Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to ...

, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

, about from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillingham. Rochester was a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

until losing its status as one in 1998 following the forming of

and failing to protect its status as a city. There have been ongoing campaigns to reinstate the city status for Rochester. Rochester was for many years a favourite of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

, who owned nearby

Gads Hill Place Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gad's Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens, the most successful British author of the Victorian era. Today the building is the independent Gad's Hill School. ...

, Higham, basing many of his novels on the area. The Diocese of Rochester, the second oldest in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, is centred on Rochester Cathedral and was responsible for founding a school, now ''The King's School'', in 604 AD, which is recognised as the second oldest continuously running school in the world. Rochester Castle, built by Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best-preserved

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

s in either England or France. During the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it. As well as the historic centre, the suburbs of

Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

and The Delce are also part of Rochester, forming part of the Medway Towns urban area with a population of about 250,000.

Toponymy

The Romano-British name for Rochester was Durobrivae, later Durobrivis c. 730 and Dorobrevis in 844. The two commonly cited origins of this name are that it either came from "stronghold by the bridge(s)"The Place names of Kent. Judith Glover. 1976 Batsford. 1982 Meresborough Books. or is the latinisation of the British word ''Dourbruf'' meaning "swiftstream".Kelly's Directory of Rochester 1951. Durobrivis was pronounced 'Robrivis. Later, the word '' cæster'' (=castle, from Latin ''castrum'') was added to the name, and the city was called ''Robrivis Cæster''.

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...

mentions the city in c. 730 and calls it ''Hrofes cæster'', mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp. From this came c. 730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester. The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.

History

Eastgate House, Rochester, Kent - geograph

Neolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of Rochester; over time, it has been variously occupied by

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

, Romans, Jutes and/or

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. During the Celtic period, it was one of the two administrative centres of the

Cantiaci The Cantiaci or Cantii were an Iron Age Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a ''civitas'' of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England. Their capital was ''Duro ...

tribe. During the Roman conquest of Britain, a decisive battle was fought at the Medway somewhere near Rochester. The first bridge was subsequently constructed early in the Roman period. During the later Roman period, the settlement was walled in stone. King Æthelberht of Kent (560–616) established a legal system which has been preserved in the 12th-century '' Textus Roffensis''. In AD 604, the bishopric and cathedral were founded. During this period, from the recall of the legions until the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, Rochester was sacked at least twice and besieged on another occasion. The

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

saw the building of the current cathedral (1080–1130, 1227 and 1343), the building of two castles and the establishment of a significant town. Rochester Castle saw action in the sieges of 1215 and 1264. Rochester's basic street plan was set out, constrained by the river, Watling Street, Rochester Priory and Rochester Castle. Rochester has produced two martyrs:

St John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

, executed by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

for refusing to sanction the divorce of Catherine of Aragon; and Bishop Nicholas Ridley, executed by Queen Mary for being an

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Military history

Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and the

. Rochester Castle was built to guard the river crossing. In 1667, the city was raided by the Dutch fleet as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, commanded by Admiral de Ruijter, broke through the chain at Upnor and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing part of the English fleet and burning it.''The Dutch Raid'', published by the City of Rochester Society 1998. The Royal Navy Dockyard's establishment at Chatham witnessed the beginning of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

es; the inner line built during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

consists of

Fort Clarence 300px, The archway by the fort's drawbridge was demolished in the 1930s. The fort, on the left, is now converted into flats. Fort Clarence is a now defunct fortification that was located in Rochester, Kent, England. History The fort was buil ...

, Fort Pitt, Fort Amherst and

Fort Gillingham Fort Gillingham, also known as Gillingham Fort, was constructed in 1669 on the south bank of the River Medway in Kent, England. In conjunction with Cockham Wood Fort it took on the role of defending Chatham Dockyard from seaborne attack, a role ...

. The outer line of Palmerston Forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by the

Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on ...

and consists of Fort Borstal, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton, and the Twydall Redoubts, with two additional forts on islands in the Medway, namely Fort Hoo and Fort Darnet. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

manufacturing company developed the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the intervening period between the 20th century World Wars the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'C'-Class and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

, the Stirling. The UK's decline in naval power and shipbuilding competitiveness led to the government decommissioning the RN Shipyard at Chatham in 1984, which led to the subsequent demise of much local maritime industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area experienced an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 24%; this had dropped to 2.4% of the local population by 2014.

