Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle | |
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Kentish Ragstone |
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East 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.
Situated on the
Between 1087 and 1089, Rufus asked
During the
Rochester was besieged for the third time in 1264 during the
Early history
Castles were introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century and their construction, in the wake of the
According to the Domesday Book of 1086, the Bishop of Rochester was given land valued at 17s 4d in Aylesford, Kent, in compensation for land that became the site of Rochester Castle. Of the 48 castles mentioned in the survey, Rochester is the only one for which property owners were reimbursed when their land was taken to build the castle.[3] From the 11th century the castle-guard was a feudal obligation in England. This often took the form of knights garrisoning castles for their lords for a set period. There is no comprehensive list of which castles were owed service in this form, but military historian Cathcart King notes that they seem to have been predominantly high-status castles.[4] Rochester's castle-guard consisted of 60 knights' fees, marking it as a particularly important fortification.[5]
It was probably William the Conqueror who gave the city and its castle to Bishop
After the abandonment of Rochester's first castle, it was replaced by another on the current site, in the south-west corner of the town walls. Founded between 1087 and 1089, some parts of the castle survive, much altered by use and reuse in subsequent centuries. William the Conqueror had granted Lanfranc,
In 1127 King Henry I granted Rochester Castle to the Archbishop of Canterbury, William de Corbeil, and his successors in perpetuity. He was given permission to build "a fortification or tower within the castle and keep and hold it forever". Corbeil is responsible for building the great tower or keep that still stands today, albeit in an altered state.[11] The 12th century saw many castles in England rebuilt in stone, an advancement in sophistication of design and technology. Rochester had already been given a stone curtain wall by Bishop Gundulf, and the keep dates from this period.[12] It visually dominated the rest of the castle, towering above its outer walls, and acted as a residence containing the castle's best accommodation. A sturdy fortification, it could also serve as a stronghold in the event of military action.[11] Such was the importance of the keep as a symbol of Rochester it was depicted on the town's seal in the 13th century.[13]
Construction progressed at a rate of about 10 feet (3.0 m) per year. It was probably finished before Corbeil died in 1138 and definitely before 1141,
King John
Custody of Rochester Castle remained with the Archbishops of Canterbury until the end of the 12th century. Despite ascending to the throne in 1199 King John did not confirm
John met the rebel barons at Runnymede, and on 19 June 1215 they renewed their vows of fealty.
At the time, John was in south-east England recruiting mercenaries in preparation for his war with the barons. Rochester blocked the direct route to London, which was also held by the rebels. According to Roger of Wendover, the rebels at Rochester were led by William d'Aubigny, lord of Belvoir. Estimates of the size of Rochester's garrison vary, with the chroniclers' figures ranging from 95 to 140 knights, supported by crossbowmen, sergeants and others. Hearing the news that the city was in enemy hands, John immediately rode to Rochester and arrived on 13 October. Royal forces had arrived ahead of John and entered the city on 11 October, taking it by surprise and laying siege to the castle. Rochester bridge was pulled down to prevent the arrival of a relief force from London. The siege that followed was the largest in England up to that point and took nearly two months.[25]
Boley Hill to the south of the castle may have been used as John's headquarters during the siege. According to the
When the castle's outer walls were breached, the defenders retreated to the relative safety of the keep. It too withstood the efforts of the siege engines and once again John turned to mining to bring down the walls. The mine was dug beneath the south-east corner of the keep. A letter sent from Rochester on 25 November offers insight into the methods of medieval siege craft. John ordered Hugh de Burgh to "send to us with all speed by day and night forty of the fattest pigs of the sort least good for eating to bring fire beneath the tower". The wooden props supporting the tunnel dug beneath the keep were set alight to collapse the mine, bringing down one corner of the keep. Still the garrison held out and sought safety behind the stone partition or cross-wall in the keep, abandoning half the building. The Barnwell chronicler remarked that "for such was the structure of the stronghold that a very strong wall separated the half that had fallen from the other".[27]
