Lower Lines Park
Lower Lines Park, also known as Admiral's Gardens, is a public park in Gillingham, Kent. The park is part of the former Chatham Lines, a defensive moat built in 1803 in [the United Kingdom|1803] to protect Chatham Dockyard. Used by the military until the mid-1900s, it never saw combat and is now a Scheduled monument within the Great Lines Heritage Park. The park is owned by Fort Amherst Trust.
History
The Lower Lines Park occupies part of the former Great Lines defensive field of fire for Chatham Dockyard. Built in 1804, as an extension of the 'Chatham Lines', are large deep ditches with brick lined walls. Constructed from 1803 to 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Lower Lines were deep, brick-lined dry moats built to prevent landward attack on the dockyard. In June 1808, after an act of parliament was passed, a road from Gillingham heading north towards St Mary's Island was closed for the building of the Lower Lines. The park sits on what was the eastern end of this fortification network: it became known locally as Admiral's Gardens because a late‑19th‑century "Admiral’s House" once stood here. According to Kent's heritage record, the site saw military use from its inception in 1803 until the mid-20th century. Fortifications were never used in combat, and the land was kept clear as an open field of fire. Today the area is part of the Great Lines Heritage Park, managed by Fort Amherst Trust and Lower Lines Park itself is a Scheduled Monument.Admiral's House
The Admiral's House was built on the plateau in the late 19th century to house the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore and his staff. Its formal gardens extended west and north across the site. The house reportedly survived into the late 1950s but was demolished in the 1960s. Anecdotally the house has been described as having 1930s/Art-Deco features, but primary sources simply list it as a late-Victorian Officers’ residence.The name "Admiral’s Gardens" persisted for decades afterwards, and the park is still often called by that historic name. Older maps and conservation appraisals note the park's boundaries: it is bordered by Medway Road to the south, Cumberland Road to the east, and college buildings and woods to the north and west.
Military features
The park preserves many 19th- and 20th-century military relics. The original Lower Lines dry moat runs along the west side of the park; a reconstructed military-style footbridge now spans this trench. Sections of the brick-lined ditch survive intact, and interpretive panels mark their route. In the southern part of the park is a broad dip in the ramparts – a wide "moat" feature – which was part of the original defenses.Beneath the park lie several WW2- and Cold-War era tunnels and bunkers. In the late 1930s the Admiralty sank a deep reinforced "Combined Headquarters" bunker into the chalk near the Lower Lines This tunnel complex housed the Commander-in-Chief, Nore from December 1939 onward. Its concrete-encased plotting room and entrances survive ; outside, two sealed doorways set into the ditch brickwork mark the secondary entrance and escape exits of that bunker. The tunnels served as the Naval Reserve HQ into the 1960s, after which they were damaged by fire and deliberately sealed to preserve them. Medway Road anti-tank obstacles guard the park's southern edge, and several have been listed Grade II for their historic value. Throughout the park one can see relics of 19th-century siege-train training. Excavations have revealed counterscarp galleries and countermine chambers leading from a bastion into the surrounding ground. The Royal Engineers – whose barracks were adjacent – used the Lower Lines for practice, even installing experimental devices here. In fact, an archaeological report noted two prototype 19th‑C electric searchlight emplacements on the Lower Lines, reflecting the Royal Engineers experimenting on defense technology. One such searchlight mounting still bears a WW2‑era carving: "P.O. WIDLEY – DEC 1941" is etched into its interior concrete. Anti-aircraft gun emplacements once dotted the ramparts as well; their concrete bases partly survive, though most were buried or demolished. For example, two 12-pounder naval deck guns were mounted on the ramparts in 1940, and concrete platform remnants can still be seen.
