Rochester, Medway
Encyclopedia
Rochester is a town and former city
in Kent
, England
. It is located within the unitary authority area of Medway
and is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway
about 30 miles (48 km) from London
. The town is known for its cathedral
and castle
, and for an epic siege in 1215. Rochester, together with neighbouring Chatham, Gillingham
, Strood
and a number of outlying villages, makes up the Medway
unitary authority area.
name for Rochester was Durobrivae. This is commonly translated as 'stronghold by the bridge' or 'stronghold by the bridges'. This could have been a Belgic Settlement or oppidum
, but there was no bridge in AD 43. It was also known as Durobrovum and Durobrivis, which could be a Latinisation of the British word 'Dourbruf' meaning swiftstream.
It is recorded as Durobrivis c.730 and Dorobrevis in 844. It was pronounced as 'Robrivis. Bede
copied down this name, c730, mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp (OE Hrofes cæster). From this we get c730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester.
As the name for the city of Rochester contains the Latin
word 'castra', which is present in the names of many cities that were once Roman camps (e.g. Chester
Latin 'Deva'), it is often assumed that Rochester was a fortified Roman town, but no evidence has been found of such fort. The Roman street pattern suggests that it was a line of shops and houses built alongside a road, and systematic fortification did not take place until after AD 175.
The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.
All this is evidence of an important and thriving continuous civic life.
Rochester Cathedral is one of England's smaller cathedrals, yet it demonstrates all styles of Romanesque
and Gothic architecture
.
and the Medway
. Its castle was built to guard the river crossing, and the Royal Dockyard at Chatham was the foundation of the Royal Navy
's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses; the inner line built during the Napoleonic wars
consists of Fort Clarence
, Fort Pitt
, Fort Amherst
and Fort Gillingham. The outer line of "Palmerston" forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
and consists of Fort Borstal
, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton
, and the Twydall Redoubts, with 2 additional forts on islands in the Medway, Fort Hoo
and Fort Darnet
.
During the First World War the Short Brothers
' aircraft company manufactured the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184
, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the inter-war period the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire
'C'-Class and Sunderland
. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, the Stirling
.
The decline in naval power and in shipbuilding in general led to the government abandoning the shipyard at Chatham in 1984, and the subsequent demise of much of the marine industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area saw an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 15.9%. This dropped to 3.5% in 2004.
, form a single large urban area known as the Medway Towns with a population of about 250,000. However Rochester has always governed land on the other side of the Medway in Strood
. This was known as Strood Intra; before 1835 it was about 100 yards wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as Chatham Intra. In 1974, Rochester City Council was abolished and superseded by Medway Borough Council, which also included the parishes of Cuxton
, Halling
and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula
. In 1979 the borough became Rochester-upon-Medway
. The Mayor of Rochester was also Admiral of the Medway
and this dignity was transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the river which is constituted as a committee of the Council.
Like many of the mediaeval towns of England Rochester had municipal Freemen whose civic duties were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
. However, the working guild
of Free Fishers and Dredgers continued and still have rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone. This authority is effected through their attendance at the Admiralty Court as the jury of Freemen responsible for the conservancy of the river through current legislation. The freedom is passed through 'servitude' i.e. apprenticeship
to a working freeman. The annual ceremonial beating of the bounds on the river takes place after the Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.
Rochester obtained city status in 1211, but due to an administrative error when Rochester was absorbed by the Medway unitary authority it lost city status. Subsequently, the Medway unitary authority has applied for city status for Medway as a whole, rather than for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000 and 2002, and is applying again for the Queen's Jubilee Year in 2012, but is competing with a number of other towns for the honour. The City of Rochester Society has argued that
the application for city status should be under the name of "Rochester-upon-Medway" rather than "Medway", as city status has only ever been given to places rather than notional government districts, and the Green Party have also campaigned for the application for city status to be for Rochester rather than Medway.
Watling Street
passes through the town, and to the south the River Medway is bridged by the M2 motorway and High Speed 1.
There may have been a church in Eastgate dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, but there is only a passing Saxon reference to it.
