Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in
Rochester,
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England. The
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
is the
mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...
of the
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Diocese of Rochester
The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal si ...
and
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation.
Types of seat
The ...
(''cathedra'') of the
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.
The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...
, the second oldest bishopric in England after that of the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. The cathedral, built in the
Norman style is a
Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
History
Anglo-Saxon establishment
The Rochester diocese was founded by
Justus, one of the
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
who accompanied
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century in England, 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English".
Augustine ...
to convert the pagan southern English to Christianity in the early 7th century. As the first Bishop of Rochester, Justus was given permission by King
Æthelberht of Kent
Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ; 550 – 24 February 616) was Kings of Kent, King of Kingdom of Kent, Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical Hist ...
to establish a church dedicated to
Andrew the Apostle
Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus.
The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...
(like the monastery at Rome where Augustine and Justus had set out for England) on the site of the present cathedral, which was made the seat of a bishopric. The cathedral was to be served by a college of
secular priests and was endowed with land near the city called Priestfields.
Under the Roman system, a bishop was required to establish a school for the training of priests. To provide the upper parts for music in the services a choir school was required. Together these formed the genesis of the cathedral school which today is represented by the
King's School, Rochester
The King's School, Rochester, is a private co-educational all through day and boarding school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school and, being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral. The school claims to be the second oldest c ...
. The quality of chorister training was praised by
Bede
Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
.
[Music Department website]

The original cathedral was high and wide. The apse is marked in the current cathedral on the floor and the
setts outside show the line of the walls. Credit for the construction of the building goes to King Æthelberht rather than St Justus. Bede describes St Paulinus' burial as "in the sanctuary of the Blessed Apostle Andrew which Æthelberht founded likewise he built the city of Rochester."
Æthelberht died in 617 and his successor,
Eadbald of Kent
Eadbald () was King of Kent from 616 until his death in 640. He was the son of King Æthelberht and his wife Bertha, a daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert. Æthelberht made Kent the dominant force in England during his reign and becam ...
, was not a Christian. Justus fled to
Francia
The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...
and remained there for a year before he was recalled by the king.
In 644
Ithamar
In the Bible, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", '' Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the construc ...
, the first English-born bishop, was consecrated at the cathedral. Ithamar consecrated
Deusdedit as the first Saxon
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
on 26 March 655.
The cathedral suffered much from the ravaging of Kent by King
Æthelred of Mercia
Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, ...
in 676. So great was the damage that
Putta
Putta (died Wiktionary:circa, c. 688) was a medieval Bishop of Rochester and probably the first Bishop of Hereford. Some modern historians say that the two Puttas were separate individuals.Sims-Williams "Putta (d. c.688)" ''Oxford Dictionary of N ...
retired from the diocese and his appointed successor,
Cwichelm, gave up the
see "because of its poverty".
In 762, the local overlord,
Sigerd, granted land to the bishop, as did his successor
Egbert. The charter is notable as it is confirmed by
Offa of Mercia
Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...
as overlord of the local kingdom.
Following the
invasion
An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...
of 1066,
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
granted the cathedral and its estates to his
half-brother,
Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...
. Odo misappropriated the resources and reduced the cathedral to near-destitution. The building itself was ancient and decayed. During the episcopate of
Siward (1058–1075) it was served by four or five canons "living in squalor and poverty". One of the canons became vicar of
Chatham and raised sufficient money to make a gift to the cathedral for the soul and burial of his wife, Godgifu.
Medieval priory
Gundulf's church
Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, amongst others, brought Odo to account at the
trial of Penenden Heath
The trial of Penenden Heath occurred in the decade after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, probably in 1076, and involved a dispute between Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror and Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury ...
. Following Odo's final fall,
Gundulf was appointed as the first Norman bishop of Rochester in 1077. The cathedral and its lands were restored to the bishop.
Gundulf's first undertaking in the construction of the new cathedral seems to have been the construction of the tower which today bears his name. In about 1080 he began construction of a new cathedral to replace Justus' church. He was a talented architect who probably played a major part in the design or the works he commissioned. The original cathedral had a
presbytery of six bays with aisles of the same length. The four easternmost bays stood over an undercroft which forms part of the present crypt. To the east was a small projection, probably for the silver shrine of
Paulinus which was translated there from the old cathedral. The transepts were 120 feet long, but only 14 feet wide. With such narrow transepts it is thought that the eastern arches of the nave abutted the quire arch. To the south another tower (of which nothing visible remains) was built. There was no crossing tower. The nave was not completed at first. Apparently designed to be nine bays long, most of the south side but only five bays to the north were completed by Gundulf. The quire was required by the
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
and the south wall formed part of its buildings. It has been speculated that Gundulf simply left the citizens to complete the parochial part of the building. Gundulf did not stop with the fabric, he also replaced the secular chaplains with
Benedictine monk
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...
s, obtained several royal grants of land and proved a great benefactor to his cathedral city.
In 1078 Gudulf founded
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by ...
just outside the city of Rochester. The
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
of St Andrew contributed daily and weekly provisions to the hospital which also received the offerings from the two altars of St James and of St Giles.
During the episcopates of
Ernulf (1115–1124) and
John ''(I)'' (1125–1137) the cathedral was completed. The quire was rearranged, the nave partly rebuilt, Gundulf's nave piers were cased and the west end built. Ernulf is also credited with building the refectory, dormitory and chapter house, only portions of which remain. Finally John translated the body of Ithamar from the old Saxon cathedral to the new Norman one, the whole being dedicated in 1130 (or possibly 1133) by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, assisted by 13 bishops in the presence of
Henry I, but the occasion was marred by a great fire which nearly destroyed the whole city and damaged the new cathedral. It was badly damaged by fires again in 1137 and 1179. One or other of these fires was sufficiently severe to badly damage or destroy the eastern arm and the transepts. Ernulf's monastic buildings were also damaged.
Medieval remodelling

Probably from about 1190,
Gilbert de Glanville (bishop 1185–1214) commenced the rebuilding of the east end and the replacement on the monastic buildings. The north quire transept may have been sufficiently advanced to allow the burial of St
William of Perth in 1201, alternatively the coffin may have lain in the north quire aisle until the transept was ready. It was then looted in 1215 by the forces of
King John during the siege of
Rochester Castle. Edmund de Hadenham recounts that there was not a
pyx left "in which the body of the Lord might rest upon the altar". However, by 1227, the quire was again in use when the monks made their solemn entry into it. The cathedral was rededicated in 1240 by
Richard Wendene (also known as Richard de Wendover) who had been translated from
Bangor.
