For the Castle enthusiast, Rochester must be high on your list.
/Rochester Castle, at 125 feet, is the highest square keep in Britain.
Here are eight other reasons for visiting Rochester Castle
It is not only a tall keep, it is a brilliant example of a tower keep.
The keep has 4 towers, 3 are square but one, is oddly, round. Why?
You can stand at the bottom of the keep and see every floor to get a fantastic perspective.
From the top of the keep, you can see for miles and in particular, its commanding position at the point where the River Medway can be crossed en route to London.
It has a fascinating entrance via a set of stairs, a drawbridge and an entrance on the first floor, all designed to make it impregnable.
Standing in the castle grounds, it is easy to envisage the standard form of keep and bailey.
Inside, there is a large model of the castle to make it easy to imagine what the castle looked like in its heyday and from all angles.
It is adjacent to a beautiful cathedral which has no entrance fee!
Rochester presents the opportunity to scan all 4 floors of the keep and get an idea of scale.The top floor here forms the king’s chambers with his hall being on the floor below.
A special feature of this keep is the partition wall to create two sets of rooms. Note the typical Norman semi-circular arches and their carved decorations, often chevrons.
For castle enthusiasts, Rochester has a fascinating entrance.
A potential weak point, the entrance is definitely not a weak point here, with two flights of stairs and a ninety degree turn before a gap that has to be bridged and the inevitable portcullis.
You can see this model inside the castle. It shows the route taken to get into the castle and how difficult it washer the enemy to get inside. Going up stairs and turning at right angles means that using a battering ram is out of the question.
Battlements at the top of the keep.
The view from the top of the keep showing the bridge over the river Medway. Defending the crossing point across the river and the route to London, was the main reason for building the first wooden castle here.
A view just past the bridge shows a new river resident.
A view of the castle from the cathedral side.
Watch this two minute video giving you an aerial view of Rochester Castle and the nearby Rochester Cathedral.
Was there a castle at Rochester before the stone keep of 1127?
Yes. Soon after William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings he needed to protect the crossing over the River Medway so that his route to and from London could always be safe. This needed to be built in a hurry and cheaply. Over 2 million Anglo-Saxons in England loathed him for being a foreigner and for beating their fellow Anglo-Saxon, Harold Godwinson. As a consequence, he was constantly being threatened up and down the country and so speedy safety measures were paramount. To do this the castle was made out of local wood and earthworks.
Was the first castle at Rochester ever attacked?
Yes, in June and July 1088 after the death of William the Conqueror. When William died, his will left Normandy to his eldest son Robert and England, to his younger son William II, known as Rufus because of his red hair. Robert was unhappy about this but it was normal for the eldest son to get the family home ie Normandy. William the Conqueror’s half brother, Odo, bishop of Bayeux and an unpopular land owner in England, decided to take advantage of this dispute by siding with Robert, believing that he could dominate Robert if he were to beat William II in battle. To this end, Odo took control of Rochester and its castle only to be besieged by William. Odo eventually gave in and was sent into exile.
To prevent another successful attack, a stone castle was built by Bishop Gundulf. Here is the remaining part of the first stone castle, the curtain wall.
Wooden castles was never going to be the ultimate design of castles because wood rots, it burns and can be chopped to pieces with axes! So the second castle on the site was made out of stone and its building was supervised by the Bishop of Rochester, Gundulf. He was very experienced and had already overseen the building of the White Tower of London for William I and at the time, was building Rochester Cathedral. There is some evidence to show that he also had a hand in building the massive keep of Colchester Castle. The present keep that you can see was later added in 1127.
How did King John successfully attack Rochester with pigs?
In 1211, King John had fallen out with the Pope over the Pope’s selection of Stephen Langton for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope excommunicated John and for a time the church was in effect closed to the people of England, ie no baptisms, marriages, last rites or funerals etc. Added to this, John lost the French lands that his father, Henry II, once owned. Costly wars to hold on to this land resulted in high taxes and illegal actions by John that eventually led the English barons to revolt against their King. Peace was temporarily restored with John being forced to agree to Magna Carta but another civil war quickly ensued when John repudiated it with the Pope’s support. (John gave in over Langton and his relations with the Pope improved)
Rebel barons held London and needed to hold Rochester, the southern gateway to London. In October 1215, John’s army had recaptured the bridge and now laid siege to Rochester Castle. Attacking a castle would bring huge casualties with limited success but waiting outside castle walls also results in death due to dysentry through a lack of hygiene. Besieging a castle in winter is also impossible because of the effect of the cold and damp British weather on the soldiers in poor quality camps. Faced with this, John took the decision to dig a tunnel under one of the keep’s towers. As the mine was being dug, wooden pit props were used to prop up the tunnel ceiling right the way under the castle foundations. What then followed was to place 40 fat pigs in the end of the tunnel along with bundles of hay and sticks.
When the hay was set alight, the resulting inferno was made even greater when the pigs began to explode like huge sausages, sending flaming fat everywhere and causing the props to disintegrate along with the castle wall that it had temporarily held up. The south-east tower came tumbling down along with sections of the walls on either side. Even then, with the stonework collapsing, the rebels held out for several days by moving to the other side of the partition wall in the keep.(see the earlier photo). Later, the rebels regained the castle and held it until it was recaptured by King John’s son, King Henry III (see below). Tunneling was also attempted by the rebels and their French allies against King John at Dover Castle but this time, although the walls came down, the pile of rubble acted as a strong wall and John’s soldiers inside the castle successfully fought on.
King Henry III
When the damage was repaired, it was decided to build a round tower because they believed that round towers without vulnerable corners were stronger and not so easily mined.
Why was Rochester Castle attacked in 1264?
