Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral
Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary
IME)
Laity
Director of music	Jeremy Lloyd (Acting)
Business manager	Simon Lace

Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in

History

See also:

History of Rochester, Medway

Anglo-Saxon establishment

The Rochester diocese was founded by Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied Augustine of Canterbury to convert the pagan southern English to Christianity in the early 7th century. As the first Bishop of Rochester, Justus was given permission by King Æthelberht of Kent to establish a church dedicated to Andrew the Apostle (like the monastery at Rome where Augustine and Justus had set out for England) on the site of the present cathedral, which was made the seat of a bishopric. The cathedral was to be served by a college of secular priests and was endowed with land near the city called Priestfields.^[2][a][b]

Under the Roman system, a bishop was required to establish a school for the training of priests.^[3] To provide the upper parts for music in the services a choir school was required.^[4] Together these formed the genesis of the cathedral school which today is represented by the King's School, Rochester. The quality of chorister training was praised by Bede.^[5]

Setts

showing the outline of the first building.

The original cathedral was 42 feet (13 m) high and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide. The apse is marked in the current cathedral on the floor and the setts outside show the line of the walls. Credit for the construction of the building goes to King Æthelberht rather than St Justus. Bede describes St Paulinus' burial as "in the sanctuary of the Blessed Apostle Andrew which Æthelberht founded likewise he built the city of Rochester."^[c][6]

Æthelberht died in 617 and his successor, Eadbald of Kent, was not a Christian. Justus fled to Francia and remained there for a year before he was recalled by the king.^[7]

In 644 Ithamar, the first English-born bishop, was consecrated at the cathedral.^[d] Ithamar consecrated Deusdedit as the first Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury on 26 March 655.^[8]

The cathedral suffered much from the ravaging of Kent by King

In 762, the local overlord,

as overlord of the local kingdom.

Following the

Medieval priory

Gundulf's church

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, amongst others, brought Odo to account at the trial of Penenden Heath c. 1072. Following Odo's final fall, Gundulf was appointed as the first Norman bishop of Rochester in 1077. The cathedral and its lands were restored to the bishop.

Gundulf's first undertaking in the construction of the new cathedral seems to have been the construction of the tower which today bears his name. In about 1080 he began construction of a new cathedral to replace Justus' church. He was a talented architect who probably played a major part in the design or the works he commissioned. The original cathedral had a

, obtained several royal grants of land and proved a great benefactor to his cathedral city.

In 1078 Gudulf founded

During the episcopates of Ernulf (1115–1124) and John (I) (1125–1137) the cathedral was completed. The quire was rearranged, the nave partly rebuilt, Gundulf's nave piers were cased and the west end built. Ernulf is also credited with building the refectory, dormitory and chapter house, only portions of which remain. Finally John translated the body of Ithamar from the old Saxon cathedral to the new Norman one, the whole being dedicated in 1130 (or possibly 1133) by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by 13 bishops in the presence of Henry I, but the occasion was marred by a great fire which nearly destroyed the whole city and damaged the new cathedral. It was badly damaged by fires again in 1137 and 1179. One or other of these fires was sufficiently severe to badly damage or destroy the eastern arm and the transepts. Ernulf's monastic buildings were also damaged.

Medieval remodelling

Probably from about 1190, Gilbert de Glanville (bishop 1185–1214) commenced the rebuilding of the east end and the replacement on the monastic buildings. The north quire transept may have been sufficiently advanced to allow the burial of St William of Perth in 1201, alternatively the coffin may have lain in the north quire aisle until the transept was ready. It was then looted in 1215 by the forces of King John during the siege of Rochester Castle. Edmund de Hadenham recounts that there was not a pyx left "in which the body of the Lord might rest upon the altar".^[13] However, by 1227, the quire was again in use when the monks made their solemn entry into it. The cathedral was rededicated in 1240 by Richard Wendene (also known as Richard de Wendover) who had been translated from Bangor.^[13][17]

The

of Ss Paulinus and William of Perth, along with the relics of St Ithamar, drew pilgrims to the cathedral. Their offerings were so great that both the work mentioned above and the ensuing work could be funded.

