Rochester

• ⊙Rochester Cathedral. The second-oldest cathedral foundation in England, after Canterbury .  
• ⊙Rochester Castle, Castle Hill, ME1 1SW,  ☎ +44 1634 335882. open daily 10AM–6PM (April–September), 10AM–4PM (October–March), last admission 45 minutes before closing. Recognised as one of the best-preserved and finest examples of Norman architecture in England, the great keep towering over the River Medway, square, massive and one of the tallest in the country, measures 113 feet high, 70 feet square and has walls 12 feet thick in places. adults £5.80, children £3.70, concessions £3.70.
  Rochester Castle was originally a Roman castrum. A new castle was built on a hill near the site on which the castle now stands after the Norman invasion of 1066. This would have been a wooden motte and bailey type castle. In 1088 the castle came under attack in the conflict between William Rufus and Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. After William the Conqueror died in 1087 Normandy was split. Odo along with many others supported William's elder brother Robert, Duke of Normandy rather than William Rufus, the Conqueror's younger brother. Odo had control of the castle and it became the headquarters for the rebels. The castle fell to Rufus' army and Odo was forced into exile. Gundulf, the bishop of Rochester, orchestrated the creation of a stone castle alongside the cathedral. Over the centuries the castle was the scene for many conflicts including King John's attempt to regain to castle from rebellious Barons and, in 1264, Simon de Montfort's rebellion.
• By the 17th century, the castle had become neglected, the keep had been burned out, and the site was being used as a local quarry for building materials. In 1870 the castle grounds were leased to the City of Rochester, who turned them into a public park and eventually, in the 20th century, responsibility for this imposing old structure was taken over by English Heritage. Today, the castle stands as a proud reminder of the history surrounding the old town of Rochester, along with the cathedral, the cobbled streets and the Dickensian reflections.
• ⊙Upnor Castle, High Street, Upnor, ME2 4XG,  ☎ +44 1634 718742. adults £5.80, children £3.70, concessions £3.70.  
• ⊙Eastgate House Garden, High St. Eastgate House was built in late 16th century. The house is not open except for occasional events, but the garden is and has a Swiss chalet where Dickens used to write, moved here in the 1960s. Eastgate House appears in Dicken's books as the Nun's House in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Westgate in Pickwick Papers.  
• ⊙Restoration House, 17-19 Crow Lane, ME1 1RF. Occasional opening. House and formal garden, dating from 1454. The house in still occupied and so is only open occasionally, usually Thurs and Fri in summer. Dickens used this as the basis for Satis House in Great Expectations. £7.50.  
• ⊙Rochester Bridge. The first bridge over the Medway to Strood was built by the Romans in 43AD. The present bridge was built in 1914, with a 1970 extension, and is worth walking across to see the views of the castle. Unusually the bridge is maintained by a charity, the Rochester Bridge Trust using investments from medieval times. There is a small chapel built into the bridge (open a few days per year) which continues a tradition started in 1393.  

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