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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 intended to protect both the dockyard and ships of the Royal Navy anchored in the Medway. It was constructed between 1559–67 on the orders of Elizabeth I, during a period of tension with Spain and other European powers. The castle consists of a two-storeyed main building protected by a curtain wall and towers, with a triangular gun platform projecting into the river. It was garrisoned by about 80 men with a peak armament of around 20 cannon of various calibres. Despite its strategic importance, the castle and the defences of the Thames and Medway were badly neglected during the 17th century. The Dutch Republic mounted an unexpected naval raid in June 1667, and the Dutch fleet was able to breach the defences, capturing two warships and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upnor
Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway. Today the two villages are mainly residential and a centre for small craft moored on the river, but Upnor Castle is a preserved monument, part of the river defences from the sixteenth century. Origins Upnor meant "at the bank" being "æt þæm ōre" in Old English and "atten ore" in Middle English and "atte Nore" in 1292. However, the meaning changed to "upon the bank" (Middle English: "uppan ore") and by 1374 it was "Upnore". A skeleton of a Straight-tusked Elephant was excavated in 1911, during the construction of the Royal Engineers' Upnor Hard. Lower Upnor Lower Upnor faces Upnor Reach. It was a single row of houses, separated from the river by the roadway and the hard. Located here is the Arethusa training centre, run by the Shaftesbury Homes and Arethusa. In 1849, HMS ''Arethusa'' was the name of the training s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town of Minster which has a population of 21,319. Sheerness began as a fort built in the 16th century to protect the River Medway from naval invasion. In 1665 plans were first laid by the Navy Board for Sheerness Dockyard, a facility where warships might be provisioned and repaired. The site was favoured by Samuel Pepys, then Clerk of the Acts of the navy, for shipbuilding over Chatham inland. After the raid on the Medway in 1667, the older fortification was strengthened; in 1669 a Royal Navy dockyard was established in the town, where warships were stocked and repaired until its closure in 1960. Beginning with the construction of a pier and a promenade in the 19th century, Sheerness acquired the added attractions of a seaside resort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Watts
Richard Watts (1529–1579) was a successful businessman and MP for Rochester, South East England, in the 1570s. He supplied rations for the English Navy as deputy victualler and supervised the construction of Upnor Castle. After Queen Elizabeth I pronounced his house was (Latin for 'enough') after a visit in 1573, the house was thereafter known as Satis House. Famed locally for his philanthropy, he died on 10 September 1579, leaving money in his will to establish the Richard Watts Charity and Six Poor Travellers House in Rochester High Street. He is buried, in accordance with his will, in Rochester Cathedral. Biography The precise date and place of Richard's birth is uncertain. A Richard Watts born in West Peckham in 1529 is believed to be Richard Watts of Rochester. However, there is evidence of an older Richard Watts living on Boley Hill, at a date during the supposed childhood of the Richard Watts born in West Peckham. Little is known of the early life of Richard Wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recorded Berwick's population as 12,043. The town is at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast, south east of Edinburgh, north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and north of London. Uniquely for England, the town is slightly further north than Denmark's capital Copenhagen and the southern tip of Sweden further east of the North Sea, which Berwick borders. Berwick was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement in the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was annexed by England in the 10th century. A civil parish and town council were formed in 2008 comprising the communities of Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth. It is the northernmost civil parish in England. The area was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frindsbury
Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochester. Frindsbury today is part of the town of Strood and covers the most northern part of the town. Frindsbury refers to both a parish and a manor. Within the civil parish of Frindsbury Extra are the villages of Frindsbury, Wainscott, and Upnor. Frindsbury was also the name given to an electoral ward in the City of Rochester that straddled the parishes of Frindsbury and Strood. Topology Frindsbury lies on the northwest bank of the Medway at its lowest bridging point. After a narrow but marshy coastal strip, the land rises steeply to plateau at about . This was a sheet of chalk covered by brickearth covered with topsoil. Over the last two millennia, much of this was stripped away, or mined, so the contours have constantly changed. Thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on state affairs. Privy councils Functioning privy councils Former or dormant privy councils See also * Privy Council of the Habsburg Netherlands * Council of State * Crown Council * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries) * Privy Council ministry The Privy Council ministry was a short-lived reorganization of English government that was reformed to place the ministry under the control of the Privy Council in April 1679, due to events in that time. Formation It followed years of widespread d ... * State Council References {{DEFAULTSORT:Privy Council Advisory councils for heads of state Monarchy Royal and noble courts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queenborough Castle