Conditions within the keep worsened by the day and the garrison were reduced to eating horse flesh. To reduce the demand on limited provisions, some members were sent out of the keep, beginning with those least capable of fighting. Some sources record that they had their hands and feet amputated by the besiegers. On 30 November the garrison eventually surrendered and were taken captive. Initially John wanted to execute them all as was the custom of the time when a garrison had forced a long and bloody conflict. Savaric de Mauléon, one of John's captains, persuaded the king otherwise, concerned that similar treatment would be shown to royal garrisons by the rebels. Only one person was executed: a crossbowman who had previously been in the service of the king since childhood was hanged. Many of the rebels were imprisoned, sent to royal castles such as Corfe for safe-keeping.[28] Of the siege the Barnwell chronicler wrote, "Our age has not known a siege so hard pressed nor so strongly resisted ... Afterwards few cared to put their trust in castles".[29] Prince Louis of France, son of Philip II, was invited by the barons to become the new leader of the rebellion and become king in the event of their victory. In 1216 he arrived in England and captured Rochester Castle; it is not known how, as no documentary evidence recording the event survives.[30]
Henry III
John died in 1216 and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Henry, with the support of the barons. With no prospect of becoming King of England, Louis returned to France. Rochester Castle was returned to royal control in 1217. Given the damage incurred during John's siege, the castle was in dire need of repairs. Between 1217 and 1237 around £680 were spent on repairs, of which £530 were taken up by work on the keep. In 1225 and 1226 the town walls were enhanced by the addition of a ditch at the cost of £300. The new ditch enclosed Boley Hill, possibly to deny the position to future aggressors who might attack the castle.[30] Repairs began with the castle's outer curtain wall. At the same time a chapel was built within the castle. In 1226 the hall, buttery, and dispensary were repaired. Work probably did not begin on the keep until 1226. It was mostly repaired by 1227, but work continued on it until 1232.[31] During 1230 and 1231 a stone wall dividing the castle's enclosure into two parts was built which no longer survives.[32] While attention was paid to making the castle a working fortification, Henry III also funded construction of residential and other buildings. In 1244, £132 was spent on building a second chapel next to the royal apartments. Stables and an almonry were added in 1248. The main gatehouse was rebuilt between 1249 and 1250 at a cost of over £120. Further repairs were carried out on the keep in 1256, this time costing more than £120. Later in the decade further attention was paid to the castle's defences, possibly in response to Henry III's worsening relations with his barons.[31]
Henry III's reign was in crisis in 1258. He had recently suffered defeat in Wales, there were agricultural problems leading to a famine, and relations with the pope were worsening. Discontent amongst England's magnates led Henry to promise reform, but under continued pressure his authority disintegrated. A royal council of fifteen magnates was formed in June that year, and the rule of the country transferred from the king to the council. With foreign help Henry's reign was restored in 1261 as the council were reluctant to start a civil war. Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, raised a rebellion. In 1264 civil war broke out between those loyal to the king and the baronial forces led by de Montfort.[33]
Rochester's constable in 1264,
Later history
Though the garrison had held out within the keep, the rest of the castle had incurred severe damage, but no attempt was made to carry out repairs until the reign of Edward III (1327–1377). It was noted in 1275 that the castle's constables had not only failed to make any effort to repair the structure but had caused further damage: they stole stone from the castle for reuse elsewhere. In 1281 John of Cobham, the constable, was granted permission to pull down the castle's hall and chambers which had been left as burnt-out ruins after the 1264 siege. Numerous surveys in the following century bear testament to the castle's sorry state and follow its steady decline. A survey from 1340 estimated that repairs would cost around £600; another conducted 23 years later stated that it would cost £3,333 6s 8d. Natural weathering worsened the condition of the castle, and in 1362 a "great wind" damaged the structure. By 1369 few of the castle's buildings still stood: the keep, gatehouses, a hall, kitchen, and stable were all that survived, and even then in a state of ruin.[36] The keep was in desperate need of repair, but it was still in use and was the centre of the domestic life at the castle.[37]
Elizabeth de Burgh Queen of Scots, captured by English in 1306, was confined in the castle in 1314 from March to June.
