Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral in England

Above:  A 360-degree panorama of the second oldest cathedral in England, Rochester Cathedral, established by St. Justus and St. Augustine of Canterbury at Rochester, Medway, Kent in 604 A.D.  Panorama by Gary Davies courtesy of 360Cities.net.

The official Rochester Cathedral page offers an interesting history timeline page here, and buried at the bottom of that page one may find a hyperlink to a truly excellent 360-degree panoramic tour here.  An interactive map seamlessly combines several 360-degree panoramas, allowing one to choose one's point of view within the cathedral plan.  This 360-pano tour was created in 2004 to celebrate the cathedral's 1400th anniversary.

According to the cathedral's Wikipedia article, Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, was  "founded by Saint Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied Saint Augustine of Canterbury to convert the pagan Southern English to Christianity in the early 7th century."

Originally an Anglo-Saxon church built on land donated by King Ethelbert of Kent, the church was already 400 years old and dilapidated when William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded in 1066.  Consequently, it was rebuilt 

In 1082, Rochester became the Benedictine Priory of St Andrew, established by Gundulf of Rochester, himself a Benedictine from Bec, France, and the first Norman Bishop of England.  Gundulf designed several castles and other buildings for King William, including Rochester, Colchester and the White Tower of the Tower of London.

Work on the Norman cathedral's new nave was begun in 1083.

The new cathedral was consecrated on Ascension Day in 1130 and King Henry I attended the ceremony.  Rochester Cathedral remained a Benedictine priory until the dissolution of the monastery in 1540.

Above: Rochester Cathedral seen from the west.  Source: Wikimedia commons.


Only seven years after its consecration, in 1137, fires destroyed the wooden roof of the Nave and damaged the Quire.  In 1180, work began on re-building the cathedralk in the Gothic style, starting with the Quire.

In 1201 the bloody murder of a simple Scottish baker took place in Rochester, and the moving story of William of Perth (later known as Saint William of Rochester) transformed Rochester Cathedral into a famous shrine and pilgrimage site. Largely thanks to St. William, Rochester remains a popular pilgrimage site to this day.

Wikipedia tells the story of William of Perth as follows:

"He went to Mass daily, and one morning, before it was light, found on the threshold of the church an abandoned child, whom he adopted and to whom he taught his trade. Later he took a vow to visit the Holy Places, and, having received the consecrated wallet and staff as a palmer, set out with his adopted son, whose name is given as "Cockermay Doucri", which is said to be Scots for "David the Foundling". They stayed three days at Rochester, and purposed to proceed next day to Canterbury (and perhaps thence to Jerusalem), but instead David willfully misled his benefactor on a short-cut and, with robbery in view, felled him with a blow on the head and cut his throat.

"The body was discovered by a mad woman, who plaited a garland of honeysuckle and placed it first on the head of the corpse and then her own, whereupon the madness left her. On learning her tale the monks of Rochester carried the body to the cathedral and there buried it. He was honored as a martyr because he was on a pilgrimage to holy places. As a result of the miracle involving the madwoman as well as other miracles wrought at his intercession after death, he was acclaimed a saint by the people."

Pilgrims visiting St. William's shrine brought in money to help the monks re-build the cathedral, and in 1201 the Presbytery was begun and roofed in by 1214.

The cathedral was plundered when King John held it against the rebel barons.  It was later desecrated by Simon de Montfort’s troops when they captured the city.

The new Quire was consecrated in 1227 and the North Transept completed in 1240.  Hamo de Hythe, bishop of Rochester, vaulted the Transepts, raised the central tower and spire, and re-decorated the Quire.  The Chapter Library door depicts his soul rising to heaven.

In 1440 the present Nave clerestory replaced a smaller Romanesque one, and the Great West window was put into place.

Above:  The Great West Door, which has remained substantially unchanged from Ernulf's time. Photo Credit:  Wikimedia Commons, donated by Chris O.

 In 1490, "the present Lady Chapel, the latest part of the cathedral, was enlarged as a Quire for the new-style polyphonic choirs who sang at the Lady Chapel altar in the South Transept."

The cathedral was damaged by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers in 1642.

Major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1872.   Scott was an English leader of the Gothic revival movement in the 19th century.

After the 2004 celebration of the Cathedral's 1400th anniversary, the cathedral began a Musical Endowment fund in an effort to "ensure the continuity of Rochester's choral tradition."  Albums and works produced by the Rochester Cathederal Choir may be found here.  Free music and mixes may also be found on the Rochester Cathedral Choir's My Space page here.