Rochester Cathedral

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Rochester Cathedral
Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Exterior of Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral is located in Kent
Rochester Cathedral
Shown within Kent
51°23′20″N 0°30′12″E / 51.388962°N 0.503293°E / 51.388962; 0.503293Coordinates: 51°23′20″N 0°30′12″E / 51.388962°N 0.503293°E / 51.388962; 0.503293
OS grid reference TQ 74273 68521
Location Rochester, Kent
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Website www.rochestercathedral.org
History
Former name(s) Priory of St Andrew (604 - 1542)
Founded 604
Founder(s) St Justus
Consecrated 604
Significant past bishop(s) St John Fisher (martyr), Nicholas Ridley (martyr)
Architecture
Status Cathedral
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated 24 October 1950
Architect(s) Gundulf of Rochester
Style Norman, Gothic
Years built 1079-1238
Administration
Diocese Rochester (since 604)
Province Canterbury
Clergy
Bishop(s) The Rt Revd James Langstaff
Dean The Revd Philip Hesketh (acting)
The Revd Mark Beach (designate)
Laity
Director of music Scott Farrell
Organist(s) Roger Sayer
Business manager Edwina Bell

Rochester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Norman church in Rochester, Kent. The bishopric is second oldest in England after Canterbury. It is a Grade I listed building, number 173125.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

See also: History of Rochester, Kent

[edit] Anglo-Saxon establishment

The Rochester diocese was founded by Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied Saint 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 Ethelbert of Kent to establish a church of St Andrew the Apostle (the same dedication as the monastery in Rome from which St Augustine and St Justus had set out for England) on the site of the present cathedral, which was made the home 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][3]

Under the Roman system, a bishop was required to establish a school for the training of priests.[4] To provide the upper parts for music in the services a choir school was required.[5] 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 the Venerable Bede.[6]

The original cathedral was 42 ft high and 28 ft wide. The apse is marked in the current cathedral on the floor, and sets outside show the line of the walls. Credit for the construction of the building goes to King Ethelbert rather than St Justus. Bede describes St Paulinus' burial as "in the sanctuary of the Blessed Apostle Andrew which King Ethelbert founded likewise he built the city of Rochester."[7]

King Ethelbert 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.[8]

In 644 Ithamar the first English born bishop was consecrated at Rochester.[9] As bishop, Ithamar consecrated Deusdedit as the first Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury on 26 March 655.[10]

The cathedral suffered much from the ravaging of Kent by Aethelred of Mercia in 676. So great was the damage that Bishop Putta retired from the diocese and his appointed successor, Cwichelm, gave up the see “because of its poverty”.

Later, in 762, the local petty king, Sigerd, granted land to the bishop as did his successor, Egbert. The charter is notable as it is confirmed by Offa of Mercia as overlord of the petty kingdom.

Following the invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror gave the cathedral and its estates to his brother, Odo of Bayeux. Odo misappropriated the resources and reduced the cathedral to near-destitution. The building itself was ancient and decayed. The diocese is one of the smallest English dioceses and, sandwiched between London and Canterbury, has always been financially challenged. During the episcopate of Siward (1058–1075) it was served by four or five canons “living in squalour and poverty”.[11] One of the canons became priest of Chatham and acquired sufficient money to make a gift to the cathedral for the soul and burial of his wife, Godgifu.[12]

[edit] Medieval priory

[edit] Gundulf's church

The great west door, substantially unaltered from Ernulf's time.

The situation could not last. Archbishop Lanfranc 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 1082. 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 presbetry of six bays with aisles of the same length. The four easternmost bays stood over an undercroft which forms part of the present crypt. To the east was a small projection, probably for the silver shrine of St Paulinus which was translated there from the old cathedral. The transepts were 120 feet long, but only 14 feet wide. With such narrow transepts it is thought that the eastern arches of the nave abuted the quire arch.[13] To the south another tower (of which nothing visible remains) was built. There was no crossing tower.[14] The nave was not completed at first. Apparently designed to be 9 bays long, most of the south side but only five bays to the north were completed by Gundulf. The quire was required by the priory, and the south wall formed part of the monastery buildings. It has been speculated that Gundulf simply left the townsfolk to complete the parochial part of the building.[15] Gundulf did not stop with the fabric, he also replaced the secular chaplains by Benedictine monks, obtained several royal grants of land, and proved a great benefactor to his cathedral city.

