Use of the river Medway for a royal dockyard started c. 1550 at the riverside below the church. In the 17th century a new Stuart dockyard was built slightly downstream where the historic dockyard now stands. The earlier dockyard remained in use, however, and became the Gunwharf, a facility for the storage of armaments, mostly for ships and the army. In 1633 the area was known as the 'Old Dock' and a map of this date shows a pair of large storehouses and numerous smaller buildings. Over the next hundred years a number of buildings were constructed, the most significant being The Command House and its stable and carriage house, the Armoury and Carpenters Shop, the Machine Shop and the Gun Wharf wall and gates. By the 20th century the site was no longer needed for storage of armaments and the site was progressively sold off in the late 1950s.