Other evidence of past military use is visible: clusters of brick and stone foundations mark where the Admiral's House and Gas School once stood. The park's Visitor Map and signage point out various heritage features. Notably, the World Heritage nomination for Chatham comments on the "high level of survival" of the fortifications and ancillary structures here. Recent archaeological surveys have documented the tunnel systems, bunkers and siege features in detail. Graffiti left by servicemen has also been recorded – for example, the carved signature on the searchlight concrete noted above. In summary, Lower Lines Park offers a "remarkably intact" suite of fortification remains – dry moats, magazines, tunnels and training installations – largely undisturbed since their last military use.
Redevelopment and modern use
Following closure of the Royal Engineers and naval facilities, the Lower Lines lay derelict for decades. In the mid-2000s, Medway Council re-envisioned the area as public open space. Planning records show that in 2006–07, permission was granted for the change of use of the land from military training grounds to a public park. The project included land level lowering, infilling works, construction of paths, two pedestrian bridges over the moats, and the installation of play equipment. The site, bounded by Medway Road, Cumberland Road, Johnson Avenue, and Princess Mary Avenue in Gillingham, was officially approved with the application received on 8 August 2006, validated on 21 March 2007, and the status marked as decided. Around 2008–09 the council cleared scrub, reinstated earthworks, and installed park amenities. In May 2010 the renovated Lower Lines Park was officially opened to the public. The £2 million government "Parklands" grant was used for paths, lighting and park entrances, and MidKent College contributed a further £7 million towards landscaping and heritage interpretation. Today the park is owned by Fort Amherst Trust and managed by volunteers. It features wide mown lawns, wildflower meadows and a tree arboretum. Tarmac paths run throughout, connecting to Chatham via a Fort Amherst pedestrian bridge. An original children's play area was installed circa 2009–10 as part of the works. In recent years no formal play equipment has been in active use, and the area has largely become informal greenspace. Public events are now held here, reflecting the park's new civic role. MidKent College students helped maintain the site after opening.Architectural and cultural remnants
Almost nothing of the Admiral's House itself remains above ground. The flat central plateau of the park marks where the house and its formal gardens stood. No walls survive, but three heavy brick-and-stone gate pillars at the Medway Road entry are widely believed to be remnants of the original estate boundary. All that is visible today of the house are earthbanks and foundation "footprints" under grass. Elsewhere in the park are small cultural finds: for example, a Victorian brick pedestal was once part of the estate's garden ornaments. Some older maps show a tennis court northwest of the house, but modern inspection has found only turf at that location, suggesting it too has been grassed over. The site includes several post-war memorials and bench dedications placed by local groups. Altogether, aside from the three pillars and some masonry fragments in the ditch walls, there are no large 19th-century buildings or gates in situ; the park is effectively an open green with military relics.Cumberland Road
Cumberland Road lies on the eastern edge of Medway's Lower Lines park. In the 19th–20th centuries it ran north from Medway Road up into the former naval lines area. It served Imperial naval facilities: notably a Royal Navy Gasworks School and the Commander‑in‑Chief, The Nore’s official residence were located along Cumberland Road. During the Second World War the Medway Road end of Cumberland Road was fortified – a heavy RSJ steel roadblock was installed there as part of the Chatham anti‑tank defences, protecting the approaches to the Nore's HQ and Gas School.Today Cumberland Road is no longer a public highway but functions as a pedestrian/cycle path into Lower Lines Park. It forms one of the park's formal entrances. The road surface remains a broad tarmac avenue, but vehicular access is blocked. Original road features largely survive, though traffic signs and double-yellow lines are vestigial. In the photo below, Cumberland Road now appears as a quiet, tree‑lined pedestrian way. The path is flanked by parkland on one side and the Medway College campus on the other, in keeping with the 2008–2010 redevelopment.
In summary, Cumberland Road was created to serve Victorian‑era naval amenities and later played a role in WWII defences. Its formal closure to traffic coincided with the creation of Admiral's Gardens around 2008–2010. Apart from the surviving roadway and some boundary fencing, little of the original infrastructure remains above ground; the historic sites of the Gas School and Nore's House survive only as archaeological traces within the park.