Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle is a significant castle complex originating in the late 11th century, situated at the point where Watling Street crosses the River Medway. The site was one of the first to be fortified in stone following the Norman Conquest. The initial bailey walls were constructed between 1087 and 1099 by Gandulf, Bishop of Rochester, for William II, and incorporate remnants of the earlier Roman city wall. The keep was built in 1127 by Archbishop William of Corbeil. Subsequent rebuilding and repairs occurred between 1221 and 1232, after a siege in 1216, and again during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II (1367-83). Demolition and alterations took place around 1872. The castle is primarily built from Kentish rag stone, with tufa and chalk rubble.

The western section of Gandulf’s curtain wall survives, strengthened in the 13th century and incorporating elements of the Roman wall. A mid-13th century drum tower is found within the southeastern section, while the 14th-century eastern section includes two curtain walls; one, now forming part of a cottage, contains a vaulted room, a spiral stone staircase, and two garderobes. A fragmentary northern section of the wall is integrated into the garden walls behind High Street properties. A 20th-century wall with palings marks the northern perimeter.

To the northwest stands a bastion built between 1378 and 1383, which was altered and breached by a prominent Norman-Revival round-headed arched entrance constructed around 1872. The keep, lacking a roof and principal floors, is rectangular in plan with corner turrets, the southeastern turret being circular and dating to the mid-13th century. A contemporary forebuilding, containing a chapel and chambers, projects to the north and is accessed from the west at first-floor level. The main building includes a ground-floor basement, first-floor apartments, a great hall and chamber spanning two stories, and private apartments above. These are divided by a massive cross wall pierced by doorways, and a four-bay arcade at great hall level. The castle includes a well shaft, with a northeast staircase providing access to all floors, while a southwest staircase excludes access to the basement. Decorative features are sparse, with external detailing on principal doorways and upper-floor embrasures, and interior detailing including chevron patterns, shafting, and a great hall arcade with scalloped capitals. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.