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 refrectory, dormitory and chapter house only portions of which remain. Finally Bishop 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.

[edit] 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 siege of Rochester Castle. Edmund de Hadenham recounts that ther was not a pyx left "in which the body of the Lord might rest upon the altar".[13] however by 1227 the quire was back in use when the monks made their solemn entry into it. The new portions of the cathedral were dedicated by Richard Wendene (also known as Richard de Wendover), Bishop of Rochester, and Richard, Bishop of Bangor, in 1240.

The shrines of St Paulinus and St William of Perth along with the relics of St Ithamar drew pilgroms to the cathedral. their offerings were so great that both he work mentioned above and the ensuing work could be funded.

The next phase of the development was instigated by Richard de Eastgate, the sacrist. The two eastern bays of the nave were cleared away and the four great piers to support the tower 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 Simon de Montfort, during sieges of the city and its castle. It is recorded that armed knights rode into the church and dragged away some refugees. Gold and silver were stolen and documents destroyed. Some of the monastic buildings were turned into stables.[16] Just over a year later de Montfort fell at the battle of Evesham to the forces of the King, Edward I. 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 a further seven shilling at each of the shrines of Ss Paulinus and Ithamar.

The new century saw the completion of the new Decorated work with the original Norman architecture. The rebuilding of the nave being finally abandoned. Around 1320 the south transept was altered to accommodate the altar of the Blessed 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.[17] Against this screen was placed the altar of St Nicholas, the parochial altar of the city. The citizens demanded the right of entrance by day or night to what was after all their altar. There were also crowds of strangers passing through the city. The friction broke out as a riot in 1327 after which the strong stone screens and doors which wall off the eastern end of the church from the nave were built.[18] The priory itself was walled off from the town at this period. An oratory was established "in angulo navis" for the Reserved Sacrament. It is not clear which "angulo" was referred to.

The central tower was at last raised by Bishop Hamo de Hythe in 1343, thus essentially completing the cathedral. Bells were placed in the central tower (see Bells below). The chapter room doorway was constructed at around this time.

[edit] Later medieval history

The modern painting of the choir walls is modelled on paintwork from this period. Sir Gilbert Scott found part of the painting behind the wooden stalls during his work in the 1870s. The paining is therefore part original and part authentic. The alternate lions and fleur-de-lis reflect Edward III's victories, and assumed rule, over the French. In 1356 the Black Prince had defeated John II of France at Poitiers and made him prisoner. On 2 July 1360 John passed through Rochester on his way home and made an offering of 60 crowns (£15) at the Church of St Andrew.[19]

The oratory provided for the townsfolk did not settle the differences between the monks and the city. The eventual solution was the construction of St Nicholas' Church on the north side of the cathedral. A doorway was knocked through the western end of the north aisle (since walled up) to allow processions to pass along the north aisle of the cathedral.

In the mid 15th century the clerestory and vaulting of the north quire aisle was completed and new Perpendicular Period windows inserted into the nave aisles. In 1470 the great west window at the cathedral was completed and finally, in around 1490, what is now the Lady Chapel was built.[19] Rochester Cathedral, although one of England's smaller cathedrals, thus demonstrates all styles of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.[20]

In 1504 John Fisher was appointed Bishop of Rochester. Although Rochester was an impoverished see, Fisher elected to remain as bishop for the rest of his life. He had been a tutor to the young Prince Henry and on the prince's accession as King Henry VIII, Fisher remained a staunch supporter and guide. He figured in the anti-Lutheran policies of Henry right up until the divorce question and split with Rome in the early 1530s. Fisher remained true to Rome and for his defense of the Pope was elevated to cardinal in May 1535. Henry was angered by these moves and on 22 June 1535 Fisher was beheaded on Tower Green.