Unlike the abbeys of the period (which were led by an abbot) the monastic cathedrals were priories ruled over by a prior with further support from the bishop.^[18] Rochester and Carlisle (the other impoverished see) were unusual in securing the promotion of a number of monks to be bishop. Seven bishops of Rochester were originally regular monks between 1215 and the Dissolution.^[19] A consequence of the monastic attachment was a lack of patronage at the bishop's disposal. By the early 16th century only 4% of the bishop's patronage came from non-parochial sources.^[20] The bishop was therefore chronically limited in funds to spend on the non-monastic part of the cathedral.

The next phase of the development was begun by Richard de Eastgate, the sacrist. The two eastern bays of the nave were cleared and the four large piers to support the tower were built. The north nave transept was then constructed. The work was nearly completed by Thomas de Mepeham who became sacrist in 1255. Not long after the south transept was completed and the two bays of the nave nearest the crossing rebuilt to their current form. The intention seems to have been to rebuild the whole nave, but probably lack of funds saved the late Norman work.

The cathedral was desecrated in 1264 by the troops of

. Later, in 1300, Edward passed through Rochester on his way to Canterbury and is recorded as having given seven shillings (35p) at the shrine of St William, and the same again the following day. During his return he again visited the cathedral and gave a further seven shillings at each of the shrines of Ss Paulinus and Ithamar.

The new century saw the completion of the new

, the rebuilding of the nave being finally abandoned. Around 1320 the south transept was altered to accommodate the altar of the Virgin Mary.

There appears to have been a rood screen thrown between the two western piers of the crossing. A rood loft may have surmounted it.

consecrated hosts

was often made to the north of the altar which would be the case here.

The central tower was at last raised by

Later medieval history

The modern paintwork of the quire walls is modelled on artwork from the Middle Ages. Gilbert Scott found remains of painting behind the wooden stalls during his restoration work in the 1870s. The painting is therefore part original and part authentic. The alternate

The Oratory provided for the Rochester citizens did not settle the differences between the monks and the

In the mid-15th century the clerestory and vaulting of the north quire aisle was completed and new

In 1504

.

Henry VIII visited Rochester on 1 January 1540 when he met Anne of Cleves, who was to become his fourth wife, for the first time and was "greatly disappointed".^[30] Whether connected or not, the old Priory of St Andrew was dissolved by royal command later in the year, one of the last monasteries to be dissolved.

Modern foundation

Henrician settlement

The post-Dissolution foundation was a

. The plot failed and Ridley paid the price; he was burnt at the stake for treason on 16 October 1555.

The cathedral suffered a steep decline after the

.

William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, visited the cathedral in 1633 and complained about its general state, in particular that it "suffered much for want of glass in the windows".^[33] By the following year the defects had been mainly remedied (apart from some of the glass), the excuse being that the backlog had built up due to money (£1,000) being spent on "making of the organs".^[33] Laud accepted this and required completion, noting among other items that the bells and their frame needed to be put into good order (see below, in 1635 one bell was recast).^[34]

In 1635 the cathedral was described as: "small and plaine, yet it is very lightsome and pleasant: her [the cathedral's] quire is neatly adorn'd with many small pillars of marble; her organs though small yet are they rich and neat; her quiristers though but few, yet orderly and decent." The author then describes the various monuments "divers others also of antiquity, so dismembred, defac'd and abused".^[35] The reference to the monuments is particularly relevant, for this was six years before the despoliation of the cathedral by Parliamentarian soldiers in the wake of the English Civil War.

In 1641 John Evelyn paid his first visit to the cathedral as recorded in his diary: "The 19th we rod to Rochester, and having seene the Cathedrall."^[36]

Civil War

The official record runs: "On Wednesday, being

Shortly after the

The cathedral fabric required continuous care: in 1664 the south aisle was recased and in 1670 40' of the north aisle had to be rebuilt.

The cathedral's south quire aisle and transept were giving cause for concern, so in 1751 they were buttressed, the roof lightened and supporting brickwork placed in the crypt. In 1798 Edward Hasted wrote a description of the cathedral and its environs, published as part of his The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. He observed that "time has so far impaired the strength of the materials with which it is built, that in all likelihood the care and attention of the present chapter towards the support of it will not be sufficient to prevent the fall of a great part of it at no great distance of time".^[45] A new organ in 1791 completed the 18th-century works.

