Pictures put Medway's past online

One site shows the development of Chatham and its dockyard

Archivists in Medway have created internet libraries showing historic images of the towns.

One of the sites contains pictures dating from the 19th Century to the present day, showing the history, industry and people of Chatham.

The images document the development of the town centre and dockyard, Medway Archive and Local Studies Centre said.

A second site shows items from the Darnley Exhibition which was made up of family papers of the Earls of Darnley.

The centre said there were currently about 100 images on the first website, called Medway Images, with more to be added.

Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Gillingham and the surrounding rural area would all be covered as the collection grew, a spokesman said.

The Darnley Exhibition site draws from a collection of about 3,000 items drawn from the past two centuries when the Darnley family lived at Cobham Hall, Kent.

The records cover aspects of managing the estate's tenants and farming, and also the family's interests and official duties.