The
shrines
A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daemon, or similar figure of respect, wh ...
of Ss Paulinus and William of Perth, along with the relics of St Ithamar, drew pilgrims to the cathedral. Their offerings were so great that both the work mentioned above and the ensuing work could be funded.
Unlike the abbeys of the period (which were led by an
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
) the monastic cathedrals were priories ruled over by a
prior
The term prior may refer to:
* Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery)
* Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case
* Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics
* Prio ...
with further support from the bishop. Rochester and
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
(the other impoverished see) were unusual in securing the promotion of a number of monks to be bishop. Seven bishops of Rochester were originally regular monks between 1215 and the Dissolution. A consequence of the monastic attachment was a lack of patronage at the bishop's disposal. By the early 16th century only 4% of the bishop's patronage came from non-parochial sources. The bishop was therefore chronically limited in funds to spend on the non-monastic part of the cathedral.
The next phase of the development was begun by Richard de Eastgate, the
sacrist
A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.
In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...
. The two eastern bays of the nave were cleared and the four large piers to support the tower were built. The north nave transept was then constructed. The work was nearly completed by Thomas
de Mepeham who became sacrist in 1255. Not long after the south transept was completed and the two bays of the nave nearest the crossing rebuilt to their current form. The intention seems to have been to rebuild the whole nave, but probably lack of funds saved the late Norman work.
The cathedral was desecrated in 1264 by the troops of
Simon de Montfort, during sieges of the city and
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
. It is recorded that armed knights rode into the church and dragged away some refugees. Gold and silver were stolen and documents destroyed. Some of the monastic buildings were turned into stables. Just over a year later De Montfort fell at the
Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...
to the forces of
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
. Later, in 1300, Edward passed through Rochester on his way to Canterbury and is recorded as having given seven shillings (35p) at the shrine of St William, and the same again the following day. During his return he again visited the cathedral and gave a further seven shillings at each of the shrines of Ss Paulinus and Ithamar.
The new century saw the completion of the new
Decorated work with the original
Norman architecture
The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...
, the rebuilding of the nave being finally abandoned. Around 1320 the south transept was altered to accommodate the altar of the Virgin Mary.
There appears to have been a rood screen thrown between the two western piers of the crossing. A rood loft may have surmounted it. Against this screen was placed the altar of St Nicholas, the parochial altar of the city. The citizens demanded the right of entrance by day or night to what was after all their altar. There were also crowds of strangers passing through the city. The friction broke out as a riot in 1327 after which the strong stone screens and doors which wall off the eastern end of the church from the nave were built. The priory itself was walled off from the town at this period. An oratory was established ''in angulo navis'' ("in the corner of the nave") for the
reserved sacrament
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term ...
; it is not clear which corner was being referred to, but Dr Palmer argues that the buttress against the north-west tower pier is the most likely setting. He notes the arch filled in with rubble on the aisle side; and on nave side there is a scar line with lower quality stonework below. The buttress is about thick, enough for an oratory. Palmer notes that provision for reservation of
consecrated hosts was often made to the north of the altar which would be the case here.
The central tower was at last raised by
Hamo de Hythe in 1343, thus essentially completing the cathedral. Bells were placed in the central tower (see
Bells section below). The chapter room doorway was constructed at around this time. The
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
struck England in 1347–49. From then on there were probably considerably more than twenty monks in the priory.
Later medieval history
The modern paintwork of the quire walls is modelled on artwork from the Middle Ages. Gilbert Scott found remains of painting behind the wooden stalls during his restoration work in the 1870s. The painting is therefore part original and part authentic. The alternate
lions and
fleurs-de-lis reflect
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
's victories, and assumed sovereignty over the
French. In 1356 the
Black Prince had defeated
John II of France
John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...
at
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
and taken him prisoner. On 2 July 1360 John passed through Rochester on his way home and made an offering of 60 crowns (£15) at the Church of St Andrew.
The Oratory provided for the Rochester citizens did not settle the differences between the monks and the
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
. The eventual solution was the construction of
St Nicholas' Church by the north side of the cathedral. A doorway was knocked through the western end of the north aisle (since walled up) to allow processions to pass along the north aisle of the cathedral before leaving by the west door.
In the mid-15th century the clerestory and vaulting of the north quire aisle was completed and new
Perpendicular Period
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
windows inserted into the nave aisles. Possible preparatory work for this is indicated in 1410–11 by the
Bridge Wardens of
Rochester who recorded a gift of lead from the
Lord Prior. The lead was sold on for 41 shillings. In 1470 the great west window at the cathedral was completed and finally, in around 1490, what is now the Lady Chapel was built. Rochester Cathedral, although one of England's smaller cathedrals, thus demonstrates all styles of
Romanesque and
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
.
In 1504
John Fisher was appointed Bishop of Rochester. Although Rochester was by then an impoverished see, Fisher elected to remain as bishop for the remainder of his life. He had been tutor to the young Prince Henry and on the prince's accession as
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, Fisher remained his staunch supporter and mentor. He figured in the anti-Lutheran policies of Henry right up until the
divorce issue and split from
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in the early 1530s. Fisher remained true to Rome and for his defence of the
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
was elevated as a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
in May 1535. Henry was angered by these moves and, on 22 June 1535, Cardinal Fisher was beheaded on
Tower Green in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.
Henry VIII visited Rochester on 1 January 1540 when he met
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...
, who was to become his fourth wife, for the first time and was "greatly disappointed". Whether connected or not, the old Priory of St Andrew was dissolved by royal command later in the year, one of the last monasteries to be
dissolved.
Modern foundation
Henrician settlement
The post-Dissolution foundation was a
dean, six
prebendaries, six minor
canons, a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
, a sub-deacon, six lay clerks, a master of the choristers, eight choristers, an upper and an under master of the
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
, twenty scholars, six poor men, a porter (who was also to be barber), a butler, chief cook and assistant. Four
scholars
A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...
(two each at Oxford and Cambridge universities) were supported. The deacon and sub-deacon disappeared during the
English Reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
, the butler and cooks went when there was no longer a common board.
Nicholas Ridley was consecrated Bishop of Rochester in 1547 during the reign of
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
. During his time at Rochester he directed that the altars in the churches of his diocese should be removed and tables put in their place to celebrate the Lord's Supper. In 1548 he helped
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...
compile the
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
and in 1549 he was one of the commissioners who investigated bishops
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I.
