A Walk Around Rochester Cathedral

A view of Rochester Cathedral from Rochester Castle keep

During the 2 hours spent wandering around Rochester Castle, I encountered plenty of Kentish ragstone and the occasional use of Reigate stone and – having also seen these in the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and All Hallows by the Tower church during my previous trip to London - I was now becoming familiar with the characteristics of these.

Caen stone from Rochester Castle

In the castle keep, however, it was the first time that I had knowingly seen Caen stone – having being informed of this by a helpful member of the English Heritage staff – and before I continued with my exploration of Rochester, I removed a small piece from one of the dressings that had finally failed after nearly 900 years.

The west front

A stone's throw away from the castle, the west front of Rochester Cathedral – although heavily restored in places - provides a good example of the use of this limestone in the Romanesque style, which is particularly characteristic of Norman architecture in England.

A general view of the south elevation

Walking quickly around the rest of the exterior of Rochester Cathedral, I have to say that due to the presence of railings, the temporary inaccessibility of the cloisters and the lack of time, I didn't take as much notice of the various building stones as I normally would and, except for examining close up the galleting on the north aisle, I just took a few general photographs from a distance.

A detail of galleting to the north aisle

Dating back to 604 AD, and with historical links to the church of St. Paul and Peter in Bromley, this cathedral has been rebuilt, repaired and restored very many times since the construction of the Norman cathedral was started by Bishop Gundulf – notably by both Sir George Gilbert Scott and John Loughborough Pearson, who had also stamped their architectural marks on Westminster Abbey and Wakefield Cathedral.

A view of the north elevation from Rochester High Street

The north elevation of the east end, restored by Gilbert Scott in the 1870's, comprises Kentish ragstone with the Reigate stone dressings replaced with Chilmark stone, as seen at the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey, which was also restored by him. Similarly, Chilmark stone was also used in his restoration of the clerestory windows – which were further restored this century.

The south aisle and clerestory

On the south side of the clerestory, 'honest' brick repairs in the S.P.A.B style can be seen alongside occasional replacement of blocks of Caen stone and Reigate stone and in the Lady Chapel, several different stones were noted by Bernard Worssam in a publication for the Friends of Rochester Cathedral.

The Building Stones of Rochester Cathedral