The Governor of Sheerness Fort and the Isle of Sheppey was a military officer who commanded the fortifications at Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey, part of the defences of the Medway estuary. The area had been fortified since the time of Henry VIII, but the Sheerness fortifications were destroyed in 1667 when it was captured during the Dutch Raid on the Medway. It was subsequently re-fortified as Sheerness became the site of a major Royal Navy dockyard, in operation until 1960. The post of Governor was abolished in 1852, when the last governor, Lord Combermere, accepted office as the Constable of the Tower.
Governors of Sheerness
1666–1668: Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet 1670–1679: Nathaniel Darrell 1679–1690: Sir Charles Lyttelton, 3rd Baronet 1690–1706: Robert Crawford 1706–1729: Henry Withers 1729–1745: Lord Mark Kerr 1745–1749: John Huske 1749–1752: Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan 1752–1778: Sir John Mordaunt 1778–1811: Francis Craig 1812–1821: Francis Edward Gwyn 1821–1852: Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere
Lieutenant-Governors of Sheerness
1685–1690: Robert Crawford 1690–1725: Thomas King 1725–1762: Richard Evans ?–1782: Henry Hart 1782–1805: Sir James Malcolm, 4th Baronet (died 1805) 1805–1806: Alexander Mair 1806–1813: Thomas Rudsdell 1813–aft. 1841: Robert Walker
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