Fort Gillingham, also known as Gillingham Fort, was constructed in 1669 on the south bank of the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
in
Kent, England.
In conjunction with
Cockham Wood Fort it took on the role of defending
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
from seaborne attack, a role which had been performed by
Upnor Castle
Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located on the west bank of the River Medway in Kent. It is in the village of Upnor, opposite and a short distance downriver from the Chatham Dockyard, at one time a key naval facility. The fort was ...
for the previous hundred years.
Fort Gillingham was demolished long ago, but its ramparts and ditches are clearly shown on the 1869 O. S. map with the site identified as a coastguard station. The site of Fort Gillingham is now known as Gillingham Pier.
Forts in Medway
Gillingham, Kent
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