Description

ROCHESTER
TQ 7468 SW Rochester Castle
7/1 (formerly listed
as the Castle)
24.10.50
I
GV
Castle Keep, curtain walls and mural towers to bailey. A
building of exceptional significance. Built at the bridging
point where Watling Street crosses the Medway. One of the first
Norman Castles to be fortified in stone. Bailey walls, 1087-9,
built by Gandulf, Bishop of Rochester for William II; keep, 1127,
built by Archbishop William of Corbeil, considerable rebuilding
and repairs throughout, 1221-32 (after the 1216 siege) and again
by Edward III and Richard II, 1367-83; some demolition and
alterations, c.1872. Mainly Kentish rag with tufa and chalk
rubble. The building is described in detail by R Allen Brown
(1986) which should be consulted for further information.
Gandulf's curtain wall survives to the W(Mersey side) and
incorporates remains of the Roman city wall (see Refs 7/2 and
9/2); strengthened in C13. SE section, including the drum tower,
mid-C13; E section (C14) includes 2 curtain walls, one of which
(now a cottage) contains vaulted room, spiral stone stair and 2
garderobes. N section of wall, fragmentary, is incorporated into
the garden walls to the rear of High Street properties. The N
perimeter wall of the present castle precinct is marked by a C20
wall with palings. To the NW, the bastion (1378-83), altered and
breached by a prominent Norman-Revival round-headed arched
entrance of c1872. Keep, roofless and without principal floors,
rectangular on plan with corner turret (that to SE in circular
form, Mid C13) and contempotary forebuilding (with chapel and
chambers) to N reached from W at 1st floor level. Main building
consists of ground-floor basement; 1st floor apartments; great
hall and chamber occupying 2 storeys; private apartments above,
all divided by massive cross wall pierced by doorways and (at
great hall level) a 4-bay arcade. It contains a well shaft. NE
stair to all floors; SW stair excludes access to basement.
Decoration sparingly applied: externally to principal doorways
and upper floor embrasures; internally mainly chevron with some
shafting; arcade with scalloped capitals. Scheduled Ancient
Monument. References: many general references but see
especially R Allen Brown, Rochester Castle. Kent (English
Heritage guide, 2nd edition, 1986); C Flight and A C Harrison,
'Rochester Castle 1976', Archaeoloaia Cantiana, 94 (1978); G
Payne, 'The Reparation of Rochester Castle', Archaeologia
Cantiana, 27 (1905).

Listing NGR: TQ7413768560

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Rochester Castle at Wikipedia
• Rochester Castle official website
• Wikidata Q1125527

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  For the Record
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)