Guidebook: Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle stands within the walls of the Roman city above the River Medway in Kent. There has been an important crossing of the road to London since the 1st century AD, and it was the Normans – as they advanced across the country from the south coast, building strongholds from which to exert their power over the locals – who first built a wooden castle here after their victory at the Battle of Hastings. Between 1087 and 1089 the castle was rebuilt in stone – one of the earliest such buildings in the country – by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, and in 1127 the present keep was erected under Henry I, son of William the Conqueror. Rochester Castle has endured the great siege by King John in 1215 and some years later the siege of the barons rebelling against his son Henry III. It has stood for nearly a thousand years, surviving the machinery of early warfare, fire, revolt and neglect, serving as the prison of Elizabeth, Queen of Scots, and becoming a visitor attraction in Victorian public gardens. It remains a towering ruin, confronting Rochester Cathedral at the heart of the city, a sight to remind visitors today, as it would have done in earlier times, of those two powerful authorities of medieval England: the Crown and the Church. Key Features: 40 pages Paperback Published in 2012