There were three medieval parishes: St Nicholas', St Margaret's
and St Clement's. St. Clement's was in Horsewash Lane and when the last Vicar died in 1538 the parish was amalgamated with St Nicholas'. The remains of the building were finally eradicated by the building of the railway in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 alongside the Cathedral to serve the people of Rochester. The Cathedral was part of the Benedictine monastery of St Andrew and hence not a parish church.
After the Reformation the Cathedral was refounded as the Cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary and remained not a parish church. In the 19thC the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city the new church being consecrated 1859. Following demographic shifts St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined into a joint parish in 1953 and in 1971 the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement was absorbed into it. The combined parish is now "The Parish of St Peter with St Margaret" centred on the new (1973) Parish Centre in the Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's being retained as a Chapel of Ease
. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the Diocesan offices, but remains consecrated. Continued expansion South has led to the formation of a further new parish of St Justus (1956) covering the Tideway estate and surrounding area.
The town is home to a number of important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the Guildhall, the Corn Exchange, Restoration House, Eastgate House, Rochester Castle
and Rochester Cathedral
. Many of the buildings in the town centre date from the 18th century or as early as the 14th century.
, who had started building aircraft in 1909 on the Isle of Sheppey
, asked for permission to lease the land for test flying.
In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane
works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend
, John Parker flying their Short Scion
G-ACJI.
In 1979 the lease reverted to the council. After giving thorough consideration to closing the airport, GEC (then comprising Marconi
and instrument makers Elliot Automation
) decided to take over management of the airport. It maintained two grass runway
s while releasing some land for light industrial expansion.
Rochester railway station is on the Chatham Main Line
.
who lived nearby at Gads Hill Place
, Higham
, and who based many of his novels in the area. Descriptions of the town appear in Pickwick Papers , Great Expectations
and lightly fictionalised as Cloisterham in The Mystery of Edwin Drood
. Restoration house
located on Crow Lane was the house on which Charles Dickens based Miss Havisham's
(from Great Expectations
) house, Satis House
. This link is celebrated in Rochester's Dickens Festival each June in the Summer Dickens Festival and December with the Dickensian Christmas Festival. The 16th century red-brick Eastgate House once housed the town's museum. In the 1980s the museum was moved further west to the Guildhall so that Eastgate House could become the Charles Dickens Centre.
In the same decade the High Street was redecorated with Victorian
-style street lights and hanging flower baskets to give it a more welcoming atmosphere.
The Dickens Centre was ultimately unprofitable and shut in November 2004. Medway Council's Cabinet agreed proposals for the restoration and development of Eastgate House as a major cultural and tourist facility, and for the project to be recognised as a key cultural regeneration project on 7 November 2006.
dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which died out in the early 1900s. Whilst not unique to Rochester, (similar sweeps gatherings were held right across southern England, notably in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), the Rochester revival was directly inspired by Dicken's description of the celebration in Sketches by Boz
.
It has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dance
sides, to one of the largest in the world.
The current festival begins with the awakening of the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony, atop Blue Bell Hill
at sunrise on May 1. and continues in Rochester High Street over the May Bank Holiday
weekend.
, actress, lived in Minor Cannon's row adjacent to the Cathedral. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral. She was educated at The Rochester Grammar School for Girls. A local doctors' practice, local dental practice and a hall at The Rochester Grammar School are all named after her.
Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins
television film The War Game
, which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile. The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover, Gravesend and Tonbridge.
The 1959 James Bond
Goldfinger (novel) describes Bond driving along the A2
through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood
side of Rochester Bridge
, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway Medway bypass.
The model and actress Kelly Brook
went to Delce Junior School, Rochester, and later Thomas Aveling School (Formerly Warren Wood Girls School) Rochester
The Prisoners
, a rock band from 1980 to 1986, were formed in Rochester. They are part of what is known as Medway scene.
The University for the Creative Arts, formerly the Kent Institute of Art & Design, can be found on the Rochester-Chatham border.
published by Kent Regional News and Media; and the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group
. The town also has free newspapers in the Medway Extra (KM Group) and yourmedway (KOS Media
).
, owned by the KM Group. The area can also receive the county wide stations BBC Radio Kent
, Heart and Gold, as well as many radio stations in Essex
and Greater London
.
, and football, with teams competing in a Saturday league and a Sunday league
. Rochester F.C. was an old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Nearby Gillingham F.C.
are seen to represent the Medway area in football. Rugby is also played, Medway RFC play their matches at Priestfields. Local team Old Williamsonians also play nearby, and are connected to Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
.
