Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral is a medieval church in the town of Rochester, in Kent. The bishopric is the second oldest in England after Canterbury. Today the building is widely regarded as one of the finest Norman cathedrals in the country. The view along the river Medway towards the town’s castle is spectacular.
The original Rochester church was founded by Justus, a missionary who accompanied St Augustine to re-convert England to Christianity in the early 7th century. For much of its early medieval history it was seen as a rival to its Kentish neighbour Canterbury which Augustine had established. Rochester Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Invasion of 1066 by Bishop Gundulf, who was responsible for the construction of the Tower of London. His statue adorns the west door. Because of his military engineering talent, Gundulf is regarded as the father of the Royal Engineers regiment, and the cathedral maintains strong links to military engineering school.
Fires, lootings and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-16th century caused the cathedral to suffer a steep decline. In the 19th century it was renovated by the great Victorian gothic architect Sir George Gilbert Scott who succeeded restoring the cathedral to its original 11th century condition.