Men-o'war in a swell off Sheerness

Sheerness, situated on the north-western tip of the Isle of Sheppey, guards not only the Thames estuary but, more significantly, the approaches to the Medway. First laid out as a naval dockyard in the reign of Charles II, the initial construction had barely begun when it was sacked and destroyed by the Dutch during their daring raid on the Medway in June 1667. Ironically, this humiliating episode merely served to confirm Sheerness's strategic importance and thereafter, considerable sums of money and resources were allocated to making the dockyard one of the safest in the kingdom. By the mid-eighteenth century, it was a sizeable establishment and in 1797 was the scene of the memorable mutiny which resulted in great improvements in the lives and conditions of sailors.