Speedway was staged a track in City Way This opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the Rochester Bombers became the Romford Bombers
.
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located within the unitary authority area of Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
and is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
about 30 miles (48 km) from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The town is known for its cathedral
Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Norman church in Rochester, Kent. The bishopric is second oldest in England after Canterbury...
and castle
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
, and for an epic siege in 1215. Rochester, together with neighbouring Chatham, Gillingham
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....
, Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
and a number of outlying villages, makes up the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
unitary authority area.
Toponymy
The Romano-BritishRomano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
name for Rochester was Durobrivae. This is commonly translated as 'stronghold by the bridge' or 'stronghold by the bridges'. This could have been a Belgic Settlement or oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
, but there was no bridge in AD 43. It was also known as Durobrovum and Durobrivis, which could be a Latinisation of the British word 'Dourbruf' meaning swiftstream.
It is recorded as Durobrivis c.730 and Dorobrevis in 844. It was pronounced as 'Robrivis. Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
copied down this name, c730, mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp (OE Hrofes cæster). From this we get c730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester.
As the name for the city of Rochester contains the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word 'castra', which is present in the names of many cities that were once Roman camps (e.g. Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
Latin 'Deva'), it is often assumed that Rochester was a fortified Roman town, but no evidence has been found of such fort. The Roman street pattern suggests that it was a line of shops and houses built alongside a road, and systematic fortification did not take place until after AD 175.
The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.
Pre Roman
- Pre-Roman: Evidence of NeolithicNeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement nearby at Kit's Coty HouseKit's Coty HouseKit's Coty House or Kit's Coty is the name of the remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow on Blue Bell Hill near Aylesford in the English county of Kent. It is one of the Medway megaliths....
. Belgic remains were found in 1961 by R E Chaplin under the Roman levels. Coin moulds suggest that this was a centre of some importance.
- Celtic: Rochester was one of the two oppida of the Cantiaci tribe (the other being their capital of Durovernum Cantiacorum, modern day Canterbury). It was the western administrative centre of the Celtic kingdom.
Roman
- AD 4343Year 43 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius...
: The Romans arrived and called the settlement Durobrivae. On the strength of this name alone, one theory suggests that there was a 'fortified town by a bridge'. There was no bridge when the Romans arrived, and no fort has been discovered by archaeologists. Alternatively, Aulus PlautiusAulus PlautiusAulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
set up a small fort, which was not needed long, as Kent was soon settled. The Roman settlement provides us with the present High Street and Northgate/Boley Hill. A bridge was built. There is evidence that the Romans bridged the river at the same point as the present bridge. They constructed a substantial causeway, 14 ft (4.3 m) wide, over the marshy ground on the Strood Side of the river, from the river to the present day Angel Corner. - 190+190s-Deaths:* Sun Jian of the Wu Kingdom of China was killed in an ambush which destroyed his unit.* Lu Bu is executed by Xiahou Dun* Commodus, Roman Emperor...
: Systematic earthen fortifications were established. - 225+: These were replaced by stone, which are still extant.
- 427 Romans leave Britain
Kentish Kings
- 410 – 604: Tradition states that Rochester was continuously occupied by Celts, JutesJutesThe Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
and/or SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
. The Jutish brothers Hengist and Horsa landed at EbbsfleetEbbsfleet, ThanetEbbsfleet is a hamlet near Ramsgate, Kent, at the head of Pegwell Bay. Historically it was a peninsula on the south coast of the Isle of Thanet, marking the eastern end of the Wantsum Channel that separated Thanet from the rest of Kent....
in AD 449449Year 449 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Astyrius and Romanus...
, and defeated the Britons at AylesfordAylesfordAylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, 4 miles NW of Maidstone in England.Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. One pub, a Post Office and four small independent shops remain...
. - 600: King Ethelbert of Kent (560-616) made a code of about 90 laws dealing with criminal acts, which were copied in twelfth century in the Textus RoffensisTextus RoffensisThe Textus Roffensis, or in full, Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum , refers to a manuscript in which two originally separate manuscripts written about the same time, between 1122 and 1124, are bound together...