Early life
Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...
and
Edmund Bonner
Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms introdu ...
and agreed that they should be removed from office. In 1550 he was translated to the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
; three years later Ridley was involved in the plot to place
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...
on the throne in preference to the Roman Catholic
Queen Mary. The plot failed and Ridley paid the price; he was burnt at the stake for treason on 16 October 1555.
The cathedral suffered a steep decline after the
dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, during which time its estates were confiscated by
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
, and it became dilapidated and fell into disrepute.
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
, the diarist, would later dismiss it as a "shabby place". Rochester's location beside
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
did, however, mean that there continued to be a string of notable visitors. Most famously,
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
stayed in Rochester for four days in 1573, attending divine service in the cathedral on 19 September. In 1606
James I & VI and his brother-in-law,
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...
, visited the city, accompanied by his
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
(
Queen Anne and
Prince Henry). James was accommodated at the bishop's palace and the whole party attended a
Sunday service led by
William Barlow.
William Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury, visited the cathedral in 1633 and complained about its general state, in particular that it "suffered much for want of glass in the windows". By the following year the defects had been mainly remedied (apart from some of the glass), the excuse being that the backlog had built up due to money (£1,000) being spent on "making of the organs". Laud accepted this and required completion, noting among other items that the bells and their frame needed to be put into good order (see below, in 1635 one bell was recast).
In 1635 the cathedral was described as: "small and plaine, yet it is very lightsome and pleasant: her
he cathedral'squire is neatly adorn'd with many small pillars of marble; her organs though small yet are they rich and neat; her quiristers though but few, yet orderly and decent." The author then describes the various monuments "divers others also of antiquity, so dismembred, defac'd and abused". The reference to the monuments is particularly relevant, for this was six years before the despoliation of the cathedral by Parliamentarian soldiers in the wake of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
.
In 1641
John Evelyn
John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Evelyn's Diary, ...
paid his first visit to the cathedral as recorded in his diary: "The 19th we rod to Rochester, and having seene the Cathedrall."
Civil War
The official record runs: "On Wednesday, being
Bartholomew Day, we marched forth, some of our souldiers ... went to the Cathedrall about 9 or 10 of the clock, in the midst of their superstitious worship, with their singing men and boyes; they ... went about the work they came for. First they removed the table to its place appointed, and then tooke the seat which it stood upon, ... and brake that all to pieces; ...they pluckt down the rails and left them for the poore to kindle their fires; and so left the organs to be pluckt down when we came back again, but it appeared before we came back they took them downe themselves." Post-Restoration, the relative lack of damage was noted, in particular the "monuments of the dead" were not defaced, although one John Wyld (a
freeman
Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to:
Places United States
* Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, South Dako ...
and
shoemaker
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...
of Rochester) was accused of taking down and selling iron and brass from some tombs.
Thomas Fairfax
Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...
's troops stabled their horses in the quire as in other cathedrals. Although no structural damage seems to have occurred, several saw pits were dug in the nave floor.
Shortly after the
Restoration,
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
visited Rochester Cathedral on his way between the London and
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
. The cathedral had fallen into disrepair during the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
and Pepys observed it was "now fitting for use, and the organ then a-tuning". By 1662 £8,000 had been spent and a further £5,000 for repairs were outstanding. The joint diocesan registrar to the bishops from 1629 until 1671 was Peter Stowell. Under the Commonwealth his loyalty had cost him both fines and his liberty. He spent his own money recovering various books and fittings as well as spending £100 on flooring the church from the west door to the
pulpitum. The Dean of Rochester led prayers in memory of French Vice-Admiral Jean-Claude de La Robinière who was killed in enemy action by the Spanish-Dutch navy in 1667. In 1770 Archdeacon John Warner oversaw the removal of seats from the chancels with communion tables set up and railed "as formerly", a notably early readoption of the railed altar.
The cathedral fabric required continuous care: in 1664 the south aisle was recased and in 1670 40' of the north aisle had to be rebuilt. In 1679 the spire was in a dangerous state and an architect, Samuel Guy, reported on it. He reported that £1,000 of work was needed, however a few months later a Westminster carpenter, Henry Fry, took a different view: some lead work and the repair of one beam was sufficient. £160 was spent on the organ. In 1705 work started to relead the roof, completed by 1724. In 1730 the old ringers' loft above the quire steps was removed and the crossing vaulted. Between 1742 and 1743 major work was undertaken in the quire, sufficiently disruptive that the
dean and chapter used nearby St Nicholas' Church. In 1749 the steeple had to be rebuilt and between 1765 and 1772 the west front towers were rebuilt.
The cathedral's south quire aisle and transept were giving cause for concern, so in 1751 they were buttressed, the roof lightened and supporting brickwork placed in the crypt. In 1798
Edward Hasted
Edward Hasted (20 December 1732 OS (31 December 1732 NS) – 14 January 1812) was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, ''The History and ...
wrote a description of the cathedral and its environs, published as part of his ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent''. He observed that "time has so far impaired the strength of the materials with which it is built, that in all likelihood the care and attention of the present chapter towards the support of it will not be sufficient to prevent the fall of a great part of it at no great distance of time".
[Hasted] A new organ in 1791 completed the 18th-century works.
19th century onwards
From 1825 to 1830
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham served as diocesan architect. The quire and its south transept were reroofed because of dry rot. The wall between the main transept and the south quire aisle was still leaning, and the previous century's work had actually worsened the situation. Cottingham built a new external face which effectively buttresses the original wall. The tower was demolished and rebuilt without a spire. The east end was remodelled by lowering the altar and removing the old altar screen. Various windows and arches were opened up and in one of them the tomb of
John de Sheppey was discovered.
Cottingham remained in charge for the next phase of restoration. From 1840 the pulpit and bishop's throne were rebuilt. The removal of the old pulpit revealed the medieval
''Wheel of Life'' painting to be seen at the eastern end of the choir stalls today. It is said to be the oldest such
painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
in England. A new ceiling of the crossing, new canopy for John de Sheppey, cleaning whitewash and the renovation of the crypt all occurred at this time.
