Rochester Cathedral
=How to get there.=–Train from Victoria, Holborn Viaduct, or St.
Paul’s. South-Eastern and Chatham Railway.
=Nearest Station.=–Rochester.
=Distance from London.=–33 miles.
=Average Time.=–1-1/2 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=–Single 5s. 4d. 3s. 4d. 2s. 8d.
Return 9s. 4d. 6s. 3d. 5s. 4d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"King’s Head Hotel,” “Royal Victoria,"
“Bull Hotel,” “Royal Crown Hotel,” etc.
Rochester, a most picturesque old town on the river Medway, has been a
place of importance from the earliest times. The cathedral, which is not
very impressive externally, and is much surrounded by houses, is best
seen from the castle. It was the first church built after Augustine
settled in Canterbury, but of this building no trace now remains except
some foundations. The Norman Bishop Gundulf in 1080 built a large
portion of the Norman work of the present cathedral. In 1201 it was
largely rebuilt by money obtained from thank-offerings for miracles
wrought by St. William, a baker of Perth, who was murdered near
Rochester on his way to Canterbury, and buried in the cathedral. The
Norman castle, standing on the banks of the river, was built by Bishop
Gundulf, and though it is now in ruins, the interior having been
destroyed for its timber, the walls remain firm. The castle was besieged
by William Rufus and Simon de Montfort, and on both occasions suffered
considerable damage. One of the many interesting buildings in the High
Street is the three-gabled house of Watts’s Charity, which has become
famous from Dickens’s Christmas story of The Seven Poor Travellers.
According to the inscription above the doorway, Richard Watts in 1579
founded this “Charity for Six Poor Travellers, who not being Rogues or
Proctors, may receive gratis for one night, Lodging, Entertainment, and
Fourpence each.” Restoration House, an old red-brick mansion on the
Maidstone Road, is so named from the visit of Charles II. on his way to
London in 1660. To all admirers of Charles Dickens, Rochester is full of
memories (see Index, Gad’s Hill). Not only did Dickens make Rochester
the scene of his last unfinished work, Edwin Drood, but he made many
allusions to it elsewhere. Mr. Jingle, for instance, in the Pickwick
Papers says, “Ah! fine place, glorious pile–frowning walls–tottering
arches–dark nooks–crumbling staircases–old cathedral too–earthy
smell–pilgrims’ feet worn away the old steps.”
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.
ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL.
A considerable portion was built in 1080 by Bishop Gundulf.]
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Preface •
Ham House and Petersham •
Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle) •
Harrow •
Holwood House, Keston •
Chigwell, Essex •
Waltham Abbey and Cross •
Downe •
Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts •
Epping Forest •
Hampton Court •
Rye House, Broxbourne •
Hatfield House, Herts •
Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta •
The Oldest Brass in England •
St. Albans •
Stoke Poges Church, Bucks •
Windsor •
Jordans and William Penn •
Knole House and Sevenoaks •
Greenstead Church •
Chalfont St. Giles •
Westerham •
Guildford, Surrey •
Gad’s Hill •
Ightham Mote, Kent •
Penshurst •
St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion •
Rochester Cathedral •
Tunbridge Wells •
The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey •
Eversley •
Farnham, Surrey •
Hindhead, Surrey •
Shottermill •
Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex •
Chawton the Home of Jane Austen •
Selborne •
Elstow •
Lewes, Sussex •
Bodiam Castle, Sussex •
Colchester, Essex •
Layer Marney •
Battle Abbey •
Cambridge •
Arundel Castle •
Olney, Bucks •
Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great •
Canterbury and Its Cathedral •
Reculvers •
Oxford •
Midhurst •
Pevensey Castle •
Savernake Forest •
Ely Cathedral •
St. Ives, Huntingdonshire •
Winchelsea and Rye •
Blenheim Palace •
Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland •
Peterborough •
Southampton •
Helmingham Hall •
Stonehenge, Wiltshire •
Netley Abbey •
Salisbury and Its Cathedral •
Sandwich, Kent •
New Forest, Hampshire •
Osborne House •
Carisbrooke Castle •
Lutterworth •
Compton Wynyates •
Kenilworth Castle •
Belvoir Castle •
Bath •
Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers •
Warwick •
Gloucester and Its Cathedral •
Norfolk Broads •
Norwich Cathedral •
Lichfield •
Sherborne and Its Abbey Church •
Newark •
Wells and Its Cathedral •
Stratford-On-Avon •
Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk •
Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire •
Corfe Castle •
Lincoln and Its Cathedral •
Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson •
Glastonbury Abbey •
Walsingham, Norfolk •
Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset •
Newstead Abbey •
The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances •
Tintern Abbey •
Chesterfield, Derbyshire •
Dukeries •
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire •
The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor •
Raglan Castle •
Dovedale •
Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire •
Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop •
Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire •
Ludlow and Its Castle •
Shrewsbury •
Buxton and the Peak District •
Tewkesbury •
Exeter and Its Cathedral •
Market Drayton, Salop •
Chester •
Exmoor •
Knutsford •
Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset •
Cleeve Abbey, Somerset •
Hawarden •
York Minster •
Coxwold, Yorkshire •
Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey •
Knaresborough, Dripping Well •
Fountains Abbey •
Ripon Cathedral •
Dartmoor •
Haworth •
Rievaulx Abbey •
Brixham, Devon •
Conway Castle •
The Doone Valley, Exmoor •
Llandovery, South Wales •
Dartmouth, Devon •
Richmond, Yorkshire •
Tintagel •
Whitby •
Carnarvon Castle •
Plymouth •
Durham and Its Cathedral •
Raby Castle, Durham •
Snowdon •
Harlech Castle •
Grasmere and Rydal Mount •
The Lake District •
St. Davids Cathedral •
Furness Abbey, Lancashire •
Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow •
The Isle of Man •
Brantwood •
Fowey •
Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall •
The Lake District •
Keswick •
Alnwick Castle •
Lanercost Priory, Cumberland •
Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.] •
St. Ives, Cornwall •
Bamborough Castle, Northumberland
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