. - 604: Augustine of CanterburyAugustine of CanterburyAugustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
sends JustusJustusJustus was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, probably arriving with the second group of missionaries despatched in 601...
to found a cathedral at Rochester, 42 ft (12.8 m) high and 28 ft (8.5 m) wide. The apse is marked in the present cathedral. This was the second see after Canterbury. - 604: The King's SchoolThe King's School, RochesterThe King's School, Rochester is an independent school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school, and being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral, the Dean of Rochester Cathedral serves as the chair of the school's governing body...
is founded. - 676: Rochester was sacked by Æthelred of Mercia.
- 730: Bede writes down the name as Hrofæscæstre.
- 842: Sacked by the Danes.
- 877: Alfred of Wessex orders the building of ships to fight the Danes. This could be the start of Medway's military shipbuildingShipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
history. - 884: Under siege from the Danes again.
- 930: Rochester has a right to mint coins.
- 960: Wooden bridge across the Medway.
All this is evidence of an important and thriving continuous civic life.
Norman
- 1077: Gundulf is consecrated bishop.
- 1080: Gundulf commences the new cathedral, on the site between the Roman wall and Watling StreetWatling StreetWatling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, over the previous cathedral. - 1087: Gundulf starts building the NormanNorman architectureAbout|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
castle. Its curtain wall follow Roman walls, and its keep is 113 ft (34.4 m) high, 70 ft (21.3 m) × 70 ft (21.3 m) in breadth. - 1125: Textus RoffensisTextus RoffensisThe Textus Roffensis, or in full, Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum , refers to a manuscript in which two originally separate manuscripts written about the same time, between 1122 and 1124, are bound together...
- 1130: The Norman cathedral is complete.
Middle Ages
- 1215: Besieged by King JohnJohn of EnglandJohn , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. It fell on November 30. - 1227: Completion of Early English quireQuire (architecture)Architecturally, the choir is the area of a church or cathedral, usually in the western part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary . The choir is occasionally located in the eastern part of the nave...
at the cathedral. - 1264: City attacked by Simon de MontfortSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of LeicesterSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
. - 1343: Central tower at cathedral raised.
- 1376: The Plague hits Rochester
- 1461: The first mayor.
- 1470: The great window at the cathedral is built.
Rochester Cathedral is one of England's smaller cathedrals, yet it demonstrates all styles of Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
and Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
.
Tudor and Stuart
- 1504 – 1535: John FisherJohn FisherSaint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
, bishop. 1535 appointed cardinal and executed by Henry VIIIHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
because he refused to sanction the divorce of Catherine of AragonCatherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Canonised in 1935. - 1547 – 1550: Nicholas RidleyNicholas Ridley (martyr)Nicholas Ridley was an English Bishop of London. Ridley was burned at the stake, as one of the Oxford Martyrs, during the Marian Persecutions, for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey...
, bishop. 1554 executed by Queen MaryMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
for demands of faith: a Protestant martyr. - 1559: Construction of Upnor CastleUpnorLower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway...
to protect Chatham DockyardChatham DockyardChatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
. Upnor is an estuarine water castle. - 20 May 1660: Sir Francis Clarke entertained King Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
on the eve of his restorationEnglish RestorationThe Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
to the throne. Following this, his home in Crow Lane became known as Restoration HouseRestoration houseRestoration House in Rochester, Kent, England, is a fine example of an Elizabethan mansion. It is so named because King Charles II stayed there in 1660 on his way to reclaim England's throne, an event known as the Restoration....
. It was used as the basis of Satis HouseSatis HouseSatis House is a fictional estate in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations.Satis House is the home of Miss Havisham, a rich woman, heiress to her father's fortune, who was abandoned by her intended husband on her wedding day...
in Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
, by Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. - 11 June 1667: Dutch Raid on the MedwayRaid on the MedwayThe Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of the Medway, Raid on Chatham or the Battle of Chatham, was a successful Dutch attack on the largest English naval ships, laid up in the dockyards of their main naval base Chatham, that took place in June 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War...
. In the Second Anglo-Dutch WarSecond Anglo-Dutch WarThe Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....
the Dutch under de Ruijter broke through the chain at UpnorUpnorLower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway...
and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing and firing the English fleet. Trophies from the raid are in the RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
, Amsterdam. - 1687: Construction of the GuildhallRochester GuildhallThe Guildhall is an historic listed building located in Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom. It was constructed in 1697 and has been part of the Guildhall Museum since 1979. A notable feature is a weathervane dating from 1780 in the form of an 18th century warship...