Between May 1367 and September 1370 repairs costing £2,262 were carried out. Records show that sections of the curtain wall were repaired and two mural towers built, one of them replacing a tower on the same site. The towers were positioned north-east of the keep and still stand. More work was undertaken between 1370 and 1377, the year of Edward's death.[38] The royal apartments built during Henry III's reign were never repaired; it has been suggested this was because by the 14th century, when considerable sums were being spent on repairs elsewhere in the castle, Rochester had fallen out of favour as a royal residence. As the castle's importance as a high-status residence waned, its role as a barracks and administrative centre came to the fore.[39] The reign of Richard II (1377–1400) saw the investment of £500 in repairing the castle. This was in part in response to French raids on England's southern coast during the Hundred Years' War as England's fortunes in the conflict worsened. The most significant of these works was the construction of a tower at the north end of the castle, overlooking the bridge over the Medway.[40] Records document the sum of £350 spent on a new tower between 1378 and 1383, and it mostly likely refers to the one guarding the bridge. Rochester Castle saw fighting for the final time during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It was besieged and captured by a group of rebels who plundered the castle and released a prisoner. It has been suggested that the £66 10s spent in 1384–1388 and the £91 13s spent in 1395–1397 may have been partially in response to damage incurred during the revolt.[41]
During the reigns of
In 1610
By the 19th century, gardens were created within the castle's enclosure.
The 19th century saw efforts to preserve the castle. In 1826 repairs were made to the well in the keep. At the same time a survey was carried out by
The castle's state was assessed in 1961, and the cost of repairs estimated at £30,000
Architecture
Little is known about the design of the first castle at Rochester as it has since vanished, and even the exact site is uncertain. It most likely took the form of a
The castle built by Bishop Gundulf in the late 12th century was enclosed by a stone wall. Situated in the south-west corner of the city, the castle used the remains of the Roman town walls as foundations. The circuit had at least one tower; it was replaced in the 14th century. The original gateway was radically altered in the 13th or 14th century.[68] From across the River Medway, the twin landmarks of Rochester's castle and cathedral would have dominated the medieval landscape, symbolic of the authority of the church and nobility in the period.[69] Most castles were built by secular nobles, but the work by Gundulf and his successor Corbeil provide examples of the role of the church in castle building.[70]
According to military historian Allen Brown Rochester's keep is "among the finest and oldest in all England".
Keeps were traditionally built with an entrance at first-floor level, and Rochester's follows this pattern.[79] A forebuilding attached to the north side guarded the entrance. A stone staircase began on the west side of the keep before turning and meeting the forebuilding, which could be entered by crossing a drawbridge across a gap 9 feet (2.7 m) wide. There was another entrance in the west of the forebuilding, and at some point a new doorway was knocked through to the keep at the bottom of the drawbridge pit. The original door from the forebuilding into the keep was protected by a portcullis.[77]
The stone-built keeps of the 11th century generally had simple plans, with few rooms and an uncomplicated layout. Rochester's keep bears testament to a developing complexity, and provides an early example of a keep divided into separate areas for the lord and his retinue.[80] The thickness of the walls allowed rooms to be built into them, as can also be seen at the Hedingham Castle's contemporaneous keep, or the slightly later one at Dover. The keep's interior is divided for its entire height by a cross wall running east–west. The ground floor was used for storage, with the three storeys above providing accommodation.[81] The first floor probably contained a hall and great chamber, divided by the cross wall. This level may have been the accommodation of the castle's constable who looked after it during the owner's absence. There is a room called "Gundulf's Chamber" built into the thickness of the wall in the north-west corner; it may well have been the constable's private chamber. The second floor contained the keep's best accommodation and some of its most elaborate decoration. It is 27 feet (8.2 m) high and surrounded by a gallery in its upper half built into the thickness of the walls. The floor also had a chapel measuring about 28 by 15 feet (8.5 by 4.6 m).[82] At some unknown point in the post-medieval period, a fire gutted the keep, leaving it in its present state without floors or a roof. On the second floor, there are openings in the cross wall, broken by a series of Romanesque columns between round-headed arches. The cross wall carried a well shaft, with a well-head at each floor.[83] The third floor had a second chapel and access to the roof, and may have held additional accommodation.[84]
