Chatham was first recorded in Cetham in 880AD, its name coming from the British root ceto and the Old English ham thus meaning a forest settlement. The origin of the word 'Chatham' may have come from the root of 'Catti' or 'Chatti', referring to the Catti Aryans that migrated into Britain. Chatham Dockyard was established by Elizabeth I of England in 1568 and the small village of Chatham grew. At one point thousands of men were employed at the dockyard, and many hundreds of submarines and surface vessels were launched there, including HMS Victory which was built there in the 1760s. The dockyard was shut as an operational site 1984 by the Thatcher government; a large part of it became a historic site (operated by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust) and the rest has been developed for housing, industrial sites and as a commercial marina. The River Medway, apart from its use by warships to travel to and from the dockyard, was an important means of communication to the interior of Kent. Stone, timber and iron from the Weald for shipbuilding and agricultural produce were among the cargoes. Sun Pier in Chatham was one of many such along the river. By 1740, barges of 40 tons could navigate as far upstream as Tonbridge. More on Chatham 

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