About the Medway Campus
Click on the image to download a brochure
This splendid Edwardian redbrick and ivy-clad campus – dating from 1903 – has benefited from £20 million capital investment since 1996. Extensive new laboratories and research facilities were opened in 2003 and the university has linked with other educational establishments to develop the campus as a major higher education centre in the Medway region.
A massive expansion of facilities on the Medway campus opened in late 2005. The centrepiece of the development is a magnificent library, converted from a naval drill hall and offering 100,000 square feet of space. There is a new research block, the Wolfson Centre, and additional laboratory facilities for the Medway School of Pharmacy and the School of Science.
The campus has modern workshops and equipment, including a computer-aided design studio and a training dispensary for pharmacy students. The Medway School of Pharmacy is building a suite of laboratories for 21st-century needs.
The campus has a Centre for Sports and Exercise Science with the latest in 3D movement and force analysis equipment, enabling researchers to help professional athletes improve technique and avoid injury.
But yes, we do know how to relax
The campus has a mix of social and leisure facilities, including two restaurants, sports hall and gym with cardio-vascular and weights rooms. One restaurant, named Venue, is in the new Pilkington Building.
The on-campus bar, Coopers, offers meals and traditional pub games. Next door is Purple, an alcohol-free space for students during the day designed to become a club venue at night. Medway, like our other campuses, runs a range of clubs and societies.
Great Expectations ... and great shopping
The Medway region is a haven of history, but it looks forward as well as back. The campus is based in Chatham Maritime, near Chatham’s historic dockyard. Close by is a pub overlooking the river and the Dockside Outlet Centre, which has plenty of good-value shops and even an Australian-themed café.
The area surrounding the campus is currently undergoing developments to enhance its business, housing and leisure facilities. A multi-screen cinema is now open as part of the Dickens World complex, a permanent exhibition of the life and works of the author of Great Expectations and many other novels which is entering the final stages of development.
Rochester, a couple of miles to the south, is proud of its castle and cathedral where the Medway campus has its annual graduation ceremonies. Rochester stages events throughout the year, including music concerts and Victorian-themed Dickens festivals. Whereas in nearby Chatham town centre you can find shopping centres and high street stores, Rochester offers a range of quirky shops along its cobbled high street.
Within 15 minutes drive is Bluewater, one of Europe’s largest shopping centres, with shops galore, a cinema and a wide selection of places to eat and drink. From diners to pizza restaurants and tapas to sports bars, your entertainment as well as shopping needs are well served.
For those interested in watching sport, the nearest Football League ground is Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium, Kent play county cricket at Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury, and the Invicta Dynamos Ice Hockey team play regularly at the IceBowl in Gillingham.