On first appearances St Mary’s Island lives up to its name — a great place to live with its high-class housing, bustling marina and facilities on the doorstop. Nicola Jordan delves deeper into the history of the attractive waterside development to unearth a rich and fascinating past. Rising from reclaimed marshland, its history runs back to the Romans and spans centuries dominated by the nation’s rich naval traditions, its struggles in conflict and the tragedies of those caught up in it. With its inseparable links to Chatham’s world-famous dockyard where Nelson’s HMS Victory was built, the 150…