Henry visited Rochester on New Year's Day 1540. He there met Ann of Cleves for the first time and was "greatly disapointed".[21] Whether connected or not, the old Priory of St Andrew's was dissolved by commission later in the year, one of the last monasteries to be dissolved.

[edit] Modern foundation

Interior of Rochester Cathedral, Kent

The post-dissolution foundation was a dean, six prebendaries, six minor canons, a deacon, a sub-deacon, six lay clerks, a master of the choristers, eight choristers an upper and an under master of the grammar school, twenty scholars, six poor men, a porter (who was also to be barber), a butler, chief cook and assistant. Four scholars (two each and Oxford and Cambridge universities) were supported. The deacon and sub-deacon disappeared at the English Reformation, the butler and cooks went when there was no longer a common board.[22]

Nicholas Ridley was made Bishop of Rochester in 1547 during the reign of Edward VI. During his period at Rochester he directed that the altars in the churches of his diocese should be removed and tables put in their place to celebrate the Lord's Supper. In 1548 he helped Thomas Cranmer compile the Book of Common Prayer and in 1549 he was one of the commissioners who investigated Bishops Stephen Gardiner and Edmund Bonner. He concurred that they should be removed from office. In 1550 he was translated to the See of London. Three years later Ridley was involved in the plot to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne in preference to the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. The plot failed and Ridley paid the price; he was burnt at the stake for religious reasons on 16 October 1555.

The cathedral suffered a steep decline after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, during which time its estates were confiscated by the Crown, and it became dilapidated and disreputable. Later Samuel Pepys, the diarist, would dismiss it as a "shabby place". Rochester's location astride the Watling Street did however mean that there were a sting of notable visits. Most famously, Queen Elizabeth I stayed in Rochester for four days in 1573, attending divine service in the cathedral on 19 September. In 1606 Christian IV of Denmark visited along with his brother-in-law, King James VI & I, James' family: Queen Anne and Prince Henry. King James was accommodated at the bishop's house and the whole party attended service on Sunday.

Archbishop Laud visited it 1633 and complained about the general state of the cathedral, in particular that it "suffered much for want of glass in the windows".[citation needed] 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".[citation needed] 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).[23]

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...".[24] The reference to the monuments is particularly relevant, for this was six years before the despoilation of the cathedral by Parliamentary soldiers in the wake of the English Civil War. The official record runs: "On Wednesday, being Bartholomew Day, we marched forth, some of our souldiers ... went to the Cathedrall about 9 or 10 of the clock, in the midst of their superstitious worship, with their singing men and boyes; they ... went about the work they came for. First they removed the table to its place apointed, and then tooke the seat which it stood upon, ... and brake that all to pieces; ...they pluckt down the rails and left them for the poore to kindle their fires; and so left the organs to be pluckt down when we came back again, but it appeared before we came back they took them downe themselves."[25]

The cathedral underwent several restorations in the 19th century, the principal works were carried out by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham from 1824 to 1830. In 1840 the pulpit was moved from the eastern end of the quire and revealed a significant 13th century fresco of the Wheel of Fortune, said to be the oldest in England.[26]

In 1867 Sir George Gilbert Scott commenced renovating the cathedral and restoring it to a reasonable facsimile of its original 11th century condition. During this work the foundations of the original church were discovered and marked out as noted above. When the panelling at the back of the choir stalls was removed the original medieval fleur-de-lys and leopard painting was revealed. The pattern was reproduced during the restoration.

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

[edit] Architecture

[edit] External

The tympanum.

The present building is widely regarded[who?] as one of the finest Norman cathedrals in the country, with a particularly fine doorway at its western (main) entrance. The tympanum depicts Christ sitting in glory in the centre, with Justus and Ethelbert flanking him on either side of the doorway.