, the ceiling being given by Sir Cloudesley ShovellCloudesley ShovellAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
. - December 1688: King James IIJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
spent his last night as king at a house in the High Street which became known as Abdication House.
Georgian and Victorian
- 1701: Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical SchoolSir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical SchoolSir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is a boys' grammar school in Rochester, Kent, often known as Rochester Math or The Math. It was founded by the 17th-century politician Sir Joseph Williamson, who left £5,000 to set up the school and another in Thetford in Norfolk...
, a boys' grammar school, was founded. - 1850: Thomas Aveling financed by his father in law bought a small millwrighting shop in Edwards yard, where he set up a business producing and repairing agricultural plant.
- 1861: Thomas Aveling and Richard Porter move to Strood and establish Aveling & Porter, the engineering company which was to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machines and steam rollerSteamrollerA steamroller is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for levelling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine...
s in the country. Of the 12,700 steam engines which they made, no fewer than 8,600 of them were steam rollers.
20th and 21st centuries
- 1974: The municipal boroughMunicipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
and city of Rochester merged with the borough of ChathamChatham, MedwayChatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
and part of the Strood Rural DistrictStrood Rural DistrictStrood Rural District was a rural district in the county of Kent, England.It was subject to boundary reforms in 1934 and 1935.It consisted of the following civil parishes:*Allhallows...
including the Hoo PeninsulaHoo PeninsulaThe Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in England separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of sand and clay hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is the Old English word for spur of land.-History:The Romans...
. The resulting district was the Borough of Medway. It was later renamed Rochester-upon-Medway, and the city status transferred to the entire borough. - 1998: the council merged with Gillingham and ChathamChatham, MedwayChatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
to form the Medway unitary authorityUnitary authorityA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
. The outgoing council neglected to appoint ceremonial "Charter TrusteesCharter TrusteesIn England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established...
" to continue to represent the historic Rochester area, causing Rochester to lose its city status - an error not even noticed by the council for four years, until 2002.
Military history
Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and the Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
. Its castle was built to guard the river crossing, and the Royal Dockyard at Chatham was the foundation of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses; the inner line built during the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
consists of Fort Clarence
Fort Clarence
Fort Clarence is a now defunct fortification that was located in Rochester, Kent, England.-History:The fort was built between 1808 and 1812 to prevent invaders gaining access from Maidstone Road to the River Medway. The work was composed of a long brick revetted dry ditch running between a...
, Fort Pitt
Fort Pitt, Kent
Fort Pitt was a fort built between 1805 and 1819 on the high ground of the boundary between Chatham and Rochester, Kent. It did not last long, becoming a hospital for invalid soldiers in 1828, with an asylum added in 1849...
, Fort Amherst
Fort Amherst
Fort Amherst, in Kent, England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Part of it is now open to the public....
and Fort Gillingham. The outer line of "Palmerston" forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
In 1859 Lord Palmerston instigated the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom because of serious concerns that France might attempt to invade the UK...
and consists of Fort Borstal
Fort Borstal
Fort Borstal was built as an afterthought from the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, by convict labour between 1875 and 1885, to hold the high ground southwest of Rochester, Kent. It is of polygonal design and was never originally armed...
, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton
Fort Luton
Fort Luton was built between 1876 and 1892 south of Chatham, Kent, England. It has a polygonal trace. It was never armed, but took part in the war games held by the Army in the 1900s, including a trial siege in 1907...
, and the Twydall Redoubts, with 2 additional forts on islands in the Medway, Fort Hoo
Fort Hoo
Fort Hoo, like Fort Darnet was built on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission on an island covering the inner navigable channel of the River Medway, Kent.-History:...
and Fort Darnet
Fort Darnet
Fort Darnet, like Fort Hoo was built on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission on an island covering the inner navigable channel of the River Medway, Kent....
.
During the First World War the Short Brothers
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
' aircraft company manufactured the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184
Short Type 184
|-Manufacturers:Source: Barnes and James#Brush Electrical Engineering Co. Ltd. #Frederick Sage & Co. Ltd. #J. Samuel White #Mann, Egerton & Co. Ltd. #Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company #Robey & Co. Ltd. #S E Saunders Limited...
, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the inter-war period the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire
Short Empire
The Short Empire was a passenger and mail carrying flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s, that flew between Britain and British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia...
'C'-Class and Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, the Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
.
The decline in naval power and in shipbuilding in general led to the government abandoning the shipyard at Chatham in 1984, and the subsequent demise of much of the marine industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area saw an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 15.9%. This dropped to 3.5% in 2004.
Civic history and traditions
Rochester and its neighbours, Chatham and GillinghamGillingham, Kent
Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....
, form a single large urban area known as the Medway Towns with a population of about 250,000. However Rochester has always governed land on the other side of the Medway in Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
. This was known as Strood Intra; before 1835 it was about 100 yards wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as Chatham Intra. In 1974, Rochester City Council was abolished and superseded by Medway Borough Council, which also included the parishes of Cuxton
Cuxton
Cuxton is a village in the unitary authority of Medway. It lies on left bank of the River Medway in the North Downs. It is served by the A228, and Cuxton railway station on the Medway Valley Line between Strood and Maidstone...
, Halling
Halling, Kent
Halling is a village on the North Downs in the northern part of Kent, England, covering 7.1 square kilometres of land. Consisting of Lower Halling, Upper Halling and North Halling, it is scattered over some along the River Medway parallel to the Pilgrims' Way running over Kent.The origin of the...
and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula
Hoo Peninsula
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in England separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of sand and clay hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is the Old English word for spur of land.-History:The Romans...
. In 1979 the borough became Rochester-upon-Medway
City of Rochester-upon-Medway
Rochester-upon-Medway was a local government district in north Kent, England from 1974 to 1998.The district was formed as the District of Medway under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the municipal borough and city of Rochester, the borough of Chatham and most of Strood...
. The Mayor of Rochester was also Admiral of the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
and this dignity was transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the river which is constituted as a committee of the Council.
Like many of the mediaeval towns of England Rochester had municipal Freemen whose civic duties were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. However, the working guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of Free Fishers and Dredgers continued and still have rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone. This authority is effected through their attendance at the Admiralty Court as the jury of Freemen responsible for the conservancy of the river through current legislation. The freedom is passed through 'servitude' i.e. apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
to a working freeman. The annual ceremonial beating of the bounds on the river takes place after the Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.
Rochester obtained city status in 1211, but due to an administrative error when Rochester was absorbed by the Medway unitary authority it lost city status. Subsequently, the Medway unitary authority has applied for city status for Medway as a whole, rather than for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for city status in 2000 and 2002, and is applying again for the Queen's Jubilee Year in 2012, but is competing with a number of other towns for the honour. The City of Rochester Society has argued that
the application for city status should be under the name of "Rochester-upon-Medway" rather than "Medway", as city status has only ever been given to places rather than notional government districts, and the Green Party have also campaigned for the application for city status to be for Rochester rather than Medway.
Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
passes through the town, and to the south the River Medway is bridged by the M2 motorway and High Speed 1.
Ecclesiastical Parishes
For parishes in the wider Rochester area see Strood and Frindsbury.There may have been a church in Eastgate dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, but there is only a passing Saxon reference to it.
There were three medieval parishes: St Nicholas', St Margaret's
St. Margaret's Church, Rochester
St Margaret's Church, Rochester is now a Chapel of Ease within the parish of St Peter with St Margaret, Rochester. Previously it was the parish church of St Margaret's Without . Hasted records it as having previously been called St Margaret's in Suthgate...
and St Clement's. St. Clement's was in Horsewash Lane and when the last Vicar died in 1538 the parish was amalgamated with St Nicholas'. The remains of the building were finally eradicated by the building of the railway in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 alongside the Cathedral to serve the people of Rochester. The Cathedral was part of the Benedictine monastery of St Andrew and hence not a parish church.
After the Reformation the Cathedral was refounded as the Cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary and remained not a parish church. In the 19thC the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city the new church being consecrated 1859. Following demographic shifts St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined into a joint parish in 1953 and in 1971 the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement was absorbed into it. The combined parish is now "The Parish of St Peter with St Margaret" centred on the new (1973) Parish Centre in the Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's being retained as a Chapel of Ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the Diocesan offices, but remains consecrated. Continued expansion South has led to the formation of a further new parish of St Justus (1956) covering the Tideway estate and surrounding area.
