Former Commissioner'S House And Attached Staff Accommodation

The former Commissioner's House and attached staff accommodation, also known as Medway House, stands within Chatham Dockyard on Main Dock Road and dates to 1703, with an extension built around 1790. Constructed of brick with stone dressings and topped with a slate hipped roof, it is built in a Queen Anne style.

The house is double-depth with a single-depth extension to the right. The main facade is three storeys high, with a basement and attic, and features a seven-window range. It displays symmetrical design elements including a stuccoed basement, plat bands separating each floor, and a deep eaves cornice with modillion detailing. A central timber porch, dating from the mid to late 19th century, spans the basement, providing access via steps and flanked by plate-glass sashes. Late 19th-century plate-glass sashes are set within rubbed brick arches at ground floor, and 2/2-pane sashes appear on the second floor. Five 2/2-pane dormer windows light the attic space. The rear elevation includes first-floor French windows and a mid-19th century cast-iron verandah with curved brackets, railings, and steps. The single-storey, three-window extension to the right was originally the kitchen, and is topped by a parapet.

The attached staff accommodation and kitchen is a two-storey building with an eight-window range, featuring a timber doorcase with pilasters and an entablature framing a six-panel door. The sashes are 6/6-pane and set in exposed frames and some windows are blank on the second floor.

The interior retains a remarkable level of historic fabric. A large, full-depth entrance hall features full bolection-moulded panelling and an open well staircase with three column-on-vase balusters per tread, a curtail, and a ramped moulded rail. Richly moulded brackets support a painted ceiling depicting Neptune crowning Mars, reportedly transferred from HMS Royal Sovereign. Elliptical-arched doorways lead to rooms including a ballroom which possesses plaster panels, a dado, fluted Corinthian pilasters, and bracketed cornices around doorways, alongside a lavatory with Delft tiles and original basins. A full-width former office occupies the first floor. A service stair with turned balusters is located to the right of the entrance, while a dogleg stair with stick balusters serves the staff accommodation.

This is the oldest intact building within any naval dockyard and is notable for its complete interior. The house was originally built for Commissioner St Lo in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier Commissioner's house as part of the dockyard’s rebuilding program. It was likely designed by St Lo himself and constructed by dockyard labour. The extension to the right provided accommodation for the Commissioner’s staff and barge crew. The building forms part of a significant group of Georgian dockyard structures.