Guidebook: Upnor Castle

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 and its new dockyard developing near the village of Chatham, just a little upstream. The castle was enlarged at the end of the 16th century and 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, and the new guidebook to Upnor pays particular attention to the famous event and the impressions it made on contemporaries. It was after the Raid that the castle was turned into a powder magazine to supply the Navy and 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 and soon after 1718 was housed in the new barracks – one of the earliest in the country. Responsibility for the care of the castle and barracks was assumed by the State in 1984. Both are managed by Medway Council. Key Features: 32 pages Paperback Published in 2017