Gillingham, Medway Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Gillingham is a town in Kent in the United Kingdom, forming part of the Medway Towns conurbation. It sits on Watling Street, a Roman road.In 1665 a Dutch fleet sailed up the River Medway and having landed at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, laying siege to the fort at Sheerness, invaded Gillingham in what became known as the raid on the Medway. The Dutch, after some consternation and panic from royalty, were eventually driven out, but caused great humiliation to the Royal Navy.
During the Napoleonic Wars, lines of gun emplacements were set up facing the Medway on an escarpment between Gillingham and Chatham which is still known as the Great Lines.
In 1919, following World War I, a naval war memorial in the shape of a white stone obelisk was set up on the Great Lines, from where it can be seen for many miles; additional structures were added in 1945 to commemorate the dead of World War II. Similar monuments stand in the dockyard towns of Portsmouth and Plymouth.
The traditional industry of the area was maritime, with employment at Chatham Dockyard, most of which actually lay within Gillingham. This is largely diminished; the dockyard ceased to be a naval base in 1984. Gillingham is firmly within the commuter belt for London.
The town is now home to the Royal Engineers museum and the English Football League team Gillingham F.C
The marshland between the town and the River Medway's estuary is an important habitat protected as the Riverside Country Park.