From 1871 to 1877 the work was entrusted to
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
. The first phase of the work was to repair the clerestory of the nave, the nave could then be used for service whilst the quire and transepts were worked upon. The south transept was underpinned and the timber vaulting renovated. The north transept had new western windows and a new door. Both had the masonry renovated. The gables and roofs were restored to their old high pitch form based on prints. The organ screen was restored to its original plain form, perhaps a mistake since there was now no screen on the other side of the pulpitum as there had been in the days of St Nicholas' altar. The east end gables were raised, but due to lack of funds the roof has still not been raised to match. The east window ("ugly" according to Palmer) was replaced with the present lancets. The floor of the presbytery was lowered and the whole eastern part of the building refloored. The choir and prebends stalls were renovated, using original material where possible. The work uncovered the original lion and fleur-de-lis heraldic artwork on which Scott based his decoration of the quire.
In memory of
Robert Scott (sometime Dean) the quire screen was decorated with the current statues by
J. Loughborough Pearson. Pearson also superintended the 1888 restoration of the west front, parts of the facing of which were separating from the core. The
flanking towers were restored to the original height and form and the north gable turret rendered as a copy of its partner to the south. During this work the ancient foundations of the original church were uncovered and marked out as noted above.
In 1904 the present
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
was raised upon the Scott Tower, creating the skyline as it is today. During 1998 the
precinct beyond the Great West Door was being repaved when further Saxon foundations were uncovered. The coloured
setts extend define the outline.
For the 1400th anniversary of the cathedral, in 2004, a new
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
was painted by
Russian icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
-painter
Sergei Fyodorov in the north transept.
Architecture
External

The west front is dominated by the central
perpendicular
In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...
great west window. Above the window the
dripstone terminates in a small carved head at each side. The line of the nave roof is delineated by a
string course
A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
above which rises the
crenellated
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
. Below the window is a
blind arcade interrupted by the top of the Great West Door. Some of the niches in the arcade are filled with statuary. Below the arcade the door is flanked with Norman recesses. The door itself is of Norman work with concentric patterned arches. The semicircular
tympanum depicts Christ sitting in glory in the centre, with Saints Justus and Ethelbert flanking him on either side of the doorway. Supporting the saints are angels and surrounding them are the symbols of the
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
: Ss
Matthew (a winged man),
Mark
Mark may refer to:
In the Bible
* Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark
* Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels
Currencies
* Mark (currency), a currenc ...
(a lion),
Luke (an ox) and
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
(an eagle). On the lintel below are the
Twelve Apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
and on the shafts supporting it
King Solomon
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
and the
Queen of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilqis in Arabic and as Makeda in Geʽez, is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for Solomon, the fourth King of Israel and Judah. This a ...
. Within the Great West Door there is a
glass
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
porch
A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...
which allows the doors themselves to be kept open throughout the day.
Either side of the west front rises a tower which forms the junction of the front and the nave walls. The towers are decorated with blind arcading and are carried up a further two stories above the roof and surmounted with pyramidal spires. The aisle ends are Norman. Each has a large round headed arch containing a window and in the northern recess is a small door. Above each arch is plain wall surmounted by a blind arcade, string course at the roof line and plain parapet. The flanking towers are Norman in the lower part with the style being maintained in the later work. Above the plain bases there are four stories of blind arcading topped with an octagonal spire.
The outside of the nave and its aisles is undistinguished, apart from the walled up north-west door which allowed access from the cathedral to the adjacent St Nicholas' Church. The north transept is reached from the
High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
via Black Boy Alley, a medieval pilgrimage route. The decoration is Early English, but reworked by Gilbert Scott. Scott rebuilt the gable ends to the original high pitch from the lower one adopted at the start of the 19th century. The gable itself is set back from the main wall behind a parapet with walkway. He also restored the pilgrim entrance and opened up the blind arcade in the northern end of the west wall.
To the east of the north transept is the Sextry Gate. It dates from
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
's reign and has wooden domestic premises above. The area beyond was originally enclosed, but is now open to the High Street through the memorial garden and gates. Beyond the Sextry Gate is the entrance to Gundulf's Tower, used as a private back door to the cathedral.
The north quire transept and east end are all executed in Early English style, the lower windows light the crypt which is earlier. Adjoining the east end of the cathedral is the east end of the
Chapter Room which is in the same style. The exact form of the east end is more modern than it appears, being largely due to the work of Scott in the 19th century. Scott raised the gable ends to the original high pitch, but for lack of funds the roofs have not been raised; writing in 1897 Palmer noted: "they still require roofs of corresponding pitch, a need both great and conspicuous".
On the south side of the cathedral the nave reaches the main transept and beyond a modern porch. The aisle between the transepts is itself a buttress to the older wall behind and supported by a
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...
. The unusual position of this wall is best explained when considering the interior, below. The southern wall of the
presbytery is hidden by the chapter room, an 18th-century structure.
Cloisters and ancillary buildings
The
cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
was at the heart of the monastery and its outlines can be followed in the
cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
garth. The eastern part was formed by Bishop Ernulf's Chapter House and
dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...
of which now only the western wall survives. The south of the cloister was the
refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
, the work of Prior Helias (also known as Élie) in about 1215. The lower part of the wall remains and is of massive construction. There was a problem to be solved, the older cloister was bounded by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...
. Helias simply drove through it the a doorway and used the wall as the north wall of the refectory.
Gundulf Tower

Immediately to the north of the cathedral proper and nestling in between the quire transept, pilgrim steps and sextry gate is the 11th-century Gundulf
Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
. This is the oldest part of the cathedral still above ground. Until the 18th century it rose as high as the adjacent parts of the church, some 65 feet. During the 19th century it severely decayed, until by 1897 it was recorded that "only ruins now remain". The lower part of the tower was roofed and the fabric made good in 1925. Most of the cost (£1600) was met by the
freemasons
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
. The plaque illustrated to the left is affixed to a wall therein. The three floors are now occupied by the cathedral music department (first floor and top floor) and the vergers (ground floor).
Nave

The western part of the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
is substantially as Gundulf designed it. The main arcade is topped by a string course below a
triforium
A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
. The triforium is Norman with a further string course above. The
clerestory
A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
above is of perpendicular style. From the
capitals pilasters
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
rise to the first string course but appear to have been removed from the triforium stage. Originally they might have supported the roof timbers, or even been the springing of a vault.
The easternmost bay of the triforium appears to be Norman, but is the work of 14th-century
masons. The final bay of the nave is Decorated in style and leads to the tower
piers. Of note is the north pier which possibly contains the
Oratory Chapel mentioned above.