Buildings
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a...
and Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Norman church in Rochester, Kent. The bishopric is second oldest in England after Canterbury...
. Many of the buildings in the town centre date from the 18th century or as early as the 14th century.
Rochester Airport
Rochester City Council bought the land at Rochester Airfield in September 1933 from the landowner as the site for a municipal airport. One month later Short BrothersShort Brothers
Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
, who had started building aircraft in 1909 on the Isle of Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
, asked for permission to lease the land for test flying.
In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, John Parker flying their Short Scion
Short Scion
The Short S.16 Scion and Scion II were 1930s British two-engine, cantilever monoplanes built by Short Brothers and by Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd. in Rochester, Kent between 1933 and 1937...
G-ACJI.
In 1979 the lease reverted to the council. After giving thorough consideration to closing the airport, GEC (then comprising Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
and instrument makers Elliot Automation
Elliott Brothers (computer company)
-Elliott Brothers Ltd:Elliott Brothers Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom, tracing its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott in London around 1804. The research laboratories were based at Borehamwood, originally set up in...
) decided to take over management of the airport. It maintained two grass runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s while releasing some land for light industrial expansion.
Rochester railway station
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
.
Dickens
The town was for many years the favourite of Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
who lived nearby at Gads Hill Place
Gads Hill Place
Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gad's Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens, the most successful British author of the Victorian era....
, Higham
Higham, Kent
Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. The civil parish of Higham is in Gravesham district and as at the 2001 UK Census, had a population of 3,938.-History:...
, and who based many of his novels in the area. Descriptions of the town appear in Pickwick Papers , Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
and lightly fictionalised as Cloisterham in The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens. The novel was left unfinished at the time of Dickens' death, and his intended ending for it remains unknown. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, the story focuses on Drood's uncle, choirmaster John Jasper, who...
. Restoration house
Restoration house
Restoration House in Rochester, Kent, England, is a fine example of an Elizabethan mansion. It is so named because King Charles II stayed there in 1660 on his way to reclaim England's throne, an event known as the Restoration....
located on Crow Lane was the house on which Charles Dickens based Miss Havisham's
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations . She is a wealthy spinster, who lives in her ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella, whom she has sent to France, while she herself is described as looking like "the witch of the place."Although she...
(from Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
) house, Satis House
Satis House
Satis House is a fictional estate in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations.Satis House is the home of Miss Havisham, a rich woman, heiress to her father's fortune, who was abandoned by her intended husband on her wedding day...
. This link is celebrated in Rochester's Dickens Festival each June in the Summer Dickens Festival and December with the Dickensian Christmas Festival. The 16th century red-brick Eastgate House once housed the town's museum. In the 1980s the museum was moved further west to the Guildhall so that Eastgate House could become the Charles Dickens Centre.
In the same decade the High Street was redecorated with Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
-style street lights and hanging flower baskets to give it a more welcoming atmosphere.
The Dickens Centre was ultimately unprofitable and shut in November 2004. Medway Council's Cabinet agreed proposals for the restoration and development of Eastgate House as a major cultural and tourist facility, and for the project to be recognised as a key cultural regeneration project on 7 November 2006.
Rochester Sweeps Festival
Since 1980 the town has seen the revival of the historic Rochester Jack-in-the-Green May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which died out in the early 1900s. Whilst not unique to Rochester, (similar sweeps gatherings were held right across southern England, notably in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), the Rochester revival was directly inspired by Dicken's description of the celebration in Sketches by Boz
Sketches by Boz
Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People is a collection of short pieces published by Charles Dickens in 1836 accompanied by illustrations by George Cruikshank. The 56 sketches concern London scenes and people and are divided into four sections: "Our Parish",...
.
It has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
sides, to one of the largest in the world.
The current festival begins with the awakening of the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony, atop Blue Bell Hill
Blue Bell Hill
Blue Bell Hill is a chalk hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent. It overlooks the River Medway and is part of the North Downs. Settlements on the hill include Walderslade; and Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty villages...
at sunrise on May 1. and continues in Rochester High Street over the May Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
weekend.
