__NOTOC__ Gundulf (or Gundulph) (c. 1024 - 1108) was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

monk who went to England following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there. He built several castles, including

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and the White Tower of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

, and the Priory and Cathedral Church of Rochester.

Life

Gundulf was a monk of Bec Abbey in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and a friend, pupil and also chamberlain of Lanfranc. He was a monk of St. Etienne in Caen before he went to England in 1070, as one of several clergy from Bec and St Etienne.British History Online Bishops of Rochester
accessed on 30 October 2007 He was one of the most important of those chosen by Lanfranc to help him with the reorganisation of English monasticism, as Lanfranc had been charged to do, following his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury by King William I. In 1075 at Lanfranc's instigation, King William I agreed to the appointment of Gundulf as Bishop of Rochester and Gundulf was consecrated on 19 March 1077.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 266 Earlier that year Lanfranc had recovered much of the lands once belonging to St. Andrews Church at Rochester from the king's half-brother Odo and when Gundulf was enthroned Lanfranc endowed much of this property back to the church. This restored income enabled Gundulf to start reconstruction work on the almost derelict church building in 1080. In 1078 King William used Gundulf's skill in the construction of the White Tower: the keep of the Tower of London, he was described as "competent and skilled at building in stone and was the principle overseer and surveyor of the White Tower of London"; also the castle at Colchester which was started around 1080. Colchester is attributed to Gundulf on the basis of the similarity in plan and design to the White Tower. In 1080 he was responsible for St. Leonard's Tower which became the tower of the monastic cell of St. Leonard's, belonging to Malling Abbey.Greenwood p.6 Sometime around 1092 Gundulf founded the abbey of St Mary's, at

West Malling West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590. Landmarks West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Nor ...

, Kent for Benedictine nuns.Burton ''Monastic and Religious Orders'' p. 94 He was also responsible for the founding of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Rochester, the chapel of which is original and still extant. In 1083 the Cathedral Priory of St. Andrew the Apostle was founded at Rochester with Gundulf as Prior. He personally purchased a great deal of property for his house and also acquired other properties as the Priory found continued favour with the Norman kings. Together with Archbishop Lanfranc he began the construction of the monastery buildings and continued work on the church. Later Gundulf had the relics of St. Paulinus, a previous Bishop of Rochester, housed in a silver shrine at the church.Palmer p.13 By the time of Gundulf's death on 7 March 1108 the nave and western front of the church had been completed.

King's Engineers and the Corps of Royal Engineers

Bishop Gundulf's talent for architecture had been spotted by King William I and was put to good use in

where he was sent as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. Almost immediately the king appointed him to supervise the construction of the White Tower, now part of the

in 1078. Under

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

he also undertook building work on

Rochester Castle Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Situat ...

. Having served three Kings of England and earning "the favour of then all". Gundulf is accepted as the first King's Engineer. Gundulf died in 1108 and a modern statue of him adorns the west door of Rochester Cathedral. Because of his 'military' engineering talent, Bishop Gundulf is regarded as the "father of the

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

", military engineers of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The Corps claims a line of 'King's Engineers' pre-dating the engineers of the Board of Ordnance in 1414 and the formal founding of the corps in 1716 all the way back to Gundulf of Rochester. This shared heritage and the close proximity to the cathedral of the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

in Brompton means the Corps of Royal Engineers and

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Medway, Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church o ...

maintain strong links to this day.

Gallery of architectural work

File:White_Tower_of_London_(05-06-2005).jpg, White Tower, Tower of London File:London - White Tower.jpg, White Tower, Tower of London, showing apse of chapel File:White Tower chapelle.jpg, Chapel of St. John, White Tower, Tower of London File:Colchester castle.jpg, Colchester Castle, showing apse of chapel, the two upper floors were demolished in the 18th century File:Rochester Castle Western Curtain Wall 9985.JPG, The vestiges of Gundulf's work at

File:2006SweepsCath1crop.jpg, Rochester Cathedral File:Rochester Cathedral from west.jpg, Rochester Cathedral from the Castle File:St Leonard's Tower, West Malling.jpg, St Leonard's Tower, West Malling

Citations

References

British History Online Bishops of Rochester
accessed on 30 October 2007 * * * * *

External links