The aisles are plain with flat pilasters. The eastern two bays are Decorated with springing for vaulting. Whether the vault was ever constructed is unknown, the present wooden roof extends the full length of the aisles.
The crossing is bounded to the east by the quire screen with the organ above. This is of 19th-century work and shows figures associated with the early cathedral. Above the crossing is the central tower, housing the bells and above that the spire. The ceiling of the crossing is notable for the four
Green Men carved on the
bosses. Visible from the ground is the outline of the trapdoor through which bells can be raised and lowered when required. The floor is stepped up to the pulpitum and gives access to the quire through the organ screen.
Mini-golf course
In July 2019, the Nave became host to a temporary nine-hole mini-golf course, with each hole including a model of a different type of bridge. A representative from Cathedral explained that "We hope that, while playing adventure golf, visitors will reflect on the bridges that need to be built in their own lives and in our world today." The course was open from 1 August until 1 September.
North transept
The north
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
is from 1235 in Early English style. The Victorian insertion of windows has been mentioned above in the external description. Dominating the transept is the
baptistery
In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
. The fresco by Russian artist
Sergei Fyodorov is displayed on the eastern wall. It is located within an arched recess. The recess may have been a former site of the altar of St Nicholas from the time of its construction in 1235 until it was moved to the screen before the pulpitum in 1322. A will suggests that "an altar of Jesu" also stood here at some point, an altar of some sort must have existed as evidenced by the
piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...
to the right of the recess. The vaulting is unusual in being octpartite, a development of the more common
sexpartite. The Pilgrim Door is now the main visitor entrance and is level for disabled access.
South transept and Lady Chapel

The original
Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...
was formed in the south transept by screening it off from the crossing. The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary was housed in the eastern arch of the transept. There are traces of painting both on the east wall and under the arch. The painting delineates the location of the mediaeval north screen of the Lady Chapel. Around 1490 this
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
was extended westwards by piercing the western wall with a large arch and building the chapel's nave against the existing south aisle of cathedral. From within the Lady Chapel the upper parts of two smaller clerestory windows may be seen above the chapel's chancel arch. Subsequently, a screen was placed under the arch and the modern Lady Chapel formed in the 1490 extension.
The south transept is of early Decorated style. The eastern wall of it is a single wide arch at the arcade level. There are two doorways in the arch, neither of which is used, the northern one being hidden by the memorial to William Franklin. The south wall starts plain but part way up is a notable monument to
Richard Watts, a "coloured bust, with long gray beard". According to Palmer there used to be a brass plaque to
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
below this but only the outline exists, the plaque having been moved to the east wall of the quire transept. The west wall is filled by the large arch mentioned above with the screen below dividing it from the present Lady Chapel.
The Lady Chapel as it now exists is of Decorated style with three lights along southern wall and two in the west wall. The style is a light and airy counterpart to the stolid Norman work of the nave. The altar has been placed against the southern wall resulting in a chapel where the congregation wraps around the altar. The window
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
is modern and tells the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
story.
The first, easternmost, window has the
Annunciation
The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
in the upper light:
Gabriel
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
speaking to
Mary (both crowned) with the
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
as a dove descending. The lower light shows the
Nativity with the
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...
, three angels and shepherds. The next window shows
St Elizabeth in the upper light surrounded by stars and the
sun in splendour device. The lower light shows the
Adoration of the Magi with Mary enthroned with the Infant. The final window of the south wall has St
Mary Magdelene with her ointment surrounded by
Tudor roses and fleurs-de-lis in the upper light with the lower light showing the
Presentation in the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jes ...
. The west wall continues with
St. Margaret of Scotland in the upper light surrounded by
fouled anchor
Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships.
Foul anchor
It is usually applied to the state of an anchor, which has b ...
and
thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
roundels. The reference is to the original dedication of the cathedral as the Priory of St Andrew. The lower light shows the
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
with
Mary and
St Peter. The final window is unusual, the upper light is divided in three and shows
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
with the royal arms flanked by
St George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...
on the left and
St Michael on the right. The lower light shows the
Ascension: two
disciples to the left, three women with unguents to the right and three bare crosses top right.
File:Rochester Cathedral Lady Chapel Window 1.JPG, The Annunciation and
The Nativity
File:Rochester Cathedral Lady Chapel Window 2.JPG, St Elizabeth and
The Adoration of the Magi
File:Rochester Cathedral Lady Chapel Window 3.JPG, St Mary Magdelene and The Presentation at the Temple
File:Rochester Cathedral Lady Chapel Window 4.JPG, St Margaret of Scotland and The Crucifixion
File:Rochester Cathedral Lady Chapel Window 5.JPG, King Arthur and
The Ascension
The first four windows have various dedications in the lower border, but the fifth has the cathedral, Kent and Rochester
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
interspaced with the dedication: "To the Glory of God and in proud and abiding memory of the following ''Old Roffensians'' , who laid down their lives for their country in the Great War 1914–1918". Below is a stone
tablet with their names inscribed. Under the fourth window is a slightly later tablet recording those of 1939–45.
File:Rochester Cathedral WWI memorial.JPG, WW I memorial tablet
File:Rochester Cathedral WWII memorial.JPG, WW II memorial tablet
Quire, aisles and transepts
The eastern part of the church is the old
monastic area. It is walled off from the public parts by the organ screen, side walls to the quire and cross walls in both aisles. The riots in 1327 are considered part of the cause, but this coincided with a general trend to wall off monasteries.
The north aisle is a simple passageway interrupted by a flight of steps and the cross wall. The steps form part of the pilgrimage route to St William's shrine (hence their designation as "The Pilgrim Steps") and are so worn by medieval feet that before 1897 they had to have wooden treads added.
The south aisle was originally the same width as the northern one. The 14th-century cross wall is still visible filling the arch to the east, now forming the entrance to the vestry over the crypt entrance. Gundulf's small tower occupied what is now the south western portion of the aisle. To keep the cloisters uniform, a wall was established from the tower to what is now the cathedral library. When the tower was demolished its base along with the enclosed area was incorporated into the south aisle. The new "Kent Steps" lead up from the widened aisle into the quire transept, whilst the old entrance now gives access to the
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
below.
Archaeological investigations in 2014 revealed an earlier Norman structure underneath the "Kent Steps". The foundations of the existing (14th-century) wall have been discovered to be
Norman. A doorway from the crypt led to a flight of stairs running upwards with a window looking out into the cloisters. This work dates from the first phase of the present cathedral. The detailed report is expected to be published in late 2016.
