Rochester City Wall

Has been described as a Certain Urban Defence

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameRochester City Wall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryKent
Modern AuthorityMedway
1974 AuthorityKent
Civil ParishRochester

Rochester City Walls. Mainly C13 and C14, incorporating Roman remains, with later patching and partial rebuilding. The 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 30 metres 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. (Listed Building Report)

Gatehouse Comments

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. See also Medway Bridge

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTQ743683
Latitude51.3885307312012
Longitude0.506070017814636
Eastings574300
Northings168300
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2013, Medieval Walled Towns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 122-3
  • 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) p. 22-37
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 22, 23, 40, 46, 47, 55-6, 65, 70, 147, 163, 180, 261
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 65
  • Bragard, P., Termote, J. and Williams, J., 1999, Walking the walls: historic town defences in Kent, Côte d'Opale and West Flanders (Maidstone: Kent County Council) p. 33-40
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 124-6
  • Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report 61) p. 92-116 online copy
  • Haslam, J. (ed), 1984, Anglo-Saxon towns in southern England (Phillimore) p. 12-16
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 239
  • Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) The plans and topography of medieval towns in England and Wales (CBA Research Report 14) p. 57-71 plan p. 66 download/view online
  • Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 158-9
  • Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 814-5
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1932, VCH Kent Vol. 3 p. 81
  • Becker, M.J., 1930, Rochester Bridge 1387-1856 Chap1
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co) p. 205-7
  • Hasted, Edward, 1798 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 4 p. 45- online transcription

Antiquarian

  • Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain online copy
  • Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England  (Sutton Publishing) p. 250
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1909, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 4 p. 45 online copy

Journals

  • Ward, Alan, 2015, 'Medieval Rochester' Castle Studies Group Bulletin Vol. 19 p. 4-10
  • Ward, Alan, 2011, 'The Great Gate And Other Confusing Bits Of Archaeology In Rochester' Kent Archaeological Review Vol. 186 p. 142-54
  • Creighton, Oliver, 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 75-86
  • Renn, Derek, 2004, 'Refortification at Rochester in the 1220s: A Public/Private Partnership?' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 124 p. 343-63 online copy
  • Bacchus, D., 1986, 'Excavations at the south-east bastion, Rochester city wall' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 110 p. 129-138 online copy
  • Flight, C. and Harrison, A.C.,1986, 'The southern defences of medieval Rochester' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 103 p. 1-26 online copy
  • Harrison, A.C.,1981, 'Rochester, 1974-5' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 97 p. 95-136 online copy
  • Harrison, A.C. and Williams, D., 1979, 'Excavations at Prior's Gate House, Rochester, 1967-77' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 95 p. 19-36 online copy
  • Harrison, A.C., 1976, 'Reports from Local Secretaries and Groups' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 92 p. 253 online copy
  • Harrison, A.C., 1975, 'Investigations and Excavations during the Year' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 91 p. 211-2 online copy
  • Harrison, A.C., 1972, ' Rochester East Gate, 1969' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 87 p. 121-158 online copy
  • (Harrison), 1970, 'Medieval Britain in 1969' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 14 p. 182-3 view copy
  • Harrison. A.C. and Flight, C., 1968, 'The Roman and Medieval Defences of Rochester in the Light of Recent Excavations' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 83 p. 55-104 online copy
  • 1965, 'Report for 1965' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 80 p. lv-lvi
  • 1963, 'Report for 1963' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 78 p. liv
  • 1962, 'Report for 1962 Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 77 p. xlix
  • Harrison, A.C., 1961, 'Report for 1961' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 76 p. lxxiv
  • Livett, G.M., 1895, 'Medieval Rochester' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 21 p. 17-72 (theories of Norman extensions now made untenable) online copy
  • Payne, G., 1895, 'Roman Rochester' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 21 p. 1-16 online copy
  • Poste, W.B., 1859, 'Ancient Rochester, or Durobrivae, viewed as the site of a Roman camp and station' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 2 p. 65-72 online copy
  • 1854, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 9 p. 424-5 online copy
  • Poste, W.B., 1849, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 6 p. 30-7

Primary Sources

  • The Great Roll of the Pipe for the fifth year of the reign of King Richard I, Michaelmas 1193 (Pipe Roll Society 41) p. 166 (repair of walls in 1193)
  • Hardy, T.D. (ed), 1833, Rotuli litterarum clausarum in turri Londinensi asservati (Record Commission) Vol. 2 p. 56 (grant of money for walls in 1225) online copy
  • Evans, D.L. (ed), 1961, Calendar of Liberate Rolls Henry III (1260-1267) Vol. 5 p. 104 (grant of money for walls in 1262) online copy
  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1909, Calendar of Patent Rolls Richard II (1396-99) Vol. 6 p. 137 (Writ of aid to arrest workmen to work on walls) online copy
  • - < >Also see the Gatehouse murage pages for full details of murage [grants > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/murindex.html], [petitions > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/mupindex.html ] and [other such > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/muaindex.html]. < >

Other

  • Kent County Council, December 2004, Kent Historic Towns Survey (Kent County Council and English Heritage) view online copy