[edit] 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 tower. This is oldest part of the cathedral still above ground. Until the 18th century it rose as high as the adjacent parts of the church, some 65 feet.[27] During the nineteenth century it severely decayed until by 1897 "only ruins now remain".[28] The lower part of the tower has been roofed and is now occupied on three floors by the catheral music department (first floor and top floor) and the vergers (ground floor).

[edit] Nave and transepts

The western part of the nave is substantially as Gundulf designed it. The eastern end reflects both the 14th century rebuild and Gilbert Scott's Victorian restoration. The north transept is notable for the fresco mentioned above and is now the main visitor entrance with disabled access.

A Green Man from the crossing ceiling.

The crossing is bounded to the east by the choir 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 Green Men carved on the bosses. Visible from the ground is the outline of the trapdoor through which bells can be raised and lowered when required.

[edit] Lady Chapel

The Lady Chapel nestles in the corner of the nave and the south transept. Of late medieval work with modern glass it is a light and airy counterpart to the Norman solidity of the nave. The altar lies to the south of the space against a long wall causing the congregational seating to curve around it, making a less formal arrangement. This was not the original configuration however, the arch into the south transept formed a chancel arch for an altar against the east wall of the transept. The present Lady Chapel formed the nave of this arrangement.

[edit] Quire and quire transcepts

The quire is notable for being solidly walled off from the aisles. The basic stonework is 14th century with Scott decorations. At the eastern end of the quire is a medieval wall painting of the wheel of life.

[edit] Presbytery

The presbytery is 14th century. No trace of the Norman building remains at the main floor level.

[edit] Crypt

The crypt looking towards the south quire trancept from the quire crossing.

The crypt is a fine example of Norman vaulting. Close examination reveals traces of the original paintwork. The crypt is used for a variety of purposes; Sunday Club (for youngsters), after service coffee and general functions. The eastern section is the Ithamar chapel, reserved as a place of quiet for personal prayer.

[edit] Library

The Anglo-Saxon establishment probably had a library, but no details of it have survived. When Gundulf established the priory in 1082 it was as a Benedictine house. As reading forms a part of the daily routine as laid down in the Rule of Saint Benedict there probably was a library from this point. By the time of Gundulf's death in 1108 the number of monks 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.[29] 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.[30] A further catalogue compiled in 1202 records 280 volumes.[30] 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 Museum.[31]

The medieval library was housed in different parts of the cathedral and precints at different times. The precentor was in charge of it and also responsible for providing the materials needed for the copyists, illuminators and authors to use. Because all copying was by hand and taught locally, monasteries varied in their style. There is an identifiable "Rochester Script" of the 12th century.[32]

When King John besieged the castle (1215) some manuscripts were lost, as were more in 1264 when Simon de Montfort occupied the city.

The dissolution was catastrophic for the library. John Leland, the Royal Librarian and antiquary, complained to Thomas Cromwell that young German scholars were appearing and cutting documents out of books in the cathedral libraries.[33] Leland was able to save some manuscripts and 99 from Rochester are now in the Royal Collection in the British Museum.[34] 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 trancept was adopted as the chapter room and library. Notwithstanding its change in designation, it is still used form time to time as a vestry by the clergy. The only contents to survive the dissolution were ancient manuscripts, the 50 volumes predating 1540 appear to have been later acquisitions.[35] The library remained smaller than in medieval times, there were less clergy than monks. The chapter were required to be "leared and erudite" and possess a university degree, so it is postulated that they would have their own personal books.[35] From the 18th century onwards the library grew, in part due to donations made by deans and canons on appointment. Some legacies were received, notably Richard Poley of Rochester whose grave can be seen at the foot of the choir 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.

[edit] Notable contents

The Textus Roffensis, mentioned above, is in the care of the local authority. The Custumale Roffense dates from around 1300 and gives (in Latin) information about the priory's income and domestic arrangements. Instructions are given for the ringing of bells, confirming their use at this date. There is a copy of St Augustine's[36] De Consensu Evangelistarum ("On the Harmony of the Evangelists") copied in the first half of the 12th century. It is in its medieval binding and from script it is clear that the copy was made at Rochester. Also from Rochester is Peter Lombard's Book of Sentences (Questiones Theologicae) from the late 13th century. There are a number of medieval charters.

