Virtual Tour of Rochester Cathedral
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The Nave - looking west - more info
As you cross over towards the south transept, you see the Norman, Romanesque part of the Cathedral.
Apart from the western end of the Crypt and a door, the nave is the closest we get to Gundulf’s building. No traces remain above ground of the Saxon cathedral. Remains of a small building whose apse is just within the present Cathedral (marked by a brass line in the floor at the west end) lie under the paving outside. It is uncertain whether it is the Saxon cathedral but, for lack of any other real evidence, we assume it probably is. The historian Bede is quite clear that a cathedral was built for Justus; we do not know how much it may have been rebuilt during the Saxon period.
The picture above: shows the great space of the nave seen at its best in August, when it is dechaired each year. The glass in the Great West Window of 1470 is by Clayton and Bell (1883). It reflects the connection with the Royal Engineers and was given in memory of their dead.The figures reflect Old Testament characters and Christian saints all with military connections.