Civic history and traditions

Rochester was recognised as a City from 1211 to 1998. The City of Rochester's ancient status was unique, as it had no formal council or Charter Trustees nor a Mayor, instead having the office of Admiral of the River Medway, whose incumbent acted as ''de facto'' civic leader. Publishing Letters Patent dated 25 January 1982, text also available fro
Medway Council archives website
Since Norman times Rochester had always governed land on the other side of the

in Strood, which was known as ''Strood Intra''; before 1835 it was about wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as ''Chatham Intra''. Like many of the medieval towns of England, Rochester had civic Freemen whose historic duties and rights were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. However, the ''

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometim ...

of Free Fishers and Dredgers'' continues to the present day and retains rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone. This ancient corporate body convenes at the Admiralty Court whose

Jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England d ...

of Freemen is responsible for the conservancy of the River as enshrined in current legislation. The City Freedom can be obtained by residents after serving a period of "servitude", i.e.

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

(traditionally seven years), before admission as a Freeman. The annual ceremonial Beating of the Bounds by the River Medway takes place after the Admiralty Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.

Ecclesiastical parishes

There were three medieval

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es: St Nicholas', St Margaret's and St Clement's. St Clement's was in Horsewash Lane until the last vicar died in 1538 when it was joined with St Nicholas' parish; the church's last remaining foundations were finally removed when the railway was being constructed in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 beside the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

to serve as a parish church for the citizens of Rochester. The ancient cathedral included the Benedictine monastic

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

of St Andrew with greater status than the local parishes. Rochester's pre-1537 diocese, under the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome, covered a vast area extending into East Anglia and included all of Essex. As a result of the restructuring of the Church during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the cathedral was reconsecrated as the ''Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary'' without

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...

responsibilities, being a diocesan church. In the 19th century the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city with the new church being consecrated in 1859. Following demographic shifts, St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined as a joint benefice in 1953 with the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement being absorbed in 1971. The combined parish is now the "Parish of St Peter with St Margaret", centred at the new (1973) Parish Centre in The Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's remaining as a chapel-of-ease. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, while St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the diocesan offices but remains consecrated. Continued expansion south has led to the creation of an additional more recent parish of St Justus (1956) covering The Tideway estate and surrounding area. A church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Eastgate, which was of Anglo-Saxon foundation, is understood to have constituted a parish until the Middle Ages, but few records survive.

Governance

On 1 April 1974, the City Council was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, and the territory was merged with the District of Medway, Borough of Chatham and most of

Strood Rural District Strood Rural District was a rural district in the county of Kent, England. It was subject to boundary reforms in 1934 and 1935. It consisted of the following civil parishes:http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10074137&c_i ...

, including the parishes of Cuxton, Halling and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula, to form a new a local government district called the Borough of Medway, within the county of Kent. Medway Borough Council applied to inherit Rochester's city status, but this was refused; instead

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

were granted constituting the area of the former Rochester local government district to be the City of Rochester, to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said City". The Home Office said that the city status may be extended to the entire borough if it had "Rochester" in its name, so in 1979, Medway Borough Council renamed the borough to the Borough of Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982, Rochester's city status was transferred to the entire borough by letters patent, with the district being called the City of Rochester-upon-Medway. The

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

of the River Medway was ''ex-officio'' Mayor of Rochester and this dignity transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the River which constitutes a committee of the Council. GuildhallRochester

On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of

. The

Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department ...

informed the city council that since it was the local government district that officially held City status under the 1982 Letters Patent, the council would need to appoint

charter trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established. Duties ar ...

to preserve its city status. However, no trustees were appointed and the city status was therefore lost when Rochester-upon-Medway was abolished as a local government district. The incoming Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, it was advised that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities. In 2010, Medway Council started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by the Advertising Standards Authority. Subsequently, Medway Council has applied for City status for Medway as a whole, rather than merely for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for City status in 2000 and 2002 and again in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year of 2012. Any future bid to regain formal City status has been recommended to be made under the aegis of ''Rochester-upon-Medway''. The 2011 definition of Rochester includes Strood to the northwest and is defined as an urban subdivision with a 2011 population of 62,982. Strood makes up the majority of Rochester's population on the west bank of the river, making the town of Rochester itself on the east bank actually smaller and less populated than its neighbouring town; should the two towns ever separate Strood would be the larger of the two.

