Rochester, Kent

“ The last bridge is at Rochester, still around its Cathedral a quaint old town redolent of Dickens, with the contrasting clangour and pitiless prose of Chatham spreading, unsightly but significant, far over the heights, and looking{220} down on the broad harbour into which the Medway, having achieved its passage through the range, now expands itself towards the Thames. The whole north fringe of Kent, as every one knows who has travelled the road from Canterbury to Rochester, or in other words the line of Watling Street, is a bleak, cheerless country to look upon ”

“ Kent started and, gazing at Rochester and the clerk, saw there was a general resemblance in coloring and physique.
“Did you present the checks to McDonald at the Metropolis Trust Company bearing Rochester's and my forged signatures?” he asked.
“I did,” acknowledged Sylvester. “Mr. Rochester's wardrobe came in very handy for deceiving the casual glance. You know, 'clothes make the man, and want of it the fellow.'”
Kent looked up quickly, struck by an idea.
“Sylvester, did you steal the envelope containing the securities from me at the Club de Vingt?” he asked. ”

“ The cool, pellucid, illuminating effect of the flint was just the proper foil to the warm, glowing, livid brick.
From Rochester we walked to Gravesend, over Gad's Hill; the day soft and warm, half sunshine, half shadow; the air full of the songs of skylarks; a rich, fertile landscape all about us; the waving wheat just in bloom, dashed with scarlet poppies; and presently, on the right, the Thames in view dotted with vessels. Seldom any cattle or grazing herds in Kent; the ground is too valuable; it is all given up to wheat, oats, barley, hops, fruit, and various garden produce. ”

“ It grows more plentifully in Kent than any other county of this land, as namely, in many places on this side Dartford, along to Southfleet, Chatham, and Rochester, and upon Chatham down, hard by the Beacon, and half a mile from Rochester, in a field near a house called Selesys. ”

“ Kent is remarkable as the only English county which comprises two entire bishoprics, Canterbury, the see for East Kent, having been founded in 597, and Rochester, the see for West Kent, in 600. In 1291 the archdeaconry of Canterbury was co-extensive with that diocese and included the deaneries of Westbere, Bridge, Sandwich, Dover, Elham, Lympne, Charing, Sutton, Sittingbourne, Ospringe and Canterbury; the archdeaconry of Rochester, also co-extensive with its diocese, included the deaneries of Rochester, Dartford, Malling and Shoreham. ”

“ The king of Kent was baptized in 596, and Canterbury became the mother church. Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine a reinforcement of monks in 601. Two of these, Laurentius and Mellitus, were consecrated by Augustine as missionary bishops to convert West Kent and the East Saxon Kingdom to the faith. The chief town of the former district was Rochester, and of the latter London. This city had much grown in importance, having established a busy trade with the neighbouring states both by land and sea. The king of the East Saxons was Sebert, nephew of Ethelbert of Kent, and subject to him. ”

“ If Kent be essentially the Market Garden of England, rather than pre-eminently the Garden in the picturesque sense, certainly this country yields to none other in historic or literary interest. That coast where Cæsar and Augustine, easily first among the great personages of history, landed; this fertile county which contains the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Church of England; the neighbourhood of Rochester and Maidstone, linked with the literary activities of Charles Dickens, must needs hold the affections of Englishmen, irrespective of the physical and æsthetic attractions of scenery. ”

“ Crossing Rochester Bridge, keeping to the right along Strood and [350] Frindsbury—the churchyard of which affords a splendid view of Rochester, Chatham, and the Medway—passing up Four Elms Hill and through the little village of Wainscot, nothing of interest calls for notice until we have travelled some miles from Strood. After crossing a tramway belonging to Government, and utilized by the Royal Engineers as a means of communication between the powder-magazine and Chatham Barracks, we observe that vegetation, which is so rich in other parts of Kent, here appears to be dwarfed and stunted. ”

“ We can scarcely leave Kent without a word or two respecting the church of the Rochester monks. It was founded by King Ethelbert, who conferred upon it the dignities of an episcopal see, in the year 600; and, dedicating it to St. Andrew, completed the good work by many donations and emoluments. The revenues of the see were always limited, and it is said that its poverty caused it to be treated with kind forbearance by the ecclesiastical commissioners at the period of the Reformation. ”