Before the Victorian renovations the quire had steeply stepped stalls and a pulpit. Removal of these revealed the medieval ''Rota Fortunae'' ("Wheel of Life") painting and the original patterning of the walls. The existing wall pattern is modern, being a copy of that found, but the painting's main
subject is untouched. Above the painted walls the
triforium
A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
is blind arched with the clerestory and sextipartite vaulting above. Some of the earlier timbers have been reused in the stalls, but most of the work is 19th-century.
Before Scott's work the quire stalls continued in their high-backed form and cut off the quire transepts. They are now open and form a single space to accommodate a larger congregation when required. The south transept has two openings which no longer lead anywhere; one originally led to the crypt (before the south aisle was widened), the other led up to the Indulgence Chamber.
The north transept was the site of St. William's shrine and the center of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. Of St William's shrine little now remains.
Edward Hasted
Edward Hasted (20 December 1732 OS (31 December 1732 NS) – 14 January 1812) was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, ''The History and ...
refers to a "large stone chest, much defaced", Palmer notes that the tomb in the easternmost bay of the transept is "reputed to be that of St. William".
The shrine was originally in the centre of the floor. The whole transept used to be known as St William's Chapel, the railed off area to the east being later called
St John the Baptist's Chapel and more lately the Warner Chapel on account of the monuments therein. Tucked into a corner of the Warner Chapel is a
cross of nails. In the centre of the north wall is the resting place of Walter de Merton, former bishop and founder of
Merton College
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...
. Two wooden doors are visible, one of which leads nowhere, access now being from the other side of the wall; the other leads to the
cathedral treasury. This latter is reputed to be one of the oldest doors still in use in England.
The north
quire transept and presbytery form a stylistic whole. The east end however has been substantially remodelled by Scott. The arcading contains the tombs of various past bishops, that between the Warner Chapel and the presbytery is unusually well preserved. It is the tomb of de Sheppey which was walled up at some point and forgotten about. As a result, it escaped the depredations of the
English Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...
. The tomb was rediscovered, uncovered and restored by Cottingham from 1825 to 1840.
Chapter room doorway
The doorway to the
chapter room and present library is described variously as "magnificent", "elaborate", and "one of the finest examples of English Decorated architecture in existence" by scholars who have visited and studied the cathedral. The two full length figures either side of the door represent the New and Old Covenant. The latter is a female figure with a broken staff and the tables of the law held upside down, blindfold to symbolise ignorance of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
. The former is a female holding a cross and church. Palmer notes that Cottingham's 1825–30 restoration work added the head of a "mitred, bearded bishop", but examination today reveals nothing of this.
Above these two are four
great Doctors of the Church: Ss Augustine, Gregory, Jerome and Ambrose. They are depicted seated at reading desks and lecterns. Above, on each side, are a pair of angels bearing scrolls and ascending from flames. The uppermost figure in the arch is a small nude figure. This is symbolic of a purified soul arising from Purgatory upwards towards a canopy, possibly the gates of Heaven. It may be
Hamo de Hythe who commissioned the doorway. Above the canopy the ogee outer arch rises to a final pinnacle bearing a
pedestal
A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
. Today there is no figure upon this pedestal. The outer arch is decorated with deeply undercut foliage. The spandrels and the areas under the figures are filled with diaper work, themselves noteworthy.
East end
Much of what can be seen of the east end is the work of Gilbert Scott, though closely based upon the earlier structure.
Crypt
The oldest part of the
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
is the two westernmost bays under the eastern end of the quire. It is part of the original 1080s Lanfranc construction with typical Romanesque
groin vaulting springing from plain
capitals atop quite slender plain shafts. The rest of the crypt is from a century later. The
plinth
A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
s, shafts and capitals are in the same style as the earlier work, but quadripartite
rib vault
A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
ing was used. Owing to the oblong shape of the bays, the shorter
transverse arches are pointed; however, since the other ribs are rounded, the overall appearance is
Romanesque. In places remnants of the mediaeval paintwork are visible in the vaulting. More medieval paintwork is visible in the east end window openings.
The eastern part of the crypt under the
presbytery has been converted into a
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
dedicated to
St Ithamar. Except when used for the
Sunday Club (for young people) during
Sunday Eucharist, it is reserved as a place of quiet and stillness for private
prayer
File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)''
rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...
and reflection.
Access to the crypt is down a flight of stairs from the south quire aisle. The stairs occupy the width of the original aisle prior to the demolition of Gundulf's small tower (''see above''). A wheelchair lift installed in 2017 provides disabled access.
As part of the addition of disabled access and the change of use of the crypt, the whole of the crypt floor has been removed and the area under it investigated by archaeologists. A
Roman house and the foundations of the original east end have been uncovered. () reports are not yet available, the published plans have been affected by archaeological discoveries.
Music
Organ
Rochester Cathedral's current
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
originates from the 1905 instrument built by
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. It was later rebuilt by
Mander Organs
N.P Mander Limited later Mander Organs Limited was an England, English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbi ...
in 1989, who installed a new choir organ and pipework under the advice of Paul Hale.
Organists
James Plomley is listed as
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
at Rochester in 1559. Among the composers, conductors and concert performers who have been organists at Rochester Cathedral are
Bertram Luard-Selby,
Harold Aubie Bennett,
Percy Whitlock and
William Whitehead.
Choirs
The cathedral
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
traces its roots back to the church's foundation in AD 604. The quality of the chorister training was praised by the
Venerable Bede
Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most fa ...
in his ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...
''.
[Music Department website]
Main choir
The main choir consists of the boy choristers, girl choristers and the
lay clerk
A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic cathedral in the UK, or (occasionally) college choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars choral w ...
s. The provision of boy choristers was why
King's School was founded in 604, at the same time as the cathedral itself. It still supplies boys from its
preparatory school to sing the treble line. The boys' choir do multiple services weekly. From 1995 a girls' choir was introduced to sing some of the
services for which the boys were not available. Girls now do alternate weekends; the boys' choir will do one week and the girls' choir will do another, and weekly Monday
services. Girls are drawn from any of the local schools. There are currently 18 boy choristers and 17 girl choristers. The lay clerks are professional singers who provide the lower three voices: alto, tenor and bass. For great services, all three parts of the choir may combine.
