Rochester City Wall and Medway Bridge

In the civil parish of Rochester.
In the historic county of Kent (Modern Authority of Medway, 1974 county of Kent).

Good sections remain of city wall built along line of Roman wall and incorporating some Roman work, unfortunatley the mighty East gate has long vanished. Roman walled repaired in 1193, murage granted 1225,1262. Further building and repairs done in C14. 4 surviving stretches are distinguished on the map as 7/2A (off The Common), 9/2B (off Free School Lane), 9/2C (enclosing City Ditch) and 9/2D (off St Margaret's Street. None have post office addresses. 7/2A runs N/S for about 30m and is in a fragmentary state with little facing stone surviving, some parts underpinning later structures. 9/2B is the most impressive and upstanding section incorporating the NE circular bastion (of 2 storeys with 3 lancets to upper stage). The upper courses of the wall attached are largely rebuilt; a short stretch retains coped merlons. 9/2C, rebuilt when the city walls were pushed further out in the Mid C14 retains the SE bastion, much reduced. 9/2D is short and much renewed.
The stone bridge across the Medway, built between 1383 and 1393, had a drawbridge and winding house between the sixth and seventh piers. The bridge was privately funded but the windinghouse and drawbridge was funded by Richard II.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

listed building

Images of England

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ743683

PastScape number; 416085

Books

Tatton-Brown, T., 2006, 'The topography and buildings of medieval Rochester' in Ayers, T. and Tatton-Brown, T. (eds), Medieval art, architecture and archaeology at Rochester (Leeds: British Archaeological Association and Maney Publishing) p22-37
Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p22, 23, 40, 46, 47, 55-6, 65, 70, 147, 163, 180, 261
Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern) p65
Bragard, P., Termote, J. and Williams, J., 1999, Walking the walls: historic town defences in Kent, Côte d'Opale and West Flanders (Maidstone)
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p124-6
Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p239
Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71 plan p66
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p158-9
Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p814-5
Becker, M.J., 1930, Rochester Bridge 1387-1856 Chap1
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p205-7
Hasted, Edward, 1778-99, A History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent Vol2 p2-3

Journal Articles

Flight, C. and Harrison, A.C.,1986, ‘The southern defences of medieval Rochester' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol103 p1–26
Bacchus, D., 1986, ‘Excavations at the south-east bastion, Rochester city wall' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol110 p129-138
Harrison, A.C.,1981, 'Rochester, 1974-5' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol97 p95-136
Harrison, A.C. and Williams, D., 1979, 'Excavations at Prior's Gate House, Rochester, 1967-77' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol95 p19-36
Harrison, A.C., 1972, ‘ Rochester East Gate, 1969' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol87 p121-158
(Harrison), 1970, Medieval Archaeology Vol14 p182
Harrison and Flight, 1968, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol83 p55-104
1965, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol80 p.lv-lvi
Livett, 1895, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol21 p38-72
Poste, 1859, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol2 p65-72
1854, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol9 p424-5
Poste, 1849, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol6 p30-7

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities24.htm]
William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/kenteng.html#kent15]
Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p250

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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Rochester City Wall and Medway Bridge

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ743683

Sources of information, references and further reading