Medway
§ This page gives an overview of the Medway local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Medway in north Kent is centred on the towns of Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Strood, and Rainham. Rochester is famed for its cathedral and castle, Chatham for its historic dockyard, and Gillingham for its riverside heritage. The River Medway runs through, forming a wide estuary with marshes, reserves, and maritime scenery. The district blends urban centres, historic landmarks, and natural estuarine landscapes.
The administrative boundary of Medway can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Medway.
Key Facts about Medway
What region is Medway in? Medway is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Medway in? Medway is in the county of Kent.
Is Medway a city? No, Medway is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Medway? The local government for this district is: Medway Council (Unitary Authority).
▶ Official website of Medway Council 🔗 medway.gov.uk
Which police force covers Medway? Policing in Medway is provided by Kent Police 🔗 kent.police.uk, which serves 13 local authority districts: Ashford ⁞ Canterbury ⁞ Dartford ⁞ Dover ⁞ Folkestone and Hythe ⁞ Gravesham ⁞ Maidstone ⁞ Medway ⁞ Sevenoaks ⁞ Swale ⁞ Thanet ⁞ Tonbridge and Malling ⁞ Tunbridge Wells.
Medway in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Medway is an ITLs Level 3 area:
- (ITL 1) South East
- (ITL 2) ⇒ Kent
- (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Medway
The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.
Constituencies in Medway
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Medway
Medway is divided into 24 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- All Saints
- Chatham Central & Brompton
- Cuxton, Halling & Riverside
- Fort Horsted
- Fort Pitt
- Gillingham North
- Gillingham South
- Hempstead & Wigmore
- Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow
- Lordswood & Walderslade
- Luton
- Princes Park
- Rainham North
- Rainham South East
- Rainham South West
- Rochester East & Warren Wood
- Rochester West & Borstal
- St Mary's Island
- Strood North & Frindsbury
- Strood Rural
- Strood West
- Twydall
- Watling
- Wayfield & Weeds Wood
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Parishes in Medway
Medway is part-parished: 11 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 3 unparished areas.
- Allhallows
- Cliffe and Cliffe Woods
- Cooling
- Cuxton
- Frindsbury Extra
- Halling
- High Halstow
- Hoo St. Werburgh
- Isle of Grain
- St. Mary Hoo
- Stoke
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
Built-up Areas in Medway
Medway covers 17 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Allhallows
- Chatham *
- Chattenden
- Cliffe (Medway)
- Cliffe Woods *
- Cuxton
- Gillingham (Medway) *
- Grain
- Halling
- Ham Green
- High Halstow
- Hoo St Werburgh
- Kingsnorth (Medway)
- Lower Upnor
- Rochester *
- Snodland *
- Wallend
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Medway.)
Medway compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Medway compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Medway has 24 electoral wards.
Medway has a population of 292,655 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Medway can be found on the ONS statistics for Medway.