The current entrance in the north-east occupies the approximate location of the main gatehouse constructed by Gundulf and then rebuilt during 1249–1250. It was pulled down in the 1870s when the enclosure was converted into a municipal garden. An engraving from 1735 by the
In the south Gundulf's wall survived into the modern period, but has now been dismantled. The current wall is a 19th-century replacement. At the eastern end of this wall, near the southern corner of the castle, is a two-storey rounded tower 30 feet (9.1 m) in diameter dating from the early 13th century. It was built to fill the breach in the curtain wall caused when John's army besieged the castle and to reinforce a weak point in the defences. The section from the tower to the location of the former main gatehouse in the north-east dates from about 1367 to 1370. Two towers were built along the wall, each two storeys high and again using Kentish Ragstone. The one nearest the keep is relatively plain and the northernmost one more elaborate. The latter was intended for use as a residence and in the modern period was converted into a cottage. The wall between these two towers was reduced in the modern period, possibly to give a better view of the cathedral. Apart from the west side, the castle was surrounded by a ditch, much of which has since been filled in.[87]
See also
- Governor of Rochester Castle - including list of governors or constables
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- List of castles in England
- List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
- Ironclad
Notes
- ^ a b Brown 1969, pp. 5–6
- ^ McNeill 1992, p. 33
- ^ Harfield 1991, p. 379
- ^ King 1988, pp. 15–17
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 6
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 6–8
- ^ Creighton 2002, p. 56
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 7–8
- ^ Brown 1976, p. 44
- ^ Creighton 2002, p. 110
- ^ a b c Brown 1969, pp. 10–11
- ^ Coulson 2003b, p. 190
- ^ Creighton 2002, p. 68
- ^ a b The Paul Drury Partnership 2009a, p. 26
- ^ Hulme 2008, p. 213
- ^ Lyon1980, pp. 112–113
- ^ a b c d e Brown 1969, p. 11
- ^ Brown 2003, p. 139
- ^ Drage 1987, p. 123
- ^ a b Holt 1992, p. 189
- ^ Warren 1991, p. 224
- ^ Turner 2009, pp. 174, 179
- ^ Turner 2009, pp. 180, 182
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 12
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 12–13
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 13
- ^ a b Brown 1969, p. 14
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 14–15
- ^ Coulson 2003a, p. 160
- ^ a b Brown 1969, p. 15
- ^ a b Brown 1969, pp. 15–17
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009a, p. 45
- ^ Ridgeway 2004
- ^ a b Brown 1969, pp. 17–19
- ^ Waugh 2004
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 18–19
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009a, p. 49
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 19
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009a, p. 52
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 19–20
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, pp. 54–56
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, p. 56
- ^ a b Brown 1969, p. 21
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, p. 58
- ^ Ethel Williams, Anne of Denmmark (London: Longman, 1970), p. 158.
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 60
- ^ Thompson 1987, pp. 108–109
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, pp. 59–62; General Hugh Debbieg bio at en.wikisource.org
- ^ Cust 1912, p. 110
- ^ Creighton 2002, p. 85
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, p. 64
- ^ Hull 2008, p. 50
- ^ Marsden, Horsler & Kelleher 2006, pp. 10–13
- ^ Marsden, Horsler & Kelleher 2006, p. 74
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, pp. 65–70
- ^ a b Financial comparison based on average earnings; using Officer, Lawrence H.; Williamson, Samuel H., Measuring Worth Is a Complicated Question, MeasuringWorth, archived from the original on 1 September 2011, retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, pp. 71–72
- ^ a b Creighton 2002, p. 62
- ^ a b The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, p. 73
- ^ The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, pp. 73–75
- ^ a b The Paul Drury Partnership 2009c, pp. 25, 53–54
- ^ "Actor James Purefoy backs Rochester Castle campaign", BBC News, 4 March 2011, retrieved 27 September 2011
- ^ Historic England, "Rochester Castle (416269)", Research records (formerly PastScape), retrieved 6 September 2011
- ^ "Scheduled Monuments", PastScape, English Heritage, retrieved 27 July 2011
- ^ Historic England, "Rochester Castle (1336100)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 September 2011
- ^ "Frequently asked questions", Images of England, English Heritage, archived from the original on 11 November 2007, retrieved 3 January 2010
- ^ Drage 1987, p. 119
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 9
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 22
- ^ Liddiard 2003, pp. 3–4
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 5
- ^ a b The Paul Drury Partnership 2009b, p. 93
- ^ Brown 1984, pp. 38–41
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 30–35
- ^ Parnell 1993, p. 22
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 30–31
