Breaking the Chain, The Historic Dockyard Chatham
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![In a gallery space a visitor looks at a freestanding wall with a simplified map of the Isle of Sheppey and Kent coast. It is titled The Dutch Raid on the River Medway and Chatham Dockyard, June 1667.” To the left, a showcase displays open books.]()
A commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Medway and the development of British naval power
Breaking the Chain, Historic Dockyard Chatham, 8 June – 3 September 2017, Interpretation by Historic Dockyard Chatham, Photography by Philip Durrant.
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![A low-lit gallery space with dark navy walls and red accent walls. Showcases in the centre of the room display large replica models of ships. Framed images on the walls include paintings of notable personalities and maritime scenes.]()
This exhibition was part of a series of events along the river Medway in Kent in 2017 marking the 350th anniversary of the ‘Dutch Raid’ of 1667, considered one of the worst naval defeats in British history. The story was told through Dutch and British art, literature, historic manuscripts and extraordinary objects on loan from The Royal Museum Greenwich, Rijksmuseum, the Dutch National Maritime Museum, the Michiel de Ruyter Foundation and the British Library.
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![A red wall and the bottom left corner of a framed painting of a fleet of ships on fire. A 1666 Samuel Pepys quote on the wall reads: “it was not our design or expectation to have done this but only to have landed on the Fly and burned some stores.”]()
We won a competitive tender to develop the exhibition. Our approach to the interpretation seeked to bring the dramatic sequences of the attack to life, in ways which dramatised a historic events for contemporary viewers.
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![Two showcases in the centre of a gallery display ornate scale replica models of ships. In the background visitors look at objects around the room including framed painted portraits, and maritime and landscape scenes.]()
Walls and cases are set out at an angle to the rectilinear space creating a dynamic environment that reflects the tensions leading to battle. This layout creates movement, reveal, points of discovery and allows for juxtaposition of ideas and characters.
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![Gallery with framed paintings and showcases against blue and red walls. Exhibition themes are divided into Act 1: The Prelude, Act 2: The Raid, and Act 3: Blame and Change.]()
The exhibition is divided into three chapters each opening with a large painting positioned as a single object on a freestanding coloured wall. Each chapter was conceived as an "act”, helping to narrativise and theatricalise the sequence of historic events.
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![Close-up of text on a blue exhibition wall, featuring white printed text about Samuel Pepys and a reproduction of a longer text. This text is overlaid with mounted image captions and black and white images of key people.]()
Act 3, titled "Blame and Change" explored the consequences of the raid and the subsequent development of British naval power. A graphic wall provided key historic texts and images, with highlighted words linking to more detailed explantations and multiple perspectives.
