History lovers, search out the treasures of Rochester Cathedral.
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Eleven good reasons why should you visit Rochester Cathedral?
Its front. As you approach the cathedral, you will see the only surviving cathedral front from the mid 1100s
Its medieval wall painting. Stand back and study a rare example of the wheel of fortune painted on the quire wall. Most wall paintings were destroyed in the Reformation.
Textus Roffensus. In the medieval crypt, you can see the remarkable“Texts Roffensis”, a book wrtten by twelve monks 900 years ago!
Its medieval graffiti. A treasure hunt.
Its Green Men. Track down colourful examples of the “Green Man” in the ceiling.
Before entering look up and admire the magnificently carved entrance
Its Norman architecture . Take two paces inside and you will see the typical Romanesque arches of the Norman period, semi circular and carved in a chevron pattern
Its beautiful decorative carving surrounding the “Hamo de Hythe” doorway.
Its sculptures. Look straight ahead and be amazed at the beautiful carvings of eight people including Bishop Gundulf and Bishop Fisher. More about them later.
It has some great stories to tell such as Bishop John Fisher who courageously and publicly opposed Henry VIII, was executed and ended up becoming a saint!
Its close proximity and relationship to the adjacent Rochester Castle
Above you can see the cathedral from high up in the castle illustrating their close relationship.
What is the “Wheel of Fortune”?
This photo shows “Rota Fortune” on the Quire wall. In the Reformation or possibly later in the Civil War, it would have been covered with whitewash and obscured by a pulpit but when this area was renovated, some of it came back to life. Unlike hundreds of dramatic, story telling wall paintings that got totally obliterated in this period, this “Wheel of Fortune” survived! It illustrates the concept that life is full of “ups and downs”.The concept’s origin was Greek (Goddess’ name was Tyche) but it became a very popular idea in Medieval times. The various “Rose Wheel Windows” in many cathedrals were based on it. It served to remind people, especially nobles, that they could easily commit the sin of ambition and come tumbling down!
We first came across this the wheel of fortune at a concert when reading in the programme a translation of the first part of the amazing Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. “O Fortune ,like the moon, you change your state, forever waxing, forever waning, hateful life first oppresses and then soothes” etc Shakespeare also refers to it in Henry V and King Lear.
Above is the Texts Roffensis (Book of Rochester) written in 1122 and below is a electronic version that visitors can scroll. It is in fact two books covering various topics including King Ethelbert’s law code, the first statements of English law written in English. In his laws, if a person’s ear was cut off, compensation of fifty shillings was to be paid by the accused to the victim. This was seen as far better than an ongoing blood feud between the families of the victim and the accused. It includes how trials by ordeal should be organised. Trial by hot irons was where the accused was made to carry a red hot iron bar for three paces before he could drop it. The accused’s hands were then bandaged and examined three days later. The hands were inspected for any signs of healing. If they were innocent it was believed that God had intervened, whereas, if they were innocent no sign would be observed. There was total belief in the existence and power of God and so although it was highly painful and could do irreparable damage to the accused ‘s hands, it was considered a bona fide way of discovering guilt. The book also includes details of land holding and land grants, some of which, it has been claimed by recent historians to have been invented by the copying monks! Even in those days fake news and fake claims were made!
What is the Green Man?
There are several Victorian examples of the Green Man in Rochester Cathedral but what are they? A Green Man is a sculpture of a head associated with leaves and branches, quite often spewing out of the man’s mouth. Sometimes they come out of his ears and/or his mouth and at other times his whole face is covered in leaves.
What is a Green Man for?
We do not really know and it may be for a number of different reasons across the world and over time. Some people interpret the Green Man as a pagan nature spirit and he is linked to the cycle of life every spring. Some people link it to fertility seeing several examples of acorns amidst the foliage. They then go on to say that as most are now associated with churches, the Christian religion adopted and incorporated this symbol. Some have argued that it is a cross-over or linking symbol between pre-christian and christian religion.
Whatever they were for, it is always good fun searching for them. Here are eight that I discovered in Rochester Cathedral.