In 1264 Rochester was once more besieged; this time, the rebel leader, Simon de Montfort (Earl of Leicester) laid siege to Rochester Castle controlled by Henry III’s soldiers. His idea was to capture this royalist stronghold and maintain the rebel hold over the capital, London. De Montfort and his fellow rebels saw Henry III in the same light as his predecessors saw King John and attempted to take action to curtail Henry’s activities. The attack lasted several days with De Montfort employing siege engines to fire rocks at the tower as well as deploying miners to attempt to replicate King John’s successful mining tactic. However, before he could capture the castle, De Montfort lost his nerve after being informed that London might switch sides in favour of the king and so he withdrew. A few weeks later, De Montfort’s army successfully defeated Henry III at the Battle of Lewes, near Brighton and Rochester Castle was finally occupied by the rebels. Unfortunately for De Montfort, a year later support for the King grew and Henry III was able to regain total control after winning the Battle of Evesham.
For more on Simon De Montfort and Henry III watch this short video featuring Professor Robert Bartlett, a much admired and one of the best “medievalists” in Britain today.
Why was Rochester Castle attacked in 1381?
The Black Death arrived in Britain in 1348 and decimated the population. Between 30-45% of the population died and in some villages up to 90% of the inhabitants were victims of the “Grim Reaper”! That meant some of the people who did not die began to believe that they were “God’s chosen ones” and they began to challenge the existing social order. Peasants hated serfdom (similar to slavery but not as bad) and now set themselves free to earn wages. Added to that, peasants left their manors and began to have a much improved standard of living. This came to an abrupt end for some when a law was passed in 1351 turning the clock back to the wage rates received before 1348, when the Black Death had begun. Many lords of the manor wanted to maintain serfdom or re-impose it. Further anger was aroused with having to participate in wars against the French and having to pay for them. Furthermore, from artisans and others against the newly created Poll Tax. This tax was the same amount for the rich as well as the poor and so, was considered very unfair. In 1381 all this came to a head in huge uprisings consisting not just of peasants, in both Essex and Kent. This eventually led to a huge march on London known as the Peasants’ Revolt. Prior to the march on London, rebels broke into the Rochester castle, plundered it and released a prisoner.
If you want to find out more about the Peasants’ Revolt, watch this short video by Professor Robert Bartlett.
Click the button below to learn about William the Conqueror and the Peasants’ Revolt at the Tower of London
Is Rochester Castle haunted?
If you believe certain reports it most definitely is haunted. The chief ghost is Lady Blanche de Warrene and dates from the siege of 1264. The story goes that she was in the castle with her fiancé Sir Ralph de Capo whilst outside with the besieging army was the former suitor or boyfriend, Sir Gilbert de Clare. Having besieged the castle for some weeks, Simon de Montfort’s troops heard that the king was on his way with an army to relieve the castle and so de Montfort’s men began to retreat, not wanting to take on such a big army. Knowing that the enemy were about to retreat and that re-inforcements would soon arrive, Sir Ralph opened Rochester’s gates and attacked the enemy outside. At some point, Lady Blanche looked down on the fighting men only to see what she thought was Sir Ralph on horseback returning. In fact, it was Sir Gilbert in disguise according to some sources or simply wearing similar armour to Sir Ralph. The guards were fooled into letting him in and so when he got inside the castle walls made straight for Lady Blanche in her quarters. When she saw him, Lady Blanche screamed and escaped to the top of the castle walls. Her screams travelled some distance to catch the attention of Sir Ralph. He now saw from afar what Sir Gilbert was up to and was horrified to see Lady Blanche desperately trying to get away from Sir Gilbert clutches. Sir Ralph’s response was to get hold of a bow and arrow and launch one high into the air towards Sir Gilbert. This act of desperation then went tragically wrong when the arrow glanced off Sir Gilbert’s armour and fatally striking Lady Blanche. Ever since then, Lady Blanche, wearing a flowing white dress, has walked the battlements with an arrow sticking out of her body. A reenactment of this tragic story occurs every “Good Friday” and sadly ends with Lady Blanche falling from the tower!
One further apparition that has been reported is the ghost of a Victorian gentleman with a remarkable resemblance to the author Charles Dickens who used to live in Rochester. He has also been seen in the nearby High Street.
Find out more;
Essential information:
Getting there
By car; Sat Nav postcode ME1 ISW. Straightforward via the A2 or M2. Car parks near the station are good but get full from mid morning so go early. We used the Corporation Street car park Sat Nav ME1 1NH. Sunday proved to be good for parking.
By train; Rochester train station has a good service and is only about an 8 minute walk away
Ticket prices;
Adult £6.40
Child (5-17 years) £4.00
Concession £4.00
Family (2 adults, up to 3 children) £16.80
Overseas visitor pass for English Heritage properties;
Choose between the 9 or 16 consecutive day pass, book online and collect it from any English Heritage site.
It is valid for any English Heritage site including Dover Castle and Stonehenge. Note, it is not valid for any National Trust Property or the Royal Palaces such as Hampton Court and the Tower of London. Westminster Abbey is also not included. These are all different organisations. My advice is to work out where you want to go for all 9 or 16 days first before buying, lots of places in London are not English Heritage and many are free.The visitor pass is very good value for places outside of London, especially if you have a car and so can roam all over England.
The prices for Overseas Visitor Passes from 1 April 2019 - 31 March 2020 are:
PEOPLE 9 DAYS 16 DAYS
1 ADULT £35.00 £42.00
2 ADULTS £60.00 £70.00
FAMILY * £65.00 £75.00
* The family pass is valid for two adults and up to four other family members living at the same address and under 18 years of age.
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