Guidebook: Upnor Castle

Product Description

Upnor Castle was built by order of Elizabeth I in 1559 on the banks of the Medway, in Kent. Its purpose was to defend the royal fleet & its new dockyard developing near the village of Chatham, just a little upstream. The castle was enlarged at the end of the 16th century & in 1667 helped prevent Dutch warships from reaching Chatham during their otherwise victorious raid on the Medway. This June is the 350th anniversary of the Dutch Raid, & the new guidebook to Upnor pays particular attention to the famous event & the impressions it made on contemporaries. It was after the Raid that the castle was turned into a powder magazine to supply the Navy & new fortifications being built nearby. By 1691 Upnor had become the largest gunpowder store in the country. To protect this mass of explosives a small company of soldiers was employed & soon after 1718 was housed in the new barracks – one of the earliest in the country. Responsibility for the care of the castle & barracks was assumed by the State in 1984. Both are managed by Medway Council. Key

Features: 32 pages Paperback Published in 2017