What is recorded here

Upnor Artillery Castle fired heavy guns across the Medway during the Second Dutch War, using stone salvaged from Rochester Castle to protect Chatham dockyard. Its triangular water-bastion still holds six guns on wooden carriages, pointing out toward the river like a hand refusing to let go. The gatehouse survived a fire in 1653, was heightened in brick, and now carries a bellcote and flagpole above the old entrance. A dry ditch, partially filled but still cut into the land, marks where the drawbridge once dropped between the castle and the world.

The National Heritage List for England records Artillery castle at Upnor as a scheduled monument. The saved point comes from the centre supplied by the official record. Listing does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

The Artillery Castle at Upnor was built by the English government in the 1540s under the direction of Henry VIII to defend the Thames Estuary and protect London from seaborne attack. It is important as one of a series of Device Forts constructed to strengthen coastal defenses during the reign of Henry VIII.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.