Gun Wharf Cannons - Gun Wharf, Chatham, Kent.
Posted by: 
MeerRescue
N 51° 23.162 E 000° 31.396
31U E 327666 N 5695665
One of 3 cannon on display at the historic Gun Wharf site in Chatham, Kent.
Waymark Code: WMEK47
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/07/2012
Views: 5
There are 3 cannon on display
here at Gun Wharf in Chatham. The waymark includes all three cannon, although
the given co-ords are for the larger of the 3 cannon. A very faint and damaged
plaque in front of this cannon reads;
CITY OF ROCHESTER UPON MEDWAY / THESE NAVAL CANNON WERE EXCAVATED DURING THE
/ CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW RIVER WALL AT RIVERSIDE IN 1993. THEY / HAVE BEEN
MOUNTED ON NEW CARRIAGES DESIGNED TO CLOSELY / REPRESENT THEIR ORIGINAL
CARRIAGES. /
THIS CANNON IS AN 18 POUNDER AND HAD A RANGE OF / APPROXIMATELY 3500 YARDS. IT
WAS CAST IN FINSPONG SWEDEN IN / 1783 FOR THE DUTCH NAVY AND WOULD HAVE COME
FROM A / CAPTURED SHIP FOR PROBABLE RE-USE ABOARD A BRITISH VESSEL /
THE OTHER TWO CANNON ARE 12 POUNDERS OF BRITISH / MANUFACTURE AND BOTH CARRY THE
ROYAL CYPHER OF KING / GEORGE III 1760-1820. THEY WERE PROBABLY CAST PRIOR TO
1790.
By 1547 the Navy was renting
storehouses on 'Jyllingham Water', and the River Medway quickly became England's
main fleet anchorage in response to the threats of war with the continent.
On-shore facilities were provided at a point below Chatham parish church (St
Mary’s), in a location now known as Gun Wharf, and by 1559 a garrisoned castle
was built at Upnor to provide the ships with protection. During this period,
warships developed from vessels for coastal defence into large, ocean going
vessels capable of long distance operations. In 1570, the growth of the Dockyard
commenced with the construction of a wharf at the site now known as Gun Wharf.
Within ten years a storehouse, forge, crane and dry dock had all been added. In
1586 the gunboat Sunne became the first recorded naval ship to be built at
Chatham.
In 1618 Chatham Dockyard was
relocated slightly downstream to its present position, most probably due to the
lack of space to expand on the original site. The naval facilities here at
the site of the Tudor Dockyard were taken over by the Ordnance Board and adapted
for use as a gun wharf, for the storage and supply of guns. This use was to
continue until after World War Two, and is perpetuated in the present name of
this part of the site - Gun Wharf.
Gun Wharf became a major ordnance depot for the storage and supply of guns and
other weapons to the Royal Navy and Army. A number of substantial buildings were
associated with the site’s use as a ‘gun wharf’. Some of these still remain but
many have been demolished and survive only as buried remains. Surviving
structures include the Storekeeper’s House (now the Command House pub) and the
Gun Carriage House, used for storing gun carriages and later as a general store.
The site of the current car park contained 18th century storehouses. The Machine
Shop, now Chatham Library, is a later 19th example of an ordnance workshop. The
remaining buildings at Gun Wharf are a fragment of what was once a major complex
of ordnance buildings and marine barracks. Those buildings that do still exist
are rare examples of surviving ordnance buildings.