19th century onwards

From 1825 to 1830

Cottingham remained in charge for the next phase of restoration. From 1840 the pulpit and bishop's throne were rebuilt. The removal of the old pulpit revealed the medieval Wheel of Life painting to be seen at the eastern end of the choir stalls today. It is said to be the oldest such painting in England.^[47] A new ceiling of the crossing, new canopy for John de Sheppey, cleaning whitewash and the renovation of the crypt all occurred at this time.^[48]

From 1871 to 1877 the work was entrusted to George Gilbert Scott. The first phase of the work was to repair the clerestory of the nave, the nave could then be used for service whilst the quire and transepts were worked upon. The south transept was underpinned and the timber vaulting renovated. The north transept had new western windows and a new door. Both had the masonry renovated. The gables and roofs were restored to their old high pitch form based on prints. The organ screen was restored to its original plain form, perhaps a mistake since there was now no screen on the other side of the pulpitum as there had been in the days of St Nicholas' altar. The east end gables were raised, but due to lack of funds the roof has still not been raised to match. The east window ("ugly" according to Palmer) was replaced with the present lancets. The floor of the presbytery was lowered and the whole eastern part of the building refloored. The choir and prebends stalls were renovated, using original material where possible. The work uncovered the original lion and fleur-de-lis heraldic artwork on which Scott based his decoration of the quire.^[49]

In memory of Robert Scott (sometime Dean) the quire screen was decorated with the current statues by J. Loughborough Pearson. Pearson also superintended the 1888 restoration of the west front, parts of the facing of which were separating from the core. The flanking towers were restored to the original height and form and the north gable turret rendered as a copy of its partner to the south. During this work the ancient foundations of the original church were uncovered and marked out as noted above.^[50]

In 1904 the present

For the 1400th anniversary of the cathedral, in 2004, a new fresco was painted by Russian icon-painter Sergei Fyodorov in the north transept.

Architecture

External

The west front is dominated by the central

which allows the doors themselves to be kept open throughout the day.

Either side of the west front rises a tower which forms the junction of the front and the nave walls. The towers are decorated with blind arcading and are carried up a further two stories above the roof and surmounted with pyramidal spires. The aisle ends are Norman. Each has a large round headed arch containing a window and in the northern recess is a small door. Above each arch is plain wall surmounted by a blind arcade, string course at the roof line and plain parapet. The flanking towers are Norman in the lower part with the style being maintained in the later work. Above the plain bases there are four stories of blind arcading topped with an octagonal spire.[54]

The outside of the nave and its aisles is undistinguished, apart from the walled up north-west door which allowed access from the cathedral to the adjacent St Nicholas' Church.^[27] The north transept is reached from the High Street via Black Boy Alley, a medieval pilgrimage route. The decoration is Early English, but reworked by Gilbert Scott. Scott rebuilt the gable ends to the original high pitch from the lower one adopted at the start of the 19th century. The gable itself is set back from the main wall behind a parapet with walkway. He also restored the pilgrim entrance and opened up the blind arcade in the northern end of the west wall.^[55]

To the east of the north transept is the Sextry Gate. It dates from

's reign and has wooden domestic premises above. The area beyond was originally enclosed, but is now open to the High Street through the memorial garden and gates. Beyond the Sextry Gate is the entrance to Gundulf's Tower, used as a private back door to the cathedral.

The north quire transept and east end are all executed in Early English style, the lower windows light the crypt which is earlier. Adjoining the east end of the cathedral is the east end of the Chapter Room which is in the same style. The exact form of the east end is more modern than it appears, being largely due to the work of Scott in the 19th century. Scott raised the gable ends to the original high pitch, but for lack of funds the roofs have not been raised; writing in 1897 Palmer noted: "they still require roofs of corresponding pitch, a need both great and conspicuous".^[56]

On the south side of the cathedral the nave reaches the main transept and beyond a modern porch. The aisle between the transepts is itself a buttress to the older wall behind and supported by a

is hidden by the chapter room, an 18th-century structure.

Cloisters and ancillary buildings

The

Gundulf Tower

Immediately to the north of the cathedral proper and nestling in between the quire transept, pilgrim steps and sextry gate is the 11th-century Gundulf

. The plaque illustrated to the left is affixed to a wall therein. The three floors are now occupied by the cathedral music department (first floor and top floor) and the vergers (ground floor).

