- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1559 · 16th century
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Architect
- Richard Lee
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 51.4069°, 0.5269°
History
Queen Elizabeth I ordered the fort on the west bank of the Medway, opposite Chatham Dockyard, to protect the royal warships lying in the river. Designed by the engineer Sir Richard Lee, who was then busy with the defences of Berwick, it was built by others between 1559 and 1567; its heart was a triangular bastion thrust out into the stream. In 1599–1601, amid fears of Spain, it was strengthened with flanking towers and a gatehouse with a drawbridge. In June 1667, during the Dutch raid on the Medway, Upnor's guns fired on the enemy fleet but could not stop it: the Dutch burned several ships and towed away the flagship HMS Royal Charles. In 1668 the fort was turned into a gunpowder and ammunition magazine for the navy; from 1827 it housed an ordnance laboratory, and it remained in military use until 1945.
What to see
Visitors see the two-storey main building with an exhibition on the fort's history and the Dutch raid, the gatehouse and the water bastion lined with cannon. The bastion looks out over the Medway to the former Chatham Dockyard, now a museum. The fort stands at the edge of the picturesque village of Upnor, whose narrow street leads straight to its gate. It is cared for by English Heritage.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q7898392
Popularity: articles about this site in 15 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).