Above are Romanesque arches associated with Norman architecture. The oldest stone churches always have these semi-circular arches which were superseded by the pointed, gothic arches as church architecture evolved over time.
Here you can see a perpendicular window which was inserted into the Norman fascade (front) of the cathedral in the mid 1400s. Needless to say, the stained glass is much younger because any stained glass windows that had not disappeared in the Reformation were invariably destroyed by Cromwell’s puritans in the period 1642-1649 ie the English Civil War.
Half way down the cathedral you will notice a large stone screen, known as the Pulpitum. It is fairly modern, dating from late Victorian times but is an amazing set of sculptured figures that includes, King Ethelbert of Kent, the first to be converted to the Christian religion by St Augustus and Bishop Gundulf who oversaw the building of this cathedral, and the neighbouring castle, as well as the Tower of London and Colchester castle! In his left hand he is holding a model of the Tower of London to emphasise this point.
Who was Bishop John Fisher of Rochester and why was he famous?
Controversially, there is also a statue of Bishop John Fisher who steadfastly opposed the Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon and the creation of the Church of England with Henry as its “Supreme Head”. For his views, Bishop Fisher was executed on Tower Hill, just outside the Tower of London in June 1535. During the divorce proceedings, known as Henry’s “Great Matter”, Fisher was recognised as the Queen’s chief supporter, appearing on her behalf and shocking the whole court by stating that, like his namesake, John the Baptist, he was prepared to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage. (note John the Baptist was also beheaded) Needless to say, Henry was furious at such an outburst and would exact his revenge.
Interestingly, Fisher was beheaded the day before the annual feast to mark the birth of John the Baptist. Henry made sure it wasn’t on that day because of Fisher’s reference to martyr, John the Baptist in his defence of Catherine of Aragon would have linked the two together. Coincidentally, Fisher was executed on the anniversary of St Alban, Britain’s first martyr! As was the custom, Fishers head was put on public display on a pole on London Bridge but created so much attention that Henry ordered it to be taken down and tossed into thethe River Thames. In 1935 he was made a saint by Pope Pius XI.
One other interesting incident concerning Fisher and his servants in 1531. After an early incident opposing Henry, Fisher was imprisoned for a few months and the following year several of his servants fell ill after eating porridge and two later died. The cook, Richard Roose confessed to the poisoning, probably after he was tortured and so was duly boiled alive! This became the standard punishment for poisoners.
Have fun at Rochester Cathedral finding medieval graffiti.
Rochester Cathedral, like many other historic buildings has been defaced over hundreds of years by some graffiti artists. They are fun to discover but difficult to photograph. To find them ask a guide for some help. We found the guides at Rochester were very keen to help find medieval graffiti. Above you can see a sailing ship, a possible link to the disciples and fishing. Best of luck.
Rochester and the murder of William the Baker
Up to the Reformation, Rochester had a shrine of its own that pilgrims would visit on their way to Canterbury. Apparently at the beginning of the 13th century, a baker from Perth in Scotland was on his way to Canterbury and its shrine to Thomas Becket when he was horribly murdered in Rochester. The story goes on to say that the body was found by a “mad woman” who was the miraculously cured of her madness! Monks from Rochester heard about this and dutifully took William’s body to the cathedral and buried him. Other miracles followed and William became a saint in 1256. A shrine to William was created which was the added to places to visit en-route to Canterbury. However, like Becket’s tomb, William’s shrine was destroyed in the Reformation.
Essential information
Getting there;
By car; ME1 1SX. Straightforward via the A2 or M2. Car parks near the station are good but get full from mid morning so go early. We used the Corporation Street car park Sat NavME1 1NH. Sunday proved to be good for parking but there are Sunday services on in the morning. We did the castle first and then went to the Cathedral having a delightful Coffee with a snack at Tiny Tims, with fun “Christmas Carol” decor ( please note this is not a sponsored plug)
By train; Rochester train station has a good service and is only about an 8 minute walk away.
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