Nave

The western part of the

The easternmost bay of the triforium appears to be Norman, but is the work of 14th-century

The aisles are plain with flat pilasters. The eastern two bays are Decorated with springing for vaulting. Whether the vault was ever constructed is unknown, the present wooden roof extends the full length of the aisles.

The crossing is bounded to the east by the quire screen with the organ above. This is of 19th-century work and shows figures associated with the early cathedral. Above the crossing is the central tower, housing the bells and above that the spire. The ceiling of the crossing is notable for the four

. Visible from the ground is the outline of the trapdoor through which bells can be raised and lowered when required. The floor is stepped up to the pulpitum and gives access to the quire through the organ screen.

Mini-golf course

In July 2019, the Nave became host to a temporary nine-hole mini-golf course, with each hole including a model of a different type of bridge. A representative from Cathedral explained that "We hope that, while playing adventure golf, visitors will reflect on the bridges that need to be built in their own lives and in our world today." The course was open from 1 August until 1 September.[62]

North transept

The north transept is from 1235 in Early English style. The Victorian insertion of windows has been mentioned above in the external description. Dominating the transept is the baptistery fresco. The fresco by Russian artist Sergei Fyodorov is displayed on the eastern wall. It is located within an arched recess. The recess may have been a former site of the altar of St Nicholas from the time of its construction in 1235 until it was moved to the screen before the pulpitum in 1322. A will suggests that "an altar of Jesu" also stood here at some point, an altar of some sort must have existed as evidenced by the piscina to the right of the recess.^[63] The vaulting is unusual in being octpartite, a development of the more common sexpartite. The Pilgrim Door is now the main visitor entrance and is level for disabled access.

South transept and Lady Chapel

The original Lady Chapel was formed in the south transept by screening it off from the crossing. The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary was housed in the eastern arch of the transept. There are traces of painting both on the east wall and under the arch. The painting delineates the location of the mediaeval north screen of the Lady Chapel. Around 1490 this chapel was extended westwards by piercing the western wall with a large arch and building the chapel's nave against the existing south aisle of cathedral. From within the Lady Chapel the upper parts of two smaller clerestory windows may be seen above the chapel's chancel arch. Subsequently, a screen was placed under the arch and the modern Lady Chapel formed in the 1490 extension.

The south transept is of early Decorated style. The eastern wall of it is a single wide arch at the arcade level. There are two doorways in the arch, neither of which is used, the northern one being hidden by the memorial to William Franklin. The south wall starts plain but part way up is a notable monument to Richard Watts, a "coloured bust, with long gray beard".^[64] According to Palmer there used to be a brass plaque to Charles Dickens below this but only the outline exists, the plaque having been moved to the east wall of the quire transept.^[65] The west wall is filled by the large arch mentioned above with the screen below dividing it from the present Lady Chapel.

The Lady Chapel as it now exists is of Decorated style with three lights along southern wall and two in the west wall. The style is a light and airy counterpart to the stolid Norman work of the nave. The altar has been placed against the southern wall resulting in a chapel where the congregation wraps around the altar. The window stained glass is modern and tells the gospel story.

The first, easternmost, window has the

to the left, three women with unguents to the right and three bare crosses top right.

• 
  The Annunciation and
  The Nativity
• 
  St Elizabeth and
  The Adoration of the Magi
• 
  St Mary Magdelene and

  The Presentation at the Temple
• 
  St Margaret of Scotland and The Crucifixion
• 
  King Arthur and
  The Ascension

The first four windows have various dedications in the lower border, but the fifth has the cathedral, Kent and Rochester arms interspaced with the dedication: "To the Glory of God and in proud and abiding memory of the following Old Roffensians | who laid down their lives for their country in the Great War 1914–1918". Below is a stone tablet with their names inscribed. Under the fourth window is a slightly later tablet recording those of 1939–45.

