Number 2 Dry Dock

TQ 76 NE CHATHAM MAIN GATE ROAD Chatham Dockyard 762-1/8/83 No.2 Dry Dock GV II*

Dry dock. 1858-60. Granite and concrete. Stepped sides in two sections, with haulage slides; sides of entrance curved to accept former gates, now closed by a C20 steel caisson. A concrete platform extends along the N side for a travelling crane, built 1861 for fitting armour plating to Achilles. HISTORY: originally excavated in 1623 as a single dock. Nelson's Victory was built in the remodelled C 18 slip; lengthened 1855-6 for the building of HMS Mersey (the navy's longest-ever wooden warship) and rebuilt 1858-60 for the Achilles, floated out of this dock in December 1864 and the first of the Royal dockyards' iron battleships. No.1 Workbase (qv), which adjoins the dock, was built as a plate-bending workshop for the Achilles. A good example of mid C19 dry dock technology, exemplifying significant developments in the design of C19 warships. (Source: Evans D: Archive Research for English Heritage: 1996).

Listing NGR: TQ7586369245