The Guildhall Including Ranges Running Parallel To Bull Lane

The Guildhall, including ranges running parallel to Bull Lane, Rochester High Street

This building served as the Guildhall and Court, with municipal offices. It is now the County Museum. The complex comprises the original Guildhall of 1695–7, flanked by later wings added in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The original building of 1695–7 is a freestanding two-storey structure with a symmetrical four-window range. It was designed to stand over an open colonnaded paved market place, with the Court Chamber positioned above. A rear stair turret served the upper floor, and the Council Chamber was originally located in the upper floor of this turret (the floor was removed in 1911, though the plaster ceiling survives). The exterior features an open-work polygonal bell-turret to the ridge and two flat-roofed dormers with two-light casements. A deeply projecting modillion cornice and segmental pediment over the two central window bays provide emphasis. The building is finished in rubbed brick with rusticated quoins; the central window bays are framed in rusticated surrounds that break forward slightly. The side windows have rubbed brick surrounds with flat arches, keystones, and panelled aprons. At ground floor, the market space was originally open but has been partly underbuilt. It is defined by a dentil cornice, frieze with triglyphs, and paired Tuscan Doric columns, with single columns set within the former market place.

The right-hand wing was acquired in 1838 and is a separately listed late 18th-century building. A larger Council Chamber was added to the rear of the first-floor Court in 1866 to designs by architect H Andrews.

The left-hand wing was added in 1891–3 by architects Goldsmith and Gosling in a sympathetic late 17th-century style. This range fronts the High Street and stands well forward of the original building. It is two storeys with an attic storey. The dormer is built into the roof hip and features a nine-pane sash. A deeply overhanging moulded modillion cornice sits at a considerably lower level than that of the original Guildhall. The front is a symmetrical two-window range with horned sashes (some glazing bars missing) in reveals, set under rubbed brick window arches with keypieces. A plat band and rusticated quoining continue the vocabulary of the original. The left return comprises a regular five-window range with matching details and three hipped dormers with nine-pane sashes.

Additional office space was added to the rear, towards Corporation Street, in 1907–8. This block, constructed in gault brick, comprises two tall storeys above a basement and features a modillion cornice with tall windows under rubbed red brick flat arches, a plat band, and large hipped dormers. A round window to the upper floor sits above a panelled door with rectangular overlight.

The building is finished in red brick throughout, with the 1907–8 work in gault brick. Kent-tile hipped roofs cover the structure.

The interior contains significant plasterwork of 1695, including the Council Chamber ceiling with a central oval decorated with fruit and foliage, rinceau work to the angles, and end panels containing heraldic devices. Large panels form a dado, and a doorcase with broken pediment and panelled double doors survives. A mayoral rostrum with contemporary iron balustrade stands in the chamber, accompanied by rear stairs with balusters matching the rostrum design. The plaster ceiling from the former Council Chamber (removed in 1911) displays heavier detailing than the Council Chamber, with a dense frieze of foliage and fruit and arabesques; a palmette and acanthus frieze frames a central putto. The plasterwork around windows inserted in 1911, together with the great doorcase into the Mayoral chamber, dates from that period. The 1866 Council Chamber features an elaborate coved ceiling with plasterwork decoration and contemporary stairs to the attic.

The original plaster ceiling was donated by Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Further alterations were carried out in 1911 and 1979–80.