Former Mast House and Mould Loft
FORMER MAST HOUSE AND MOULD LOFT, MAIN ROAD
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1378590
- Date first listed:
- 13-Aug-1999
- List Entry Name:
- Former Mast House and Mould Loft
- Statutory Address:
- FORMER MAST HOUSE AND MOULD LOFT, MAIN ROAD
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2004-07-19
- Reference:
- IOE01/11963/01
- Rights:
- © Mr M.K Lofthouse. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1378590
- Date first listed:
- 13-Aug-1999
- List Entry Name:
- Former Mast House and Mould Loft
- Statutory Address 1:
- FORMER MAST HOUSE AND MOULD LOFT, MAIN ROAD
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- FORMER MAST HOUSE AND MOULD LOFT, MAIN ROAD
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Medway (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 76025 69434
Details
TQ 76 NE CHATHAM MAIN ROAD
(East side) Chatham Dockyard
762-1/8/75
Former Mast House and Mould Loft
GV I
Mast house and mould loft, now museum. 1753-55, altered 1833. Weather-boarded timber frame and slate roof. PLAN: rectangular open plan with mould loft to 3 middle bays. EXTERIOR: single storey with second storey to middle 3 ranges, and attic to middle. Near-symmetrical range of 5 gables with a further W range, the middle one taller, with raking
.roof across to flanking bay above the mould loft. Ground-floor of continuos garage doors, and wide windows above with glazing bars. Middle range has 7 first-floor 6/9-pane sashes, and 5 attic 9-pane windows, flanking ranges have 2 first-floor 6/6-pane sashes. Middle range has large flat-headed dormers and 3 small ridge louvres, flat roof lights to other ranges, the end ones with 4 dormers.
INTERIOR: an extensive open internal space, the mould loft supported by large posts with diagonal and ships' knee braces, a king post roof to outer sections, and central mould loft floor with a 13-bay collared queen post roof.
HISTORY: used for shaping and storing masts on the ground floor, and for drawing out plans in the wide space of the first-floor loft. The mould loft was extended 1833 to include part of the flanking bays, and was used to layout HMS Victory in 1759, and HMS Achilles in 1860, the first all metal warship in the world. From 1855 it was used as a store.
The last surviving timber mast house in a naval yard, providing evidence in the joints and members of ship-builders' techniques applied to building construction, and part of a fine group of naval buildings within a complete Georgian dockyard.
(Sources: Coad J: Historic Architecture of Chatham Dockyard 1700-1850: London: 1982: 153 ; Coad J: The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850: Aldershot: 1989: 159-161 ; MacDougall P: The Chatham Dockyard Story: Rainham: 1987: 61).
Listing NGR: TQ7602569431
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 476543
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
MacDougall, P, The Chatham Dockyard Story, (1987), 61
Coad, J G, The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850: Architecture and Engineering Works of the Sailing Navy, (1989), 159-161
Coad, J, Historic Architecture of Chatham Dockyard 1700-1850, (1982), 153
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jun-2026 at 06:23:17.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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