Library
A new library was built alongside the Adult Education Centre, Eastgate. This enabled the registry office to move from Maidstone Road, Chatham to the Corn Exchange in Rochester High Street (where the library was housed). As mentioned in a report presented to Medway Council's community services overview and scrutiny committee on 28 March 2006, the new library opened in late summer (2006).Media
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBESybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
, actress, lived in Minor Cannon's row adjacent to the Cathedral. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral. She was educated at The Rochester Grammar School for Girls. A local doctors' practice, local dental practice and a hall at The Rochester Grammar School are all named after her.
Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His movies, pacifist and radical, strongly review the limit of classic documentary and...
television film The War Game
The War Game
The War Game is a 1965 television documentary-style drama depicting the effects of nuclear war on Britain. Written, directed, and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC's The Wednesday Play anthology series, it caused dismay within the BBC and in government and was withdrawn from television...
, which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile. The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover, Gravesend and Tonbridge.
The 1959 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
Goldfinger (novel) describes Bond driving along the A2
A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
side of Rochester Bridge
Rochester Bridge
Rochester Bridge was for centuries the lowest fixed crossing of the River Medway in Kent, southern England. There have been several generations of bridge at this spot, and the current "bridge" is in fact four separate bridges: two carrying the A2 road, one carrying the railway and one carrying all...
, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway Medway bypass.
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...
went to Delce Junior School, Rochester, and later Thomas Aveling School (Formerly Warren Wood Girls School) Rochester
The Prisoners
The Prisoners
The Prisoners were a band who formed in 1980 in Rochester, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" and "mod revival" scene of the early 1980s. They often toured with The Milkshakes, who included Billy Childish on guitar...
, a rock band from 1980 to 1986, were formed in Rochester. They are part of what is known as Medway scene.
The University for the Creative Arts, formerly the Kent Institute of Art & Design, can be found on the Rochester-Chatham border.
Newspapers
Local newspapers for Rochester include The NewsMedway News
The Medway News is a weekly newspaper covering the Medway Towns in Kent, England. Established in 1855 as the Military Chronicle and Naval Spectator, it relaunched as the Chatham News and Rochester, Strood, Brompton & Gillingham Advertiser on Saturday 9 July, 1859...
published by Kent Regional News and Media; and the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
. The town also has free newspapers in the Medway Extra (KM Group) and yourmedway (KOS Media
KOS Media
KOS Media is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England. The company operates local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.-History:...
).
Radio
The local radio station for Rochester is KMFM MedwayKMFM Medway
KMFM Medway is an Independent Local Radio serving the Medway Towns and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
, owned by the KM Group. The area can also receive the county wide stations BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
, Heart and Gold, as well as many radio stations in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
Sport
The main sports played in the town are cricket with many teams playing in the Kent Cricket LeagueKent Cricket League
The Kent Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Kent, England. The league was founded in 1970, and since 1999 has been a designated ECB Premier League...
, and football, with teams competing in a Saturday league and a Sunday league
Sunday League
Sunday League may refer to:*Sunday league football, amateur football played on Sundays in the United Kingdom.*The Sunday League, the precursor tournament to the National League in English cricket....
. Rochester F.C. was an old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Nearby Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
are seen to represent the Medway area in football. Rugby is also played, Medway RFC play their matches at Priestfields. Local team Old Williamsonians also play nearby, and are connected to Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is a boys' grammar school in Rochester, Kent, often known as Rochester Math or The Math. It was founded by the 17th-century politician Sir Joseph Williamson, who left £5,000 to set up the school and another in Thetford in Norfolk...
.
Speedway was staged a track in City Way This opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the Rochester Bombers became the Romford Bombers
Romford Bombers
The Romford Bombers were a speedway team which operated from 1969 until their closure in 1971. They had originally started the season at Rochester in Kent and entered the league as the Rochester Bombers...
.
See also
- MedwayMedwayMedway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
- GillinghamGillingham, KentGillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....
- Chatham
- StroodStroodStrood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
- Medway Little Theatre
- Rochester (HM Prison)Rochester (HM Prison)HM Prison Rochester is a male Young Offenders Institution, located in the Borstal area of Rochester in Kent, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HMP Cookham Wood....