Queenborough
Admiral Lord Nelson is reputed to have learned many of his seafaring skills in these waters, and also shared a house near the small harbour with his mistress, Lady Hamilton.[2] Its unusual design – round and symmetrical – was described by historians Howard Colvin and R. Allen Brown as "exemplifying the principles of cylindrical and concentric fortification carried to their logical conclusion with perfect symmetry".King Edward III had the town renamed after his Queen, Philippa of Hainault, and conferred upon it the rights of a free borough, with a governing body of a mayor and two bailiffs.King Charles I had the town reincorporated under the title of the "mayor, jurats, bailiffs and burgesses of Queenborough", during which time the population was chiefly employed in the local oyster fishery.However the fort having protected the Swale and Medway estuaries for 300 years was never in fact to realise its function as a garrison, and recorded no active military history.The occupation lasted only a few days; though the Dutch caused widespread panic, they were unable to maintain their offensive, and withdrew having captured the Royal Charles and burnt numerous other ships in the Thames and Medway.[11] With the silting up of the Yantlet creek and the Wantsum channel and improved navigation through the Thames estuary to London, Queenborough began to lose its importance, becoming something of a backwater.Daniel Defoe described it as "a miserable and dirty fishing town (with) the chief traders ... alehouse keepers and oyster catchers".The Royal Navy eventually became less prominent on the River Medway as other dockyards developed and ships grew in size, so that they were largely replaced by prison hulks which would frequently dispose of their dead charges on a salt marsh at the mouth of the Swale, which was subsequently to become known as Dead Man's Island, and can still be found as such, on local maps today.This fraud caused a great financial burden upon the fishers and oyster catchers, who were driven to "unlawful and riotous assembly", in protest against unwarranted charges made upon them in the course of their trade.The oyster trade having been corrupted by smuggling and the bribery of the island's members of parliament, the town lost its franchise in the Reform Act of 1832.At the 2001 UK census, the economic activity of residents aged 16–74 of Queenborough and its neighbouring villages of Minster-on-Sea, Rushenden and Halfway Houses was 42.0% in full-time employment, 12.7% in part-time employment, 7.1% self-employed, 3.4% unemployed, 1.5% students with jobs, 3.0% students without jobs, 14.6% retired, 8.0% looking after home or family, 5.3% permanently sick or disabled and 2.4% economically inactive for other reasons.There is an all-tide landing owned by Queenborough Harbour Trust situated on Crundells Wharf, which can be used by mooring holders and visiting yachtsmen.
QueensboroughHMAS QueenboroughOS grid referenceDistrictShire countyRegionSouth EastCountryEnglandSovereign statePost townPostcode districtDialling codePoliceAmbulanceSouth East CoastUK ParliamentSittingbourne and SheppeyIsle of SheppeySouth East EnglandSheernessThames Estuarythe SwaleRiver MedwayAdmiral Lord NelsonLady Hamiltonmembers of parliamentboroughQueenborough CastleEdward IIIHundred Years' WarHoward ColvinHenry VIIIDevice FortsgunpowderartilleryThomas CheneyDeal CastleWalmer CastleThamesIsle of GrainHoo PeninsulaMedwayWantsum ChannelIsle of ThanetSandwichEnglish ChannelPhilippa of Hainaultcharterroyal boroughWool StapleCanterburyChannel 4archaeologyTime TeamSir Humphrey GilbertBrabantcopperasCharles IoysterParliamentariansCivil WarinterregnumRaid on the MedwayRoyal CharlesBrielleNetherlandsQueenborough GuildhallDaniel DefoeRoyal Navyprison hulkssalt marshAct of ParliamentReform Act of 1832branch lineSittingbourneSittingbourne and Sheerness RailwayLondon, Chatham & Dover RailwayVlissingenPortland cementCharity CommissionersSwale Borough Councillocal government reorganisation of 1974sea wallpirate radioRadio Carolineparliamentary constituencyKevin McKennaLabour Partylocal government district2019 local electionsConservative Party2001 census2001 UK censusethnicityRushendenmixed raceRepublic of IrelandChristianMuslimJewishbachelor's degreeself-employedlooking after home or familydisabledpublic administrationBBC South EastITV MeridianBluebell HillBBC Radio KentHeart SouthGold RadioBRFM 95.6 FMSheppey FM 92.2Sheerness Times GuardianQueenborough railway stationSheerness lineSheerness-on-SeaCrundells WharfQueenborough (UK Parliament constituency)Borough of SwaleHalfway HousesSittingbourne and MiltonBadlesmereBapchildBobbing