Upnor

Description

Upnor, near Rochester

Upnor is set on the south bank of the river Medway estuary in north central Kent. It is a maritime village that grew out of the shadow of Upnor Castle built on the orders of Elizabeth I in 1561 to defend Chatham dockyards on the opposite bank. It was literally at the end of the street illustrated here that the invading Dutch navy caused havoc by burning four British ships and audaciously towing away the massively armed pride of the fleet, the Royal Charles. The Upnor garrison firepower, however, dissuaded the Netherlanders from venturing further inland.