Medway /

Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County Council, though still within the ceremonial county of Kent. It was colloquially known as The Medway Towns, however the city, villages and towns at the mouth of the River Medway have gradually merged. Over half of the unitary authority area is parished and rural in nature. Because of its strategic location by the major crossing of the River Medway, it has made a wide and historically significant contribution to Kent, and to England, dating back thousands of years, as evident in the siting of Watling Street by the Romans and by the Norman Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral (the second oldest in Britain), and the Chatham naval dockyard and its associated defences. The main towns involved in the conurbation are (from west to east in terms of geographical position): Strood, Rochester,Sittingbourne, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham. Many smaller towns and villages such as Frindsbury, Brompton,