• 
  WW I memorial tablet
• 
  WW II memorial tablet

Quire, aisles and transepts

The eastern part of the church is the old monastic area. It is walled off from the public parts by the organ screen, side walls to the quire and cross walls in both aisles. The riots in 1327 are considered part of the cause, but this coincided with a general trend to wall off monasteries.^[23]

The north aisle is a simple passageway interrupted by a flight of steps and the cross wall. The steps form part of the pilgrimage route to St William's shrine (hence their designation as "The Pilgrim Steps") and are so worn by medieval feet that before 1897 they had to have wooden treads added.^[66]

The south aisle was originally the same width as the northern one. The 14th-century cross wall is still visible filling the arch to the east, now forming the entrance to the vestry over the crypt entrance. Gundulf's small tower occupied what is now the south western portion of the aisle. To keep the cloisters uniform, a wall was established from the tower to what is now the cathedral library. When the tower was demolished its base along with the enclosed area was incorporated into the south aisle. The new "Kent Steps" lead up from the widened aisle into the quire transept, whilst the old entrance now gives access to the crypt below.

Archaeological investigations in 2014 revealed an earlier Norman structure underneath the "Kent Steps". The foundations of the existing (14th-century) wall have been discovered to be Norman. A doorway from the crypt led to a flight of stairs running upwards with a window looking out into the cloisters. This work dates from the first phase of the present cathedral. The detailed report is expected to be published in late 2016.^[67][68]

Before the Victorian renovations the quire had steeply stepped stalls and a pulpit. Removal of these revealed the medieval Rota Fortunae ("Wheel of Life") painting and the original patterning of the walls. The existing wall pattern is modern, being a copy of that found, but the painting's main subject is untouched. Above the painted walls the triforium is blind arched with the clerestory and sextipartite vaulting above. Some of the earlier timbers have been reused in the stalls, but most of the work is 19th-century.

Before Scott's work the quire stalls continued in their high-backed form and cut off the quire transepts. They are now open and form a single space to accommodate a larger congregation when required. The south transept has two openings which no longer lead anywhere; one originally led to the crypt (before the south aisle was widened),^[i] the other led up to the Indulgence Chamber.

The north transept was the site of St. William's shrine and the center of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. Of St William's shrine little now remains.

The north

English Commonwealth

. The tomb was rediscovered, uncovered and restored by Cottingham from 1825 to 1840.

Chapter room doorway

The doorway to the chapter room and present library is described variously as "magnificent",^[71] "elaborate",^[72] and "one of the finest examples of English Decorated architecture in existence"^[73] by scholars who have visited and studied the cathedral. The two full length figures either side of the door represent the New and Old Covenant. The latter is a female figure with a broken staff and the tables of the law held upside down, blindfold to symbolise ignorance of the Messiah. The former is a female holding a cross and church. Palmer notes that Cottingham's 1825–30 restoration work added the head of a "mitred, bearded bishop", but examination today reveals nothing of this.^[73]

Above these two are four

East end

presbytery

Much of what can be seen of the east end is the work of Gilbert Scott, though closely based upon the earlier structure.

Crypt

The oldest part of the

. In places remnants of the mediaeval paintwork are visible in the vaulting. More medieval paintwork is visible in the east end window openings.

The eastern part of the crypt under the

and reflection.

Access to the crypt is down a flight of stairs from the south quire aisle. The stairs occupy the width of the original aisle prior to the demolition of Gundulf's small tower (see above). A wheelchair lift installed in 2017 provides disabled access.

As part of the addition of disabled access and the change of use of the crypt, the whole of the crypt floor has been removed and the area under it investigated by archaeologists. A

Music

Organ

Rochester Cathedral's current pipe organ originates from the 1905 instrument built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. It was later rebuilt by Mander Organs in 1989, who installed a new choir organ and pipework under the advice of Paul Hale.^[76]

Organists

James Plomley is listed as organist at Rochester in 1559. Among the composers, conductors and concert performers who have been organists at Rochester Cathedral are Bertram Luard-Selby, Harold Aubie Bennett, Percy Whitlock and William Whitehead.

Choirs

The cathedral

Main choir

The main choir consists of the boy choristers, girl choristers and the lay clerks. The provision of boy choristers was why King's School was founded in 604, at the same time as the cathedral itself. It still supplies boys from its preparatory school to sing the treble line. The boys' choir do multiple services weekly. From 1995 a girls' choir was introduced to sing some of the services for which the boys were not available. Girls now do alternate weekends; the boys' choir will do one week and the girls' choir will do another, and weekly Monday services. Girls are drawn from any of the local schools. There are currently 18 boy choristers and 17 girl choristers. The lay clerks are professional singers who provide the lower three voices: alto, tenor and bass. For great services, all three parts of the choir may combine.