“ So we have our Chelsfield, Oakfield, Ifield, Broomfield, Whitfield, Swingfield, Fairfield, Hothfield, Stalisfield, Clexfield, Longfield, Fieldgreen, and Netherfield, in the more forestal part of Kent, while in the list of parishes in the Rochester diocese, where marsh and down prevailed, I find only one parish—Matfield—which suggests old felling of trees. Sometimes, however, there would be attractive glades or leys on the outskirts of the forest, already pastured or cultivated to a certain extent. ”

“ The nearest place of public worship was Beckingham in Kent, about a mile distant.
[1] An alteration has been made in the Diocesan arrangement. Since 1877, Battersea together with other parishes in East and Mid-Surrey has been added to the See of Rochester, and therefore is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of that Diocese. The See of Rochester was founded A.D. 604. St. Augustin or Austin (the first Bishop of Canterbury A.D. 598) . Consecrated Justus, the first Bishop of Rochester. The See of West Saxons (afterwards Winchester, A.D. 705) was founded A.D. 635. ”

“ Walter Tyler ‘of Essex,’ who was presented by a Kentish jury as one of the two leaders of the rioters at Canterbury on Monday, 10 June, must, if correctly described, be a different person (ib. iii. 93) . But the recently discovered Stowe manuscript states that after holding council at Dartford the rebels took Rochester Castle on 7 June, and, choosing Wat Tyler of Maidstone to be their captain, were led by him to Canterbury. Possibly the East Kent juries laboured under a mistaken impression that he came from Essex. ”

“ And some, of the which Wyat himself was chief, would return into Kent to meet with the Lord Abergavenny, the Sheriff, Sir Thomas Moyle, Sir Thomas Kemp, Sir Thomas Finch, that were at Rochester, coming on Wyat's back with a great company well appointed: falsely persuading himself that he should find among them more friends than enemies. ”

“ Fairlight, therefore, is simply a modern corruption after a fashion which once corrupted the name of Leigh, near Tonbridge, which I find written Legh in 1435, Ligth in 1513, Lyghe in 1525, and Lyght in 1531. It has been suggested that the first syllable may indicate a personal name, Fær; but this seems less tenable.
Borstall, from the Anglo-Saxon Beorg, a hill, and stal, a dwelling (as in Tunstall) , means a path up a steep hill. So there is Borstall Hill near Rochester, Bostall Hill near Woolwich, and Borstall Hill by Whitstable. ”

“ To this account of the state of the diocese of Rochester, written at the time, it is only necessary to add that the number of benefices in this portion of Kent was some 230, which will serve as some indication of the number of clergy carried off by the prevailing sickness.
The diocese of Winchester includes the two counties of Surrey and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. On the 24th of October, 1348, Bishop Edyndon, the occupant of the see, addressed a letter to his clergy ordering prayers. ”

“ Mallings, The—The churches have been placed one opposite to each parish, because (D.B.) describes one Malling as the property of the Archb. of Canterbury, the other as belonging to the Bp. of Rochester; and to the present day East Malling has remained a peculiar of the archbishop, though being, like West Malling, within the diocese of Rochester: And it may here be remarked, that such notices should never be overlooked, especially when a difficulty occurs in identifying any place mentioned in (D.B.) , because they will sometimes, though not always, render considerable assistance ”

“ Woodland.—The church having been destroyed, Woodland is now included in the parish of Kingsdown near Wrotham. In (A.D. 1291) "Ecclia de Wodland" appears; likewise in (Val. Eccl.) as a rectory. In a list of churches in the diocese of Rochester (compare the Note) perhaps earlier than A.D. 1291, we find "Watlande" enumerated among the churches, while Stansted is reckoned a chapel merely; but the name is now dropped. Harris states, that this church was suppressed by Card. Pole in 1557, when it was united to Wrotham, though the manor continued in Kingsdowne. ”

“ Paddlesworth having no poor, it always unites with the parish of Snodland in a poor-rate, but constantly has its own separate church and highway rates, continuing in all respects a distinct parish. The last mention in the church records of Rochester of the induction of a rector is A.D. 1596. The chapel of Dowde or Dowdes, already noticed under Ludsdown, is averred to have been united to Paddlesworth, together with Pomphery Castle, 1 March, 1366.
254. Palestrei.—Now Palster Court, a manor farm in Wittersham. Hasted says that the manor extends into Ebeney ”