Kelly Tolhurst Kelly Jane Tolhurst (born 23 August 1978) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Schools and Childhood ...

MP is the current Conservative parliamentary representative for the constituency.

Geography

Rochester lies within the area, known to

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

s, as the London Basin. The low-lying Hoo peninsula to the north of the town consists of

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from ...

, and the

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

brought down by the two rivers—the

and the

—whose confluence is in this area. The land rises from the river, and being on the dip slope of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...

, this consists of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...

surmounted by the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel. As a

human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of citi ...

, Rochester became established as the lowest river crossing of the River Medway, well before the arrival of the Romans. It is a focal point between two routes, being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent and the north-south routes following the course of the Medway connecting Maidstone and the

Weald of Kent The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

with the Thames and the North Sea. The Thames Marshes were an important source of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. Rochester's roads follow north Kent's valleys and ridges of steep-sided

bournes. There are four ways out of town to the south: up Star Hill, via The Delce, along the Maidstone Road or through

. The town is inextricably linked with the neighbouring Medway Towns but separated from Maidstone by a protective

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

known as the Downs, a designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. At its most limited geographical size, Rochester is defined as the market town within the city walls, now associated with the historic medieval city. However, Rochester historically also included the ancient wards of Strood Intra on the river's west bank, and Chatham Intra as well as the three old

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

on the Medway's east bank. The diocese of Rochester is another geographical entity which can be referred to as Rochester.

Climate

Rochester has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

similar to much of southern England, being accorded Köppen Climate Classification-subtype of " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate). On 10 August 2003, neighbouring

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...

recorded one of the highest temperatures since meteorological records began in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit), only beaten by Brogdale, near

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient Briti ...

, to the ESE. The weather station at Brogdale is run by a volunteer, only reporting its data once a month, whereas

, which has an official Met Office site at the PLA pilot station, reports data hourly. Being near the mouth of the Thames Estuary with the North Sea, Rochester is relatively close to

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

and enjoys a somewhat less temperate climate than other parts of Kent and most of East Anglia. It is therefore less cloudy, drier and less prone to

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

depressions with their associated wind and rain than western regions of Britain, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter. Rochester city centre's micro-climate is more accurately reflected by these officially recorded figures than by readings taken at Rochester Airport. North and

North West Kent North West Kent is a geographical area in Kent, a county in south-east England. The term North West Kent may refer to one or both of two distinct areas; one is entirely within the modern boundaries of Kent, whereas the other also contains parts o ...

continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, ''eg.'' on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees. Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 °C and 31.7 °C. Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 °C, the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

Buildings

Rochester comprises numerous important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...

, the Corn Exchange,

Restoration House Restoration House in Rochester, Kent in England, is a fine example of an Elizabethan mansion. It is so named after the visit of King Charles II on the eve of his restoration. Charles had landed in Dover on 25 May 1660 and by the evening of t ...

, Eastgate House, as well as Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral. Many of the town centre's old buildings date from as early as the 14th century up to the 18th century. The

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

of St Bartholomew's Hospital dates from the ancient priory hospital's foundation in 1078. In the 21st century the Riverside area north of the railway line has been redeveloped to provide new housing and a primary school.

Economy

Thomas Aveling started a small business in 1850 producing and repairing agricultural plant equipment. In 1861 this became the firm of Aveling and Porter, which was to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery and steam rollers in the country.*Discovering Traction Engines, – Harold Bonnett – Shire Publications (1975) – Aveling was elected Admiral of the River Medway (i.e. Mayor of Rochester) for 1869-70. Tourism is now a sector.