Voluntary choir

The present choir was formed in August 2008 from the previous auditioned adult voluntary choir. The voluntary choir sings for around 10 weekends per year, usually during holiday periods when the child choristers are unavailable. They also sing in lieu of the main choir at the Eucharist as required.

Bells

Rochester Cathedral has a

Although it is probable that the original Saxon cathedral of 604 had one or more bells, early records are scant. The 11th-century Gundulf Tower has architectural features which indicate bells were placed there from the start. In 1154 Prior Reginald made two bells and recast a third, existing, cracked one.^[78] Two further bells were obtained during the 12th century as mentioned in the Custumale Roffense of c. 1300.^[79] In 1343, Hamo de Hythe arranged for the central tower to be heightened and hung four bells called "Dunstanus, Paulinus, Itmarus atque Lanfrancus" (Dunstan, Paulinus, Itamar and Lanfranc).^[78]

In 1635 the third was recast and in 1683 the fifth and tenor, followed by the treble in 1695. The fourth was noted as cracked in 1711 and a quotation obtained from

The service of dedication for the new bells was held on 16 May 1921. After prayers, the bells were rung for one minute, before the service resumed. Following the

For many years the reason why the number 3 bell bears the inscription "U.S.S. Pittsburgh in Memory of 1920" was a mystery.[j] However a letter from James W. Todd, officer commanding USS Pittsburgh was published in the Chatham News on 17 December 1920. In it he thanks the Dean of Rochester for various events during the two and a half months that the USS Pittsburgh was in dry-dock at Chatham. He encloses a cheque for £52 10s to pay for the recasting of the bell and discusses the inscription.^[82]

Dean and chapter

As of 30 December 2020^[update]:^[83]

• Dean – Philip Hesketh (since 19 June 2016 installation)
• Canon Precentor – Matthew Rushton (since 25 March 2017 installation)^[84]
• Priest-in-Charge, Borstal and Diocesan Canon – Sue Brewer (canon since 9 September 2018 installation)^[85]
• Diocesan Director of Formation & Ministry and
  Diocesan Canon – Chris Dench (residentiary canon since 9 September 2018 installation)^[85]
• Canon Chancellor – Gordon Giles (since 13 September 2020 installation)[86]

Notable people

Grevile Marais Livett, a longtime precentor of the cathedral and later vicar of Wateringbury, authored several books and monographs on the Norman churches of England as well as contributing extensively to Archaeologia Cantiana, the journal of the Kent Archaeology Society.^[87][88] (Livett's name was a variant of Levett, an old Sussex and Kentish family.)

The author Charles Dickens had wished to be buried in the churchyard at Rochester Cathedral. Instead, his body was interred at Poets' Corner inside Westminster Abbey.^[89]

Notable burials

• Sarah Baker (c1735-1816), actress and theatre manager
• Francis Barrell (1662–1724)
• Bishop of York, third Bishop of Rochester and saint
• Saxon-birth, fourth Bishop of Rochester and saint
• Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester and founder of Merton College, Oxford
• St John the Baptist
• John Hilsey, Bishop of Rochester
• John Warner, Bishop of Rochester, buried in the Merton Chapel.
• Major General
  Francis Henry Kelly
• Richard Watts

Library

The Anglo-Saxon establishment no doubt contained an early

had risen from the original 22 to over 60, implying a sizeable library.

In the Textus Roffensis of 1130 a catalogue of the library is included within it. There was the famous Gundulf Bible (now in the Huntington Library, California); the Textus itself; scriptural commentaries; treatises by various Church Fathers; historical works (including Bede's Ecclesiastical History) and assorted books on monastic life.^[90] Most books were in Latin, with just a few in Anglo-Saxon. One hundred and sixteen books are named, with a further 11 added later. These were volumes; some would contain multiple works within them.^[91] A further catalogue compiled in 1202 records 280 volumes.^[91] This latter catalogue was only rediscovered in the 19th century. It had been written on two leaves at the beginning of a copy of St Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana belonging to Rochester. The copy is now in the British Library.^[92]

The mediaeval library was located in different parts of the cathedral and precincts at different times. The precentor was in charge of it and also responsible for providing the materials needed to enable copyists, illuminators and authors' work. Because all copying was by hand and taught locally, monasteries varied in their style. There is an identifiable "Rochester Script" of the 12th century.^[93]

When King John besieged the castle (1215) some manuscripts were lost, and more were too in 1264 when Simon de Montfort occupied the City of Rochester.

