Upnor Castle Castles

This attractive, turreted castle is set in a picturesque village area that is backed by rolling, wooded hills. The castle is fronted by a water bastion jutting out into the River Medway.

Upnor Castle was originally built in 1559 as a gun fort on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I to defend her warships at anchor in the reaches of the Medway and Chatham Dockyard.

Although the castle was an important link in the defence line, it was not well maintained and proved ineffective when the Dutch sailed up the Medway in June 1667 to attack the dockyard under the command of Admiral de Ruyter. The Dutch met very little resistance. When they left two days later, they had destroyed or captured a large number of the Royal Navy ships anchored at Chatham.

A newly installed audio-visual interpretation in English and Dutch tells the story of this raid in graphic manner, showing how the enemy ships breached the river defences, sailing on up river to destroy and burn much of the British fleet.

The gatehouse and main body of the castle are open for viewing and a sound wand provides a personal guided tour of the site in English, French and Dutch for a nominal charge of £1.