Rochester Castle

 

• Post-Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror built the first wooden castle at Rochester.
• 1087: Bishop Odo took over the original castle after William the Conqueror’s death, but William’s sons (Robert and William Rufus) fought over the estate.
• 1088: William Rufus ultimately took control of the castle, and requested that Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, rebuild the structure in stone.

• 1127: William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, was granted the castle by King Henry I upon his brother’s (William Rufus) death. The castle would remain in possession of the Archbishops of Canterbury in succession until 1217.

• 1139: Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, inherited the castle after William de Corbeil.
• 1162: Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was granted the castle in succession.
• 1174: Richard of Dover, Archbishop of Canterbury, took over after Thomas Becket.
• 1184: Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, occupied the castle a decade after Richard of Dover.
• 1193: Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, took over after Baldwin of Forde.
• 1207: Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury supported the rebels during the First Barons’ War, which led to tensions with the king. He was the last Archbishop of Canterbury to occupy the castle.
• 1215: King John forced Langton to hand over the castle. A rebellion ensued, with William d'Aubigny, Lord of Belvoir, occupying the castle. Although King John ultimately won, Prince Louis of France’s forces came to help the baronial forces. However, after John’s death a year later, the war ended.
• 1217: Henry III, King John’s son, removed control of Rochester Castle from the Archbishopric of Canterbury, officially putting the castle back into the hands of the Crown.
• 1423: Catherine of Valois inherited the castle and used it as her residence. Upon her death in 1437, it reverted back to the Crown.
• 1610-1884: Sir Anthony Weldon was given the castle by King James I. However, the castle was considered uninhabitable at this time. Despite this, Anne of Denmark travelled to the site for dinner. The Weldon family maintained possession for over 100 years, before it passed to the Child family. The Child family would go on to sell Rochester Castle to the Rochester Corporation in 1884.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rochester_Castle_cutaway_model7022.JPG 

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/visit/places-to-visit/rochester-castle/research/reconstruction-1140.jpg 

General Layout

Today’s Rochester Castle is not the first castle erected on the site. However, there is much uncertainty regarding the original castle, and its exact location is unknown. It’s believed it was built by William the Conqueror, and may have been a motte-and-bailey design, complete with a wooden palisade and outer earthworks.

The current castle was built between 1087 and 1089. It boasted a curtain wall surrounding the site, and the castle was rebuilt in stone. During the 1220s, it featured a two-storey chamber block, a circular drum tower, a large bailey, and a gatehouse.

Original Layout

Rochester Castle sits in the southwest corner of Rochester at the crossing of the River Medway. Its defining feature was the square-shaped Norman keep, and this remains the focal point today.

Curtain Wall and Towers

The fortress was surrounded by a curtain wall and a ditch. The castle stood at a massive 6.7 metres (22 feet) and was wider at the base, measuring 1.4 metres (4.5 feet) thick at the bottom and 0.61 metres (2 feet) at the top. Embrasures were added during the 13th century.

Adjacent to the western curtain wall stood a two-storey chamber projecting out of the wall. This was constructed during the first-half of the 13th century for King Henry III. He also commissioned the building of the circular drum tower, which sat in the southeast corner. This tower measured about 9.1 metres (30 feet) in diameter.

The eastern wall included two towers, each two-storeys, built during the late 14th century. The northern tower was used as a royal accommodation and was more elaborately designed than the other (plain-by-comparison) tower. 

Gatehouse

Today, visitors enter at the northeastern end of the castle. This is the location of the original gatehouse, constructed in the 11th century.

Visitors would cross a raised stone pathway to cross the ditch that once surrounded the castle. From here, they would cross through an arch that sat between the two rectangular towers that jutted out from the curtain wall.

The gatehouse included a tower and postern gate. It’s believed that this tower had an apparatus in place that allowed those inside the castle to pull up supplies from the river below.

The gatehouse was rebuilt in the 13th century.

Castle Bailey

Rochester Castle’s bailey is still roughly the same size as it was during its heyday. This area once contained vast Victorian gardens and numerous buildings, likely including a hall, stables, workshops, and a well. The massive Norman keep sits at the southwest end of the bailey.

Keep

The keep is, by far, the most commanding part of Rochester Castle. The top of the turrets measures an incredible 38 metres (125 feet) in height. Rochester Castle’s keep is the tallest surviving keep in England.

Like the curtain walls, the walls of the keep are wider at the base and narrow towards the top. The bottom part measures 3.7 metres (12 feet) thick and the top measures 3 metres (10 feet).

The original keep was severely damaged in 1215 when King John laid siege to the castle. As a result, the southwest turret was rebuilt during his son’s (King Henry III) reign in a cylindrical shape, while the others remained square.

A rectangular turret held the entrance to the keep which opened to a receiving space. Within this waiting area was another door, complete with a portcullis, leading to the keep’s main space.

The keep boasted numerous windows with moulding of various designs. The higher windows were bigger than those below, and featured elaborate carvings and arches.

Access to the various levels of the keep was via a spiral staircase in the northeast corner of the structure. At the southwest corner was another staircase that led from the first floor to the top level. Both the northwest and southwest turrets originally included several small chambers, though the southwest tower’s layout was changed after it was rebuilt.

Inside the keep was a detailed interior, complete with wooden floors, latrines, and several fireplaces. The basement acted as a storage space and the two ground floors served as living quarters for the castle garrison.

The second level included the royal accommodations and gathering space, likely a hall. This level was by far the most elaborate, featuring large columns, moulded pilasters, and rounded archways with chevron designs. It’s believed this level may have once included a throne or king’s table. At the north of the second floor was a chapel, likely decorated with wall paintings, though none remain.

On the floor just below the roof sat the king’s chambers.

Modern Layout

The ditch that once surrounded Rochester Castle has been filled in.

Today, part of the curtain wall still stands, though it was rebuilt in the 19th-century. However, at the western end is an 11th-century herringbone pattern, dating to the castle’s construction in 1086. The northern end of the wall was destroyed to provide a more scenic view of the Rochester Cathedral.

The original gatehouse, turrets, and postern gate were dismantled in the 1870s and the area was transformed into a garden.

Although the keep still looks much as it did in its heyday, it has undergone some alterations throughout its over-900-year history. The original timber roof and floors are no more, but visitors can still see remnants of the elaborate window mouldings.

The bailey, which once housed numerous buildings, is the site of the Castle Gardens.