George Vaults

The George Vaults is a public house located on Rochester High Street, dating from the late 18th century and 19th century, built over an early 14th-century vaulted undercroft, which dates from around 1320 to 1325. The building is constructed of brick and features a hipped tile roof. It stands three storeys tall with a regular three-window arrangement. The brick parapet has stone coping and a cornice band.

On the second floor, there are four-pane horned sash windows set under flat rubbed brick arches. The first floor features a large Venetian window with a configuration of two, four, and two horned sashes. The late Victorian pub front includes a glazed brick plinth, a central half-glazed double door with a rectangular overlight, large side windows, and blocked side doors. A rainwater head from the 18th century is located between this building and No 37. The left return of the building has a fragmentary dentilled cornice, and there is a modern boiler stack along with some hornless sash windows.

The early 14th-century undercroft is particularly significant, contributing to the building's starred listing grade. It is made of chalk ashlar and rubble, comprising four bays with quadrapartite vaults featuring longitudinal ribs. The ribs are chamfered with rubble infill, and there are foliated bosses depicting various creatures. The capitals of the shafts are moulded with foliated necks and pyramid stops, although much of the decorative detailing has eroded over time. There is one blocked pointed arch doorway to the east and other high-set blocked openings to the west. Additional arched doorways to the south, facing the street, are obscured from view. The undercroft measures 54 feet by 16 feet 8.5 inches and has a height of 11 feet. Drawings of the undercroft with details can be found in George Payne's work, 'Medieval Crypts at Rochester', published in Archaeologia Cantiana XXIV in 1900.