Number 8 Machine Shop

Number 8 Machine Shop is a dry dock cover that has been converted into a disused machine shop. It was originally built around 1845 by Fox Henderson & Co at Woolwich and was re-erected and extended in 1880. The structure features a cast-iron frame with corrugated-iron cladding and a Mansard-style roof. It has a rectangular aisled plan and a three-bay northern extension.

The exterior is single-storey and consists of a 15-bay range with gabled ends and a wide gambrel roof. Each side of the roof has seven blocked square-headed dormer-type louvres and a ridge ventilator. There are large central windows on the north and south sides, with the southern windows divided horizontally into two and flanked by shallower side windows. Entrances are located on both the north and south sides, featuring larger sliding boarded doors.

Inside, the iron frame includes cast-iron I-section columns that taper at the top, connected by high-level segmental-arched cast-iron braces. Full-height cross braces are present in the last but one bays at each end. The cantilevered principals are braced on either side of the columns with double tapered framed openwork struts, and trussed purlins are situated between the frames. The northern three bays contain trusses with plate gussets and truss members over the aisles.

Historically, the building was moved to Chatham from Woolwich Dockyard after its closure in 1865. It is one of the earliest surviving metal-framed slip covers and is closely modeled on earlier timber covers, such as the one at No. 3 slip in Chatham. The end bays may have been added during the relocation. This machine shop is part of a notable group of slip covers, including the nearby boilershop, which were also moved to Chatham at the same time. The Prom factory, another metal-framed building from Woolwich, was demolished around 1990.