There is a Complutensian Polygot Bible (Greek, Latin and Hebrew) printed in Spain in 1514-17. A Sarum Missal of 1534 came from Paris. Rochester has a copy of Coverdale's Bible from 1535, a Great Bible of 1539, a Bishop's Bible of 1568 and numerous other later copies. The Bishop's Bible is notable for the note at Psalm xlv.9: "Ophir is thought to be the Ilande in the west coast, of late found by Christopher Columbo, from whence at this day is brought most fine gold".[37]

[edit] Famous people

The Reverend Grevile Marais Livett, FSA, 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 Archaeologica Cantiana, the Journal of the Kent Archaeology Society.[38][39] (Livett's name was a variant of Levett, an old Sussex and Kentish family.)

Famous author Charles Dickens had wished to be buried in the churchyard at Rochester. Instead, his body was buried in Poet's Corner inside Westminster Abbey.[40]

[edit] Notable burials

[edit] Music

[edit] Choirs

The cathedral choir traces its roots right back to the foundation in AD 604. The quality of the chorister training was praised by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation.[6]

[edit] 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 the prep school to sing the treble line. From 1995 a girls' choir was introduced to sing some of the services for which the boys were not available. Girls are drawn from any of the local schools. 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.

[edit] 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 not available. It also sings Eucharist on other occasions when the main choir is not available.

[edit] Organ

The 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. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

[edit] Organists

  • James Plomley, 1559
  • Roper Blundell, 1588
  • John Williams, 1599
  • John Heath, 1614
  • Charles Wren, 1672
  • Daniel Henstridge, 1674
  • Robert Bowers, 1699
  • John Spain, 1704
  • Charles Peach, 1721
  • Joseph Howe, 1753
  • Richard Howe, 1781
  • Ralph Banks, 1790
  • John Larkin Hopkins, 1841
  • John Hopkins, 1856
  • Bertram Luard-Selby, 1900

[edit] Assistant organists

  • Henry Edmund Ford
  • Philip Armes 1850 - 1856
  • Frederick Bridge 1859 - 1865[42]
  • Alfred Alexander
  • Joseph Bridge c.1868 (later organist of Chester Cathedral)
  • Glanville Hopkins 1899 - 1901
  • Hector E. Shallcross 1902 - 1908
  • Alfred H. Allen 1919 - 1921
  • William Whitehead 1994 - 1998
  • Sean Farrell 1998 - 2001
  • James Eaton (acting) 2001 - 2002
  • Edmund Aldhouse 2002 - 2006
  • Dan Soper 2006 - 2010
  • Samuel Rathbone 2010–present
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Bells

Rochester Cathedral has a ring of 10 bells hung for change ringing in the English style. All were cast in 1921, some as memorials to men lost in WWI. The heaviest bell is 30 cwt and 14 lbs tuned to D.[43]

Although it is probable that one or more bells were in the original Saxon cathedral of 604, early records are scant. The 11th century Gundulf tower has architectural features that indicate bells were placed there from the start. In 1154 Prior Reginald made two bells and recast a third, existing, cracked one.[44] In 1343 Bishop Hamo de Hythe caused the central tower to be heightened and hung four bells called "Dunstanus, Paulinus, Itmarus atque Lanfrancus" (Dunstan, Paulinus, Itamar and Lanfranc).[44]

In 1635 the third was recast and in 1683 the fifth and tenor, followed by the treble (1695) and fourth (1712). In 1904 two further bells were added at the time that the tower and spire were rebuilt. Of the original six bells four were recast and two retained.[44] In 1921 all the bells were recast and augmented to the current ring of 10. When bells are recast the original metal is reused with new metal added as required, therefore there is every reason to assume that the current bells contain the metal from all the original bells back to the time of Gundulf.[44] In 1960 the bells were rehung on a new steel frame by John Taylor.[43]

[edit] King's Engineers

Rochester Cathedral as viewed from top of Rochester Castle

Bishop Gundulf, a monk from the Abbey of Bec in Normandy came to England in 1070 as Archbishop Lafranc's assistant at Canterbury. His talent for architecture had been spotted by King William I and was put to good use in Rochester where he was sent as bishop in 1077. Almost immediately the king appointed him to supervise the construction of the White Tower, now part of the Tower of London in 1078. Under William Rufus he also undertook building work on Rochester Castle. Having served three Kings of England and earning "the favour of then all", Gundulf is accepted as the first "King's Engineer". Gundulf died in 1108 and his statue adorns the west door of the cathedral.

