Meway is the name given to a conurbation and unitary authority in north Kent, England. It is also a major seaport. It was previously known as "The Medway Towns" , but the five towns on the River Medway have gradually merged together. Because of its strategic location by the major crossing of the River Medway by Watling Street it has made a wide and historically significant contribution to Kent, and to the United Kingdom dating back thousands of years, as evident in the Norman Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral (the second oldest in Britain), and the Chatham naval dockyard and its associated defences.