CHATHAM, a large town in the hundred of Larkfield, of the county of Kent. It forms a continuous street between the city of Rochester and the town of Brompton. It is on the river Medway, in which, opposite the town, some of the largest ships of war are in ordinary. The defences are powerful, and are kept in good repair. The dock-yard, including the ordnance wharf, is nearly a mile in length, and some of the store-rooms are 700 feet long, while the sail-loft is more than 200 feet long. The new rope-house, where cables are made 120 fathoms in length and twenty-two inches round, is 1140 feet long. In the yard are four docks for repairing and six for building the largest ships. The other remarkable public institutions are the victualling office, the marine barracks, and several
hospitals. The population amounted in 1811 to 14,640, in 1821 to 15,268, and in 1831 to 16,485.