Priory wall, c.1225-1340
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The walls of the medieval priory of Saint Andrew survive in sections around the boundary of the Cathedral Precinct, particularly well preserved in the south-east corner.
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Piscina featuring bishops, 13th/14th century
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This elaborate piscina or lavabo bowl was used to dispose of water in the Mass. It was recently discovered reused as a garden feature at a local property in the Precinct.
Read MoreShrine of Saint William of Perth, c.1201
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Two Caen stone fragments of an elaborate piece of sculpture in high relief may have originated from the shrine of St William of Perth.
Read MoreCalendars for bloodletting, 13th century
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Medical recipes are not typical texts for a custumal. For some reason Westerham decided to preserve them in his register, perhaps because they would be readily available.
Read MoreRomescot of England, c.1235
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A list of the payments of Romescot, an annual contribution to the Roman see due from various southern English cathedrals.
Read MoreDecorative sketches, c. 1200
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Some of the most enigmatic graffiti at the Cathedral are the hundred large decorative sketches on 12th century fabric, comprised of scenes from the gospels and their writers the Evangelists.
Read MoreMedieval ship graffiti
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Ships are of the few types of graffiti for which we have contemporary written records, detailing a colourful devotional ritual to St Nicholas, the patron saint of those in peril on the sea.
Read MoreMedieval Lady Chapel mural
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Bishop’s Chaplain Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff discusses the medieval Lady Chapel mural in an extract from the Bertha's Daughters: A History of the Church in Kent
Read MoreKings, Queens and Consorts
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The medieval equivalent of a datestone, dozens of regal sculpted heads adorn the Cathedral architecture, from the House of Normandy to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Read MoreDemons and Dragons
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The medieval sculpture of the Nave Crossing features a bestiary of demons, dragons, imps and grotesques. Why did the builders and patrons of the medieval Cathedral fill their place of sanctity and refuge with such nightmarish imagery?
Read MoreNorth Nave Transept haircuts and headwear
/Decorative carvings in the form of human heads became popular in church architecture around the turn of the 13th century, fossilising a record of medieval clothing, hairstyles and headwear.
Read More'Gundulf's Tower' camponile, 13th century
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The ruins of a camponile (detached bell tower), to the north of the Cathedral has been known as ‘Gundulf’s Tower’ since the 18th century. Though it actually dates from the early thirteenth century, it may be constructed from reused material from Gundulf’s Tufa Stone transept.
Read MoreArchaeology of the Priory Cloisters
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Unlike most monastic establishments where the cloister (‘enclosed'/’seperate’ - the monastic part of the medieval Cathedral Precinct) ranges are to the south of the nave the cloister at Rochester is situated to the south of the presbytery and quire.
Read MoreCustumale Roffense, c.1235
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Dr Christopher Monk introduces the ‘Custumal of Rochester’, a thirteenth-century customs book from the Cathedral Priory of St Andrew full of vivid details not just of the lives of the monks but also offering valuable insight into the servants of the priory.
Read MoreMedieval tombs
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Rochester Cathedral features twelve intact medieval coffin-tombs spaced around the east end of the building in proximity to the high altar. They were the final resting place of bishops of priors.
Read MoreThe monastic cemetery, 1080-1540
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The monks of Saint Andrew’s Priory were buried to the east of the Cathedral, beneath the site of the Old Deanery and Cathedral car park. Excavations during works over the past 30 years have revealed many skeletal remains from the area.
Read MoreBells, belfries and bellringing
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John K. Best-Shaw and Dagmar Batterbee introduce the history of bells and bellringing at Rochester Cathedral, with a foreword by Dean of Rochester Adrian Newman.
Read MoreJesus altar archway, 13th century
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Tim Tatton-Brown reports on some small-scale archaeological investigations in August 2000 in advance of the production of the fresco in the eastern archway of the greater North Transept.
Read MoreThe bells and bell towers in the early thirteenth century
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Colin Flight pieces together the evidence for the bells and bell towers of the Cathedral in the early thirteenth century.
Read MoreWalter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester 1274-1277
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John Melhuish explores the episcopacy of Bishop Walter de Merton. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1997-1998.
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