Sherlockian Sojourns #77: As Seen on Screen – ‘It’s the Fort That Counts’

Almost a year before, I had visited Chatham to see Sherlockian filming locations, but had been unable to visit one of my planned locations, and had only limited time at the other. It was therefore decided to undertake a return visit, particularly as my entry ticket for the Historic Dockyard was still valid.

Catching a train from London Victoria, I travelled 45 minutes to Chatham, where a ten minute walk brought me to Fort Amherst. The fort was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. It is now open as a visitor attraction throughout the year with tours provided through the tunnel complex, part of which appeared as the Paris Catacombs in ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ (2011), which Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Sim (Noomi Rapace) use to access the Paris Opera House, Holmes having guessed that the next explosion is intended to be there.

Arriving in plenty of time for my Tunnel Tour at 11am, I sat on the café’s patio enjoying the sun. The group then formed, and it being a Bank Holiday, it was surprisingly large. Our volunteer guide then took us into the tunnels for what would be a two-hour tour. The first hour was spent in going through Medway Group Control, tunnel sections which became the control centre for all Civil Defence activities in North Kent in the Second World War. This comprised two main rooms – the Guard Room/Office and the Operations Centre.

     

It was then time to move into the sixteenth century fortifications and tunnels, including those which appeared in ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’. During the Napoleonic period, the tunnels had several roles including providing secure protection for guns to fire the full length of the Barrier Ditch, sheltering the garrison during a siege or bombardment, providing access between the lower and upper works of the Fort, and storage.  There were also various wells and shafts, going back to the surface. As I listened to the guide, I took photos of all possible filming locations.

   

After two hours, I was back at the surface, and picking up my pre-ordered Visitor Guide at the shop. After a quick scoot round some of the above-ground parts of the Fort, I made my way the fifteen minutes down the road to Chatham Historic Dockyard, which has appeared in no less than five Sherlockian productions. On my way in, I managed to get some more photos of Turk’s Boatyard, which appears as the London docks, where a ship is being built – and gets prematurely launched in ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009), being also where Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Watson (Jude Law) battle Dredger (Robert Maillet).

   

Once inside the Dockyard, I had my ticket validated by them checking me against the photo taken when I originally bought the ticket. My first port of call was the ‘Command of the Oceans’ galleries, including the timbers of the Namur, a sixteenth century ship found beneath the floor of the old Wheelwrights’ workshop.

Outside, I made my way to explore HMS Gannet and HMS Cavalier, an 1878 Victorian Royal Navy sloop, and a 1944 CA-class destroyer respectively.

  

I then walked down Officers Terrace which appears in ‘Holmes and Watson’ (2018). 

   

It was then time for a late lunch in the Wagon Stop Canteen, before I made my way to No. 1 Smithery and the 'Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO® Bricks’ exhibition. Created in partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Western Australian Museum, this exhibition invited visitors of all ages to explore the tales of iconic shipwrecks, brought to life through intricate, large-scale LEGO® models.

     

Having revisited the area around the Victorian Ropery which appears in ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ (2011), ‘Mr Holmes’ (2015), ‘Holmes and Watson’ (2015), and ‘Enola Holmes 2’ (2022), I made my way out of the Dockyard, catching a bus then a train to Rochester, where I again visited Baggins Book Bazaar, purchasing four books of Sherlockian interest, before catching the train back to London Victoria.