History of Rochester, Kent
Alternatively, Durobrivae may refer to a small fort set up by Aulus Plautius, the general in charge of the first phase of the Roman conquest of Britain; it was not needed for long, as Kent was soon settled.
The Roman pioneers may even have initially built a pontoon bridge to supply the advancing army, replacing it with this permanent structure later.
[4] Rochester was one of the two oppida of the Cantiaci tribe, the western administrative centre of the Celtic kingdom (the other being their capital of Durovernum Cantiacorum, modern day Canterbury).
The Celtic trackway which became Watling Street probably passed through on roughly the current alignment: the geography of the Medway dictates the best crossing point.
On top of the piers longtitudinal timber beams provided the actual bridging structure, with cross planking to form the road surface.
[2] In more settled times, the combination of transport links and the fertile Medway valley became the basis of a developed agricultural economy.
The code was regarded as sufficiently significant that in the twelfth century (over 500 years later) they were written down in the Textus Roffensis, the "Book of [the church of] Rochester".
It is notable that Bishop Felix of Burgundy provided to Sigeberht of East Anglia "master and teachers according to the customs of Kent".
The damage to the see of Rochester was so great that the incumbent bishop, Putta, retired from his diocese; his appointed successor, Cwichelm, also gave up the see "because of its poverty".
[13] The thrymsa coinage had become debased so in the 690s it was replaced by silver coins known as sceattas (probably called "pennies") struck in at least six mints including the one at Rochester.
Bede, in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People (AD 730), records the name of the city as Hrofæscæstre (see the discussion above under Taxonomy).
Sigered, a client king to Offa of Mercia, styled himself Rex Cantiae and granted land in Rochester to the bishop.
Always under the ecclesiastical and financial shadow of Canterbury, by the end of Siward's episcopate (1058–1075) it was served by four or five canons "living in squalor and poverty".
[22] That it had remained secular is not in doubt; one of the canons, Æthelric, became priest of Chatham and made a gift to the cathedral for the soul and burial of Godgifu, his wife.
It contains the foundation charters of the cathedral and diocese, two copies of pre-Conquest Kent parishes and the Laws of Ethelbert (referred to above).
Rochester escaped direct military action, but the widespread lawlessness and settling of local scores left its mark.
Shortly afterwards the agreement between Langton and John was dissolved, apparently de Cornhill switched sides and remained constable.
The rebels feared that he would eventually capitulate and so seized control of the castle to prevent this, apparently with the consent of de Cornhill.
In 1264 civil war broke out between those loyal to King Henry III and the baronial forces led by Simon de Montfort.
A baronial army marched from Tonbridge and to deny them cover or shelter the royalist garrison set fire to the city suburbs.
The siege was abandoned on 26 April when the earls received news of a relief force led by Henry III and his son, Prince Edward.
[35] The house finally closed its doors to the travellers in 1940 when the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 prohibited casual wayfarers in this Protected Area.
[42] Even though the defences of Chatham had been strengthened by the construction of a fort at Upnor on the Hoo peninsular the Dutch launched a raid on 11 June 1667 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Under de Ruijter they broke through the chain at Upnor and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing and firing the English fleet.
The school specialised in teaching navigation and mathematics to the sons of freemen of the city of Rochester, the Chatham Naval Dockyard being nearby.
[49][50] In 1850 Thomas Aveling, financed by his father in law, bought a small millwrighting shop in Edwards yard where he set up a business producing and repairing agricultural plant.
In the inter-war period the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire 'C'-Class and Sunderland.
[53] In the local government reorganisation of 1974 the City of Rochester was merged with the borough of Chatham and part of the Strood Rural District including the Hoo Peninsula.
The decline in naval power and in shipbuilding in general led to the government abandoning the shipyard at Chatham in 1984, and the subsequent demise of much of the marine 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.