The

37 other works have been traced in England, Scotland, Europe and even the United States.

Following the Dissolution, the Old Vestry to the east of the south quire transept was adopted as the Chapter Room and library. Notwithstanding its change in designation, it is still used from time to time as a

canons

' appointments. Some legacies were received, notably Richard Poley of Rochester whose grave can be seen at the foot of the Quire Steps. In 1907-9 the east wall of the library was reconstructed, the floor replaced and new bookcases provided by the donation of T. H. Foord, a benefactor of both the city and cathedral.

Notable contents

The

Book of Sentences

(Questiones Theologicae) from the late 13th century. There are a number of medieval charters.

There is a

Disabled access

". This gives access to the quire and presbytery level; there is a disabled WC near the foot of this. There is currently no disabled access to the crypt, but there are plans to insert a lift linking the three levels roughly where the existing wheelchair lift is.

King's Engineers

Gundulf, a monk from the

and earning "the favour of then all", Gundulf is accepted as the first "King's Engineer". He died in 1108 and his statue adorns the west door of the cathedral.

Because of his military engineering talent, Gundulf is regarded as the "father of the Corps of Royal Engineers". The corps claims a line of Kings Engineers pre-dating the engineers of the Board of Ordnance in 1414 and the formal founding of the Corps in 1716 all the way back to Gundulf. This shared heritage and the close proximity to the cathedral of the Royal School of Military Engineering in Brompton means the Corps of Royal Engineers and Rochester Cathedral maintain strong links to this day.

There are over 25 memorials to individual officers and soldiers of the Corps of Royal Engineers, including that of

A memorial tablet was erected in 1902 to the memory of three officers, graduates of the

Welsh Regiment

.

The latest memorial to the Corps of Royal Engineers was dedicated during the service of remembrance on the Corps Memorial Weekend, 19 September 2010, led by Adrian Newman (then Dean of Rochester; later Bishop of Stepney), in the presence of the Chief Royal Engineer, Peter Wall, and the families of the ten Royal Engineers killed in Afghanistan since September 2009, recipients of military decorations including the Elizabeth Cross.

See also

• List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
• List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe
• List of bishops of Rochester
• Dean of Rochester
• Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
• English Gothic architecture
• Romanesque architecture
• List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

• Barlow, Frank (1979), The English Church 1000–1066 (2nd ed.), Longman,
  ISBN 0-582-49049-9
• Becker, M Janet (1930), Rochester Bridge: 1387–1856, A History of its Early Years Compiled from the Warden's Accounts, London: Constable & Co
• Bell, Edwina E (January 2015), Hidden Treasures: Fresh Expressions. Project Update 11 – January 2015 (PDF), Rochester Cathedral, retrieved 15 March 2015
• Best-Shaw, John J K; Batterbee, Dagmar, The Bells of Rochester Cathedral, The Kent Art Printers Ltd (for The Friends of Rochester Cathedral)
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  doi:10.1484/J.ABOL.4.02919
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• Burton-Jones, Simon (2013), Family News
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• The Chatham News 1921-05-20, 20 May 1921, p. 5 Microfilmed copy available for consultation at Medway Archives
• Dictionary of Organs and Organists (First ed.), 1912
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• Greenwood, E.J. (1962), The Hospital of St Bartholomew Rochester, The Author
• Harrison, Shirley & Evemy, Sally (1996), Rochester upon Medway, the Tale of a City, The Word Team,
  ISBN 0-9517276-1-3
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External links

• Official website of Rochester Cathedral
• Rochester Cathedral Old Choristers' Association
• Website of the Rochester Cathedral Company of Bell Ringers
• A history of the King's School and of the choristers of Rochester Cathedral
• Flickr images tagged Rochester Cathedral
• The Corps of Royal Engineers
• Royal Engineers Museum and Library
• Diocese of Rochester website

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