Queenborough Castle, also known as Sheppey Castle, is a 14th-century castle, the remnants of which are in the town of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent in England. The castle and the associated planned town were built on the orders of King Edward III from 1361 and named in honour his wife, Queen Philippa. It was the first concentric castle to be built in England, and the only royal castle to be new-built in England during the Late Middle Ages. Overlooking the Swale, then an important waterway approaching the River Medway, Queenborough Castle formed part of the country's coastal defences until 1650 when it was declared to be unfit for use and was almost completely demolished shortly afterwards. The site is now a public park and the only visible remains are some low earthworks. History Background The history of the castle begins in 1361, when King Edward III bought land on the Isle of Sheppey from the manor of Rushenden at the little fishing hamlet of Bynne (or Bynnee); ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Situated on the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester served as a strategically important royal castle. During the late medieval period it helped protect England's south-east coast from invasion. The first castle at Rochester was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. It was given to Bishop Odo, probably by his half-brother William the Conqueror. During the Rebellion of 1088 over the succession to the English throne, Odo supported Robert Curthose, the Conqueror's eldest son, against William Rufus. It was during this conflict that the castle first saw military action; the city and castle were besieged after Odo made Rochester a headquarters for the rebellion. After the garrison capitulated, this first castle was abandoned. Betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Device Forts
The Device Forts, also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses, were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII. Traditionally, the Crown had left coastal defences in the hands of local lords and communities but the threat of French and Spanish invasion led the King to issue an order, called a "device", for a major programme of work between 1539 and 1547. The fortifications ranged from large stone castles positioned to protect the Downs anchorage in Kent, to small blockhouses overlooking the entrance to Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, and earthwork bulwarks along the Essex coast. Some forts operated independently, others were designed to be mutually reinforcing. The Device programme was hugely expensive, costing a total of £376,000 (estimated as between £2 and £82 billion in today's money); much of this was raised from the proceeds of the Dissolution of the Monasteries a few years before. These utilitarian fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery, air force and cruise missiles. A fortification intended to resist these weapons is more likely to qualify as a fortress or a redoubt, or in modern times, be an underground bunker. However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a battery or redoubt. Etymology The term ''blockhouse'' is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Middle Dutch ''blokhus'' and 18th-century French '' blocus'' (blockade). In ancient Greece Blockhouses existed in ancient Greece, for example the one near Mycenae. Early blockhouses in England Early blockhouses were designed solely to protect a particular area by the use of ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chatham, Kent
Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham Dockyard and several Army barracks, together with 19th-century forts which provided a defensive shield for the dockyard. The Corps of Royal Engineers is still based in Chatham at Brompton Barracks. The Dockyard closed in 1984, but the remaining major naval buildings are an attraction for a flourishing tourist industry. Following closure, part of the site was developed as a commercial port, other parts were redeveloped for business and residential use, and part was used as the Chatham Historic Dockyard museum. Its attractions include the submarine . The town has important road links and the railway and bus stations are the main interchanges for the area. It is the administrative headquarters of Medway unitary authority, as well as its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the borough of Medway. Etymology The town's name is pronounced with a soft 'g' (as in 'ginger'), compared to the hard 'g' (as in 'girl') used for Gillingham, Dorset and Gillingham, Norfolk. In some older texts it is referred to as ''Jillyingham Water''. The name probably originates from the Gylling næs in Jutland. The suffix ''-ingas'' is the Latinized version of ''inge,'' an ethnonym for the Ingaevones. The suffix ''-ham'' is the Old English for "homestead, village, manor or estate." The suffix ''-hamm'' is the Old English for enclosure, land hemmed by water or marsh or higher ground, land in a riverbend, rivermeadow or promontory". Both appear as ''-ham'' in modern place-names. Attributions to a personal name ''Gilla'' are examples ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