Culture

Sweeps Festival

Since 1980 the city has seen the revival of the historic Rochester Jack-in-the-Green May Day dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which had died out in the early 1900s. Though not unique to Rochester (similar sweeps' gatherings were held across southern England, including in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), its revival was directly inspired by Dickens' description of the celebration in '' Sketches by Boz''. The festival has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dance sides to one of the largest in the world. The festival begins with the "Awakening of Jack-in-the-Green" ceremony, and continues in Rochester High Street over the May

Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...

weekend. There are numerous other festivals in Rochester apart from the Sweeps Festival. The association with Dickens is the theme for Rochester's two Dickens Festivals held annually in June and December. The Medway Fuse Festival usually arranges performances in Rochester and the latest festival to take shape is the Rochester Literature Festival, the brainchild of three local writers.

Library

A new

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...

was built alongside the Adult Education Centre, Eastgate. This enabled the registry office to move from Maidstone Road, Chatham into the Corn Exchange on Rochester High Street (where the library was formerly housed). As mentioned in a report presented to Medway Council's ''Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee'' on 28 March 2006, the new library opened in late summer (2006).

Huguenot Museum

A new Huguenot Museum, which includes items from the collections of the French Hospital (La Providence), French Hospital, was opened in Rochester on 13 May 2015, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and individual donations.

Theatre

There is a small amateur theatre, Medway Little Theatre, on St Margaret's Banks, Rochester High Street (the part of the High Street that continues from Star Hill towards Chatham) and just opposite the former railway station. Converted from a building which in its almost 200-year history had been, amongst other things, a wine merchants, warehouse and printing works the theatre's first season was in 1958. Since then hundreds of plays have been presented ranging from Shakespeare to Ayckbourn, modern classics to timeless farces along with many plays presented for the first time in the Medway Towns and, indeed, Kent. Medway Little Theatre also has a thriving youth company and a children's workshop for younger people. Every summer the Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival (named after one of Medway Little Theatre's founders) attracts groups from far and wide.

Media

Local newspapers for Rochester include the ''Medway Messenger'', published by the KM Group, and free papers. The local commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station for Rochester is KMFM Medway, owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlight which is now an online service. The area also receives broadcasts from county-wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart Kent, Heart and Gold (British radio network), Gold, as well as from various Essex and Greater London radio stations. Rochester is part of the ITV Meridian and BBC South East area, receiving television signals from the Bluebell Hill transmitter on the crest of the

to the SE, supplemented by a low power relay transmitter in central Chatham.

Sport

association football, Football is played with many teams competing in Saturday and Sunday leagues. The local football club is Rochester United F.C., Rochester United F.C. Rochester F.C. was its old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Rugby football, Rugby is also played; Medway R.F.C. play their matches at Priestfields and ''Old Williamsonians'' is associated with Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School. Cricket is played in the town, with teams entered in the Kent Cricket League. Holcombe Hockey Club enter teams in both the Men's England Hockey League, Men's and Women's England Hockey Leagues. Motorcycle speedway, Speedway was staged on a track adjacent to City Way that opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the ''Rochester Bombers'' became the Romford Bombers. Sailing and rowing are also popular on the River Medway with respective clubs being based in Rochester.

Film

The 1959 James Bond novel ''Goldfinger (novel), Goldfinger'' describes Bond driving along the A2 road (Great Britain), A2 through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood side of Rochester Bridge, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway (Great Britain), M2 motorway Medway bypass. Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins television film ''The War Game'', which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile. The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover,

and Tonbridge. The 2011 adventure film ''Ironclad (film), Ironclad'' is based upon the First Barons' War#Sieges of Windsor and Rochester, 1215 siege of Rochester Castle. There are however Ironclad (film)#Fictional elements, areas where the plot differs from accepted historical narrative. A scene in the 2001 film ''Last Orders'', starring Bob Hoskins and Tom Courtenay, was filmed in Rochester High Street.