Voluntary choir
The present choir was formed in August 2008 from the previous auditioned adult voluntary choir. The voluntary choir sings for around 10 weekends per year, usually during holiday periods when the child choristers are unavailable. They also sing ''in lieu'' of the main choir at the Eucharist as required.
Bells
Rochester Cathedral has a
ring
(The) Ring(s) may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV
* ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of 10 bells hung for
change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...
in the English style. All were cast in 1921, some as memorials to men lost in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
or Great War. The heaviest bell is tuned to D.
Although it is probable that the original Saxon cathedral of 604 had one or more bells, early records are scant. The 11th-century Gundulf Tower has architectural features which indicate bells were placed there from the start. In 1154
Prior Reginald made two bells and recast a third, existing, cracked one. Two further bells were obtained during the 12th century as mentioned in the ''Custumale Roffense'' of c. 1300. In 1343, Hamo de Hythe arranged for the central tower to be heightened and hung four bells called "Dunstanus, Paulinus, Itmarus atque Lanfrancus" (Dunstan, Paulinus, Itamar and Lanfranc).
In 1635 the third was recast and in 1683 the fifth and tenor, followed by the treble in 1695. The fourth was noted as cracked in 1711 and a quotation obtained from
Richard Phelps. The contract went the following year to James Bagley who also quarter turned the second: "the striking sides being much worn". The 1695 treble was recast in 1770 and the 1683 tenor recast in 1834. In 1904 two further bells were added at the time that the tower and spire were rebuilt. Of the original six bells four were recast and two retained. In 1921 all the bells were recast and augmented to the current ring of 10. When bells are recast the original metal is reused with new metal added as required, therefore there is every reason to assume that the current bells contain the metal from all the original bells back to the time of Gundulf. In 1960 the bells were rehung on a new
steel frame
Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...
by John Taylor.
The service of dedication for the new bells was held on 16 May 1921. After prayers, the bells were rung for one minute, before the service resumed. Following the
service
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
touches of Grandsire caters and Stedman caters were rung. 15 members of the cathedral band and 31 visitors all took turns ringing. Because the bells are a memorial ring, including men who had died in the
Great War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, they were rung half-muffled on this first occasion.
For many years the reason why the number 3 bell bears the inscription "U.S.S. Pittsburgh in Memory of 1920" was a mystery. However a letter from James W. Todd, officer commanding
USS ''Pittsburgh'' was published in the ''Chatham News'' on 17 December 1920. In it he thanks the Dean of Rochester for various events during the two and a half months that the USS ''Pittsburgh'' was in dry-dock at Chatham. He encloses a cheque for £52 10s to pay for the recasting of the bell and discusses the inscription.
[Chatham News, 17 December 1920 p.7]
Dean and chapter
:
*
Dean –
Philip Hesketh (since 19 June 2016 installation)
*Canon Precentor – Matthew Rushton (since 25 March 2017 installation)
*
Priest-in-Charge
A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...
,
Borstal and Diocesan Canon – Sue Brewer (canon since 9 September 2018 installation)
[Facebook post](_blank)
an
Music Sheet
(both accessed 3 February 2019)
*Diocesan Director of Formation & Ministry and
Diocesan Canon – Chris Dench (residentiary canon since 9 September 2018 installation)
*Canon Chancellor – Gordon Giles (since 13 September 2020 installation)
Notable people
Grevile Marais Livett, a longtime precentor of the cathedral and later vicar of
Wateringbury, authored several books and monographs on the Norman churches of England as well as contributing extensively to ''
Archaeologia Cantiana'', the journal of the Kent Archaeology
Society. (Livett's name was a variant of
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of ...
, an old Sussex and Kentish family.)
The author
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
had wished to be buried in the churchyard at Rochester Cathedral. Instead, his body was interred at
Poets' Corner
Poets' Corner is a section of the southern transept of Westminster Abbey in London, England, where many poets, playwrights, and writers are buried or commemorated.
The first poet interred in Poets' Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400. Willia ...
inside
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
.
Notable burials
*
Sarah Baker (c1735-1816), actress and theatre manager
*
Francis Barrell (1662–1724)
*
Paulinus of York
Paulinus (died 10 October 644) was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in E ...
, first
Bishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers t ...
, third
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.
The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...
and
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
*
Ithamar
In the Bible, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", '' Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the construc ...
, first English bishop of
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
-birth, fourth Bishop of Rochester and
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
*
Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester and founder of
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
*
John Sheppey,
Lord High Treasurer
The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...
and Bishop of Rochester, buried under the altar of
St John the Baptist
*
John Somers, Elizabethan diplomat and custodian of Mary, Queen of Scots.
*
John Hilsey, Bishop of Rochester
*
John Warner
John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...
, Bishop of Rochester, buried in the Merton Chapel.
*Major General
Francis Henry Kelly
*
Richard Watts
Library
The Anglo-Saxon establishment no doubt contained an early
library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
, but no details of it have survived. When Gundulf established the priory in 1082 it was as a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
. As reading forms a part of the daily routine as laid down in the
Rule of Saint Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...
it may be assumed that there was a library by then. By the time of Gundulf's death in 1108 the number of
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
s had risen from the original 22 to over 60, implying a sizeable library.
In the of 1130 a catalogue of the library is included within it. There was the famous
Gundulf Bible (now in the
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...
, California); the ''Textus'' itself; scriptural commentaries; treatises by various Church Fathers; historical works (including Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History'') and assorted books on monastic life. Most books were in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, with just a few in Anglo-Saxon. One hundred and sixteen books are named, with a further 11 added later. These were volumes; some would contain multiple works within them. A further catalogue compiled in 1202 records 280 volumes. This latter catalogue was only rediscovered in the 19th century. It had been written on two leaves at the beginning of a copy of St Augustine's ''De Doctrina Christiana'' belonging to Rochester. The copy is now in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
.
The mediaeval library was located in different parts of the cathedral and precincts at different times. The
precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
was in charge of it and also responsible for providing the materials needed to enable copyists, illuminators and authors' work. Because all copying was by hand and taught locally, monasteries varied in their
style
Style, or styles may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal
* ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film
* ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film
* '' ...
. There is an identifiable "Rochester Script" of the 12th century.
When King John besieged the
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
(1215) some manuscripts were lost, and more were too in 1264 when
Simon de Montfort occupied the
City of Rochester.
The
dissolution of the monasteries was catastrophic for the cathedral library.