Because of his military engineering talent, Bishop 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 Roral Engineers and a number of memorials representing members of the corps that have given their lives in the discharge of their duty, including many stained glass windows presented by the corps.

A memorial tablet was erected in 1902 to the memory of three officers, graduates of the Royal Military College of Canada, who died while serving in Africa: Huntly Brodie Mackay, Captain Royal Engineers; William Henry Robinson, Captain Royal Engineers; and William Grant Stairs, Captain 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, in the presence of the Dean, the Very Revd Adrian Newman, the Chief Royal Engineer, General Sir Peter Anthony Wall and the families of the ten Royal Engineers killed in Afghanistan since September 2009, recipients of the Elizabeth Cross.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ British Listed Buildings
  2. ^ Stenton p146
  3. ^ Note that the area is Priestfields, Priestfield is a road and football stadium some miles away.
  4. ^ Whitelock p189
  5. ^ Loyn p269. Loyn misprints Canterbury for Rochester: Canterbury goes back to the previous decade.
  6. ^ a b Music Department website
  7. ^ in secretario beati apostoli Andreae quod rex Ediilbertus a fundamentis in eadem Rhofi civitate construxit. Palmer p3.
  8. ^ Palmer p 5, but Palmer anachronistically refers to Francia as Gaul.
  9. ^ Note English, ie Anglo-Saxon. The Celtic church in the North of England was British.
  10. ^ Bethell pp 421–423 quoted on Ithamar (bishop)
  11. ^ Barlow p221
  12. ^ Barlow p222
  13. ^ a b Palmer p.13
  14. ^ Palmer p7
  15. ^ Palmer p.8
  16. ^ Palmer p.15
  17. ^ Palmer p.67
  18. ^ Palmer p.16
  19. ^ a b Palmer p.17
  20. ^ Rochester, The past 2000 years
  21. ^ Mackie p404
  22. ^ Palmer p.19
  23. ^ Palmer p.22
  24. ^ Lansdowne MS. no 213 (British Library) quoted in Palmer p23-4.
  25. ^ "A perfect diurnall of the several passages in our late Journey into Kent, from Aug. 19 to Sept 3, 1642, by appointment of both Houses of Parliament" quoted in Palmer p.24
  26. ^ Harrison & Evemy p20
  27. ^ Grose's "Antiquities" vol iii (1781) and "History and Antiquities of Rochester" (1772) both cited by Palmer p. 52
  28. ^ Palmer p.52
  29. ^ MacKean p5
  30. ^ a b MacKean p6
  31. ^ MacKean p6. Correct in 1953, but it may be in the British Library now.
  32. ^ MacKean p9
  33. ^ MacKean p 11 and other sources, see Leland for example.
  34. ^ MacKean p12
  35. ^ a b MacKean p 14. The figure 50 is taken from the 1953 text and may not be accurate today.
  36. ^ Augustine of Hippo (354-540), not Augustine of Canterbury (c.530-604).
  37. ^ MacKean p22
  38. ^ F.W.J.
  39. ^ Livett
  40. ^ Langton
  41. ^ Historically the posts of director of music, choirmaster and organist were the combined. In 2008 Sayer wished to concentrate on the organ and resigned as director of music and choirmaster while remaining the cathedral organist.
  42. ^ Dictionary of Organs and Organists p 252
  43. ^ a b Love
  44. ^ a b c d Best-Shaw & Batterbee

[edit] Bibliography

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