage status.  The Lottery Fund award will surely boost confidence amongst these partners, and their willingness to be linked with the ongoing success of the Dockyard as planned developments are turned into reality!

The “Command of the Oceans” project involves restoration and preservation work at the Dockyard, including a number of viewing and exhibition opportunities for the ever-growing numbers of visitors to the site.  One of the many improved attractions will be the showcasing of the “Namur”, a 17^th century ship whose timbers were found used in the ceiling of part of the Dockyard’s buildings.  This will be the charity’s most significant single project undertaken since the “Wooden Walls” gallery that was opened in the late 1980s.

The bid for World Heritage Site status is based on the theme of “Chatham Dockyard and its Defences” and it will be interesting to follow the progress of this over the next few years!

The website for the Historic Dockyard at Chatham can be accessed at

http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/