John Leland, Royal Librarian and
antiquary
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
, complained to
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
that young German scholars were appearing and cutting documents out of books in the cathedral libraries. Leland was able to save some
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
s and 99 from Rochester are now in the Royal Collection in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. 37 other works have been traced in England, Scotland, Europe and even the United States.
Following the Dissolution, the Old Vestry to the east of the south quire transept was adopted as the Chapter Room and library. Notwithstanding its change in designation, it is still used from time to time as a
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
by the clergy. The only contents to survive the Dissolution were ancient manuscripts, the 50 volumes predating 1540 appear to have been later acquisitions.
[. The figure 50 is taken from the 1953 text and may not be accurate today.] The library remained smaller than in mediaeval times, there were less clergy than monks. The
chapter members were required to be "learned and erudite" and possess a
university degree
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...
, so it is postulated that they would have their own personal books. From the 18th century onwards the library grew, in part due to donations which became traditional upon
deans and
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
s' appointments. Some legacies were received, notably Richard Poley of Rochester whose grave can be seen at the foot of the Quire Steps. In 1907-9 the east wall of the library was reconstructed, the floor replaced and new bookcases provided by the donation of T. H. Foord, a benefactor of both the city and cathedral.
Notable contents
The , mentioned above, is now on display in Rochester Cathedral. The ''Custumale Roffense'' dates from around 1300 and gives (in Latin) information about the priory's income and domestic arrangements. Instructions are given for the ringing of bells, confirming their use at this date. There is a copy of
St Augustine's ''De Consensu Evangelistarum'' ("On the Harmony of the Evangelists") copied in the first half of the 12th century. It is in its medieval binding, and from its script it is clear that the copy was made at Rochester. Also from Rochester is Peter Lombard's ''
Book of Sentences'' (''Questiones Theologicae'') from the late 13th century. There are a number of medieval charters.
There is a
Complutensian Polyglot Bible
The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is the name given to the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible. The edition was initiated and financed by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436–1517) and published by Complutense University in A ...
(Greek, Latin and Hebrew) printed in Spain in 1514–17. A ''
Sarum Missal'' of 1534 came from Paris. Rochester has a copy of ''
Coverdale's Bible'' from 1535, a ''
Great Bible'' of 1539, a ''
Bishop's Bible'' of 1568 and numerous other later copies. The ''Bishop's Bible'' is notable for the note at Psalm xlv.9: "Ophir is thought to be the Ilande in the west coast, of late found by
Christopher Colombo, from whence at this day is brought most fine gold."
Disabled access
Disabled access is via the north door into the nave transept. In the south quire aisle is a
wheelchair lift
A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, or vertical platform lift, is a fully powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier.
Wheelchair lifts can be installed in ...
over part of the "
Kent Steps". This gives access to the quire and presbytery level; there is a disabled WC near the foot of this. There is currently no disabled access to the crypt, but there are plans to insert a lift linking the three levels roughly where the existing wheelchair lift is.
King's Engineers

Gundulf, a monk from the
Abbey of Bec in Normandy came to England in 1070 as Lafranc's chaplain at Canterbury. His talent for
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
had been spotted by
William I William I may refer to:
Kings
* William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England
* William I of Sicily (died 1166)
* William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion
* William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
and was put to good use in Rochester where he was appointed as bishop in 1077. Almost immediately the
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
appointed him to supervise the construction of the
White Tower, now part 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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
in 1078. Under
William Rufus
William II (; – 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 son of William the Co ...
he also undertook building work on
Rochester Castle. Having served three
Kings of England
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the heptarchy, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the ...
and earning "the favour of then all", Gundulf is accepted as the first "King's Engineer". He died in 1108 and his statue adorns the west door of the cathedral.
Because of his
military engineering
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...
talent, Gundulf is regarded as the "father of the
Corps of Royal Engineers". The corps claims a line of Kings Engineers pre-dating the engineers of the
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...
in 1414 and the formal founding of the Corps in 1716 all the way back to Gundulf. This shared heritage and the close proximity to the cathedral of the
Royal School of Military Engineering in
Brompton means the Corps of Royal Engineers and Rochester Cathedral maintain strong links to this day.
There are over 25 memorials to individual officers and soldiers of the Corps of Royal Engineers, including that of
Lieut John Chard VC, the officer in charge of defending
Rorke's Drift against the Zulu onslaught, and a number of
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
s representing members of the corps that have given their lives in the discharge of their duty, including many stained glass windows presented by the corps. One such plaque, from 1881, commemorates Major
Samuel Anderson, responsible for surveying a large portion of the
49th parallel Canada–United States border
The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
in the 1860s and 1870s.
A memorial tablet was erected in 1902 to the memory of three officers, graduates of the
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...
, who died while serving in Africa: Huntly Brodie Mackay, Captain Royal Engineers; William Henry Robinson, Captain Royal Engineers; and
William Grant Stairs, Captain the
Welsh Regiment.
The latest memorial to the Corps of Royal Engineers was dedicated during the service of remembrance on the Corps Memorial Weekend, 19 September 2010, led by
Adrian Newman (then Dean of Rochester; later Bishop of Stepney), in the presence of the Chief Royal Engineer,
Peter Wall, and the families of the ten Royal Engineers killed in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
since September 2009, recipients of military decorations including the
Elizabeth Cross
The Elizabeth Cross is a form of recognition given to the recognised next of kin of members of the British Armed Forces who have died on operations, or as a result of an act of terrorism since 1 January 1948, after the Second World War. It bear ...
.
See also
*
List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
*
List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe
*
List of bishops of Rochester
*
Dean of Rochester
*
Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
*
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of Gothic cathedrals and churches, cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture, Got ...
*
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
*
List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
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* Microfilmed copy available for consultation at Medway Archives
* Microfilmed copy available for consultation at Medway Archives
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* . Keevill is the cathedral archaeologist who will be providing the formal report in due course.
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External links
Official website of Rochester CathedralRochester Cathedral Old Choristers' AssociationWebsite of the Rochester Cathedral Company of Bell Ringers
{{Authority control
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
Medway
Tourist attractions in Kent
Christianity in Kent
Church of England church buildings in Kent
Anglican cathedrals in England
Anglo-Saxon cathedrals
English churches with Norman architecture
English Gothic architecture in Kent
Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic cathedrals
Grade I listed cathedrals
Grade I listed churches in Kent
John Loughborough Pearson buildings
Diocese of Rochester
History of the Church of England
11th-century church buildings in England