- ^ a b Brown 1969, pp. 31–35
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 37
- ^ McNeill 1992, p. 48
- ^ McNeill 1992, pp. 48–50
- ^ Brown 1969, p. 31
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 39–42
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 36–37
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 38, 44
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 22–23
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 23–27
- ^ Brown 1969, pp. 28–25
References
- Brown, Reginald Allen (1969), Rochester Castle, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office
- Brown, Reginald Allen (1976) [1954], Allen Brown's English Castles, Boydell Press, ISBN 1-84383-069-8
- Brown, Reginald Allen (1984), The Architecture of Castles: A Visual Guide, London: B. T. Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-4089-9
- Brown, Reginald Allen (2003), "Royal castle-building in England 1156–1216", in Liddiard, Robert (ed.), Anglo-Norman Castles, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, pp. 133–178, ISBN 978-0-85115-904-1
- Coulson, Charles (2003a), Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-927363-4
- Coulson, Charles (2003b), "The Castles of The Anarchy", in Liddiard, Robert (ed.), Anglo-Norman Castles, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, pp. 179–202, ISBN 978-0-85115-904-1
- Creighton, Oliver (2002), Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England, Sheffield: Equinox, ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8
- Cust, Lionel (May 1912), "J. M. W. Turner, R. A. – An Episode in Early Life", The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, 21 (110): 109–110, JSTOR 858941
- Drage, C. (1987), "Urban castles", in Schofield, J.; Leech, R. (eds.), Urban Archaeology in Britain, CBA Research Report, vol. 61, London, pp. 117–132, ISBN 0-906780-59-4)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Harfield, C. G. (1991), "A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book", English Historical Review, 106 (419): 371–392, JSTOR 573107
- Holt, James Clarke (1992), Magna Carta (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-27778-5
- Hull, Lise (2008) [2005], Great Castles of Britain & Ireland (reprint ed.), London: New Holland Publishers, ISBN 978-1-84773-130-2
- Hulme, Richard (2008), "Twelfth Century Great Towers – The Case for the Defence" (PDF), The Castle Studies Group Journal, 21: 209–229
- King, David James Cathcart (1988), The Castle in England and Wales: an Interpretative History, London: Croom Helm, ISBN 0-918400-08-2
- Liddiard, Robert (2003), "Introduction", in Liddiard, Robert (ed.), Anglo-Norman Castles, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, pp. 1–22, ISBN 978-0-85115-904-1
- Lyon, Bryce Dale (1980) [1960], A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England (2nd ed.), New York: Norton, ISBN 0-393-95132-4
- Marsden, Simon; Horsler, Val; Kelleher, Susan (2006), This Spectred Isle: A Journey Through Haunted England, London: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-905624-17-1
- McNeill, Tom (1992), English Heritage Book of Castles, London: English Heritage and B. T. Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-7025-9
- Parnell, Geoffrey (1993), The Tower of London, London: B. T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-6864-9
- Ridgeway, H. W. (2004), "Henry III (1207–1272)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- The Paul Drury Partnership (October 2009a), Rochester Castle Conservation Plan Part 1: Understanding and Significance (pp. 1–53) (PDF), Teddington: The Paul Drury Partnership, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012
- The Paul Drury Partnership (October 2009b), Rochester Castle Conservation Plan Part 1: Understanding and Significance (pp. 54–102) (PDF), Teddington: The Paul Drury Partnership, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012
- The Paul Drury Partnership (October 2009c), Rochester Castle Conservation Plan Part 2: Issues and Policies (PDF), Teddington: The Paul Drury Partnership, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012
- Thompson, Michael (1987), The Decline of the Castle, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-32194-8
- Turner, Ralph V. (2009), King John: England's Evil King?, Stroud: History Press, ISBN 978-0-7524-4850-3
- Warren, W. Lewis. (1991), King John, London: Methuen, ISBN 0-413-45520-3
- Waugh, Scott L. (2004), "Warenne, John de, sixth earl of Surrey (1231–1304)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press (subscription or UK public library membership required)
Further reading
- Ayers, T.; Tatton-Brown, T., eds. (2006), Medieval art, architecture and archaeology at Rochester, Leeds: British Archaeological Association and Maney Publishing, ISBN 978-1-904350-76-7
- Harris, Edwin (1901), William D'Albini: Or, The Second Siege of Rochester Castle, E. Harris & Sons, OCLC 560619427
- Rowlands, I. W. (1989), "King John, Stephen Langton and Rochester Castle, 1213–15", in C. Harper-Bill; C. J. Holdsworth; J. L. Nelson (eds.), Studies in medieval history presented to R. Allen Brown, pp. 267–280
External links
- Rochester Castle on English Heritage website
- Gatehouse Gazetteer record of sources relating to Rochester Castle
- Photos, 3d model and floor plans