Gillingham, Kent

Two-thirds of Chatham Dockyard sat inside Gillingham, and Chatham still got its name on the gates, which tells you most of what you need to know about Gillingham's gift for self-promotion. It's the Medway town that just gets on with it: rows of terraces built for dockworkers, a market day that's louder than anywhere else in Medway, and not one view anybody has thought to put on a tea towel. The name is said to come from a warlord who led his men into battle screaming. The town has been quiet about itself ever since.