“ Ludsdown.— On an altar tomb is the brass figure of a man in armour. (Harris.) Dode, now a part of this parish, was formerly a rectory. It appears to have been esteemed parochial about the twelfth century. See the latter part of the Note on Rochester. Dode church is alluded to under the title of "Dowdes Chapel" by Hasted, who adds in a note: "The ruins of the walls of this chapel are still visible in a field belonging to Buckland Farm in this parish," Ludsdown, "about a quarter of a mile from the house." (Hist. of Kent, I, 474 fol.) ”

“ The ancient funereal monument on Boxley Hill, between Maidstone and Rochester, but in this parish, usually called "Kit's Cotty House," is considered to mark the spot of Catigern's interment, whence the name. Horsa was buried at a place (in Chatham parish, Kilburne) still called Horsted. (Hasted.) A somewhat curious Perp. doorway, belonging to a hospital in Aylesford, is alluded to by Mr. Bloxam (Goth. Archit. 246.) For a notice of Roman remains discovered and vestiges of the Romano-British town of Aiglessa, or Eccles, in the vicinity of Aylesford, consult the Journal of the Brit. ”

“ Ripple.—The arch over the south door of this church is circular. A document of A.D. 1287 mentions a chapel in Ripple cemetery, called the Charner, of which no vestiges remain to show whether it was attached to the church, or an unconnected erection in the churchyard. (Hasted.)
271. Rochester.—Of this place it is said that "The city of Rochester was worth an hundred shillings in the time of K. Edward. When the bishop received it the same. Its value is now twenty pounds, but the tenant pays forty pounds: Civitas Rovecestre T. R. E. valebat c solidos; quando episcopus recepit similiter ”

“ Cowling.— A.D. 960 this church was given by Queen Edgiva, daughter of the lord of the manor of Cowling, to the church of Rochester. (Kilburne.) Part of the old castle is yet standing.
84. Cranbrook.— Here is a large church consisting of chancel, nave, north and south aisles with chancels shorter than the central one, south porch, and large square west tower with battlements and stair turrets. Both aisles have battlements, and the northern a stair turret also. Part of the north wall is more ancient than the remainder, the masonry being rubble. Perhaps some E.E. work exists ”

“ Would we sacrifice our great end for what we had intended to be but a means to it? ‘Let us,’ I said humbly, ‘try to keep our wits from wool-gathering again, lest we ride through Rochester and Canterbury without knowing it!’ We collected our thoughts in good time; for, lo! as mine host said to the monk, Rochester stands there hard by. Before many minutes we saw in the distance the town of Strood, and beyond it the broad Medway and Rochester, its castle and cathedral towering above the houses clustering about them. ”

“ In the Domesday description of the royal manor of "Elesford," this entry occurs : "The bishop of Rochester also, in exchange for the ground on which the castle stands, holds as much of the estate as is worth seventeen shillings and four pence. Episcopus etiam de Rovecestria pro excambio terre in qua castellum sedet tantum de hac terra tenet quod xvii solidos et iiii denaria valet." (D. B.) I am informed that there are, or were lately, at Aylesford, the remains of a Norm. keep or tower, with walls about eight or ten feet high, and used as a dog kennel. ”

“ Roff.) —In this parish are the remains of a palace of the bishops of Rochester.— (Reg. Roff.) speaks of the free chapel of St. Lawrence in Halling; which was suppressed 1st of K. Edward VI. (Hasted.) It is noticed in (Val. Eccl.) This must be distinguished from Longsole chapel in Allington, which is mentioned separately. The date of the above notice is between 1434 and 1478 a.d.—Langridge is an ancient manor in this parish, formerly called Bavent. The house is remarkable for some chimneys of the period of Queen Elizabeth. ”

“ Rochester consists of little more than one long street, stretching away from the castle and the river toward neighboring Chatham, and edged with low brick houses, of intensely provincial aspect, most of which have some small, dull quaintness of gable or casement. Nearly opposite to the shop of the old lady with the dissentient husband is a little dwelling with an inscribed slab set into its face, which must often have provoked a smile in the great master of laughter. ”