Notable people

;Charles Dickens: The historic city was for many years the favourite of

, who lived within the diocese at nearby

, Higham, many of his novels being based on the area. Descriptions of the town appear in ''Pickwick Papers'', ''Great Expectations'' and (lightly fictionalised as "Cloisterham") in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''. Elements of two houses in Rochester, Satis House and

, are used for Miss Havisham's house in ''Great Expectations'', Satis House. ;Edmund of Hadenham: A monk of Rochester, Edmund of Hadenham (Floruit, fl. 1307) was an English chronicler. ;John Stevens Henslow: The priest, botanist and geologist John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861) was born in Rochester. ;Dame Sybil Thorndike and Russell Thorndike: The actress Dame Sybil Thorndike and her brother Russell Thorndike, Russell were brought up in Minor Canon Row adjacent to the cathedral; the daughter of a Canon (priest), canon of Rochester Cathedral, she was educated at Rochester Grammar School for Girls. A local doctors' practice, local dental practice and a hall at Rochester Grammar School are all named after her. ;Sir Peter Buck: Peter Buck (mayor), Sir Peter Buck was Mayor of Medway, Admiral of the Medway in the 17th century; knighted in 1603 he and William Barlow (bishop of Lincoln), Bishop Barlow hosted James VI and I, King James, the House of Stuart, Stuart royal family and the Christian IV of Denmark, King of Denmark in 1606. A Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, civil servant to Chatham Dockyard, The Royal Dockyard and Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Lord High Admiral, Buck lived at Eastgate House, Rochester. ;Denis Redman: Major-General Denis Redman, a World War II veteran, was born and raised in Rochester and later became a founder member of REME, head of his Corps and a Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General in the British Army. ;Kelly Brook: The Model (people), model and actress Kelly Brook went to Delce Junior School in Rochester and later the The Thomas Aveling School, Thomas Aveling School (formerly Warren Wood Girls School).

Education

Medway council run a Selective school#United Kingdom, selective system of education, similar to other local authorities in Kent, but call their secondary modern schools ''secondary schools''. Almost all secondary schools in Rochester have opted for Academy (English school), academy status. In 1701, Sir Joseph Williamson left a bequest to establish the Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Mathematical School, a boys' grammar school, also referred to either as ''Rochester Math'' or ''The Math School''. Unlike earlier educational foundations, such as King's School, Rochester, The King's School, it was not tied to a religious establishment, but was opened for practical instruction of boys in navigation and mathematics. The University for the Creative Arts, formerly the Kent Institute of Art & Design, is located on the boundary of Rochester with Chatham.

Transport

;Road Rochester is on the A2 road (Great Britain), A2, which crosses the Medway at Rochester Bridge – the route roughly follows the ancient trackway, ancient road known as Watling Street, first paved by the Romans, but used by earlier Britons for centuries before the Roman invasion. Nowadays vehicular traffic is largely diverted onto the nearby M2 motorway (Great Britain), M2 motorway. Watling Street passes through the town, and slightly to the south both the M2 motorway (Great Britain), M2 motorway and the High Speed 1 railway line bridge the

. ;Bus Bus services are operated by Arriva Southern Counties, which took over the locally owned Maidstone & District Motor Services, Maidstone & District bus company in the 1990s. Other local bus companies including Nu-Venture provide certain services, some contracted from the local council. ;Rail Rochester railway station is on the Chatham Main Line and the North Kent Line. Strood railway station is on the North Kent Line and the Medway Valley Line; it links to the HS1 high speed line at Ebbsfleet International railway station, Ebbsfleet International giving a running time of 30 minutes into St Pancras railway station, St Pancras. All services are provided by Southeastern (train operating company), Southeastern. ;Air Rochester Airport (Kent), Rochester Airport began in September 1933 when Rochester City Council purchased some land as the site for a municipal airport. One month later the aircraft manufacturers

leased the land for test flying. By 1934–5 Short Brothers had taken over the site, and moved in some of their personnel from the existing seaplane works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend, Kent, Gravesend, John Parker flying the Short Brothers Short Scion G-ACJI. In 1979 the lease reverted to the City Council. After giving thorough consideration to closing the airport, General Electric Company, GEC (then comprising Marconi Company, Marconi and instrument makers Elliott Brothers (computer company), Elliot Automation) decided to take over management of the airport. It maintained two grass runway, landing strips while releasing some land for light industrial expansion.