Out and About – Sheerness Dockyard Church
By Theresa and Richard Emmett
Sheerness Dockyard Church is on the Garrison Road, Sheerness Postcode: ME12 1ED, near the entrance to the Peel Port. It is a little easier to park up than it is to drive out of the site, so take care.
Map reference TQ 914 751.
The site is managed by the Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust, it is free to enter, and opening hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday to Friday, and from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturdays, while remaining closed on Sundays, except for special functions. The restored church has free parking for numerous vehicles to the rear, including EV charging points.
What is physically there?
- In May 2023, students from the Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey, created a time capsule for the church to bury on the site – see if you can find it.
- Models that were made of the Dockyard around 200 years ago!
- A friendly café with tables and chairs, a place to meet friends or find new ones.
- Meeting rooms to hire.
- Interesting architecture to look round, inside and out.
Its History?
Thanks to the Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust
The Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust transformed the derelict Dockyard Church, which stands at the entrance to the site of the former Royal Dockyard on the Isle of Sheppey. The church, which was badly damaged by fire in 2001, is now an architectural masterpiece and was previously one of the most important buildings at risk in the southeast of England.
The Dockyard church project was awarded a £5.3m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2019. After securing the necessary match funding, capital work began in 2020 to restore and transform the building, to help put Sheerness back on the map. It aims to provide much needed support for young people and new businesses, with a high quality event space on Sheppey. The building reopened in June 2023 and is open as ‘IslandWorks, an Enterprise Centre, Event space and Café.
The Sheerness Dockyard Church is certainly a hidden gem, which is just on our doorstep is described as:
A remarkable Grade II listed former church in Sheerness, which was devastated by fire more than two decades ago, has been named UK Project of the Year by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Sheerness Dockyard Church, one of the most significant historic buildings in the town, has received the prestigious award following a remarkable restoration that has transformed the former ruin into a vibrant community facility.
The restoration has returned much of the building to the Regency character intended by its original architect, George Ledwell Taylor, surveyor to the Admiralty and a distinguished architect of his day. The church was initially completed in 1828 and formed an important part of the historic landscape of Sheerness Dockyard.
