Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Rochester: A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal SeePalmer, G. H. (George Henry)
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Rochester: A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See
Palmer, G. H. (George Henry)
Rochester Cathedral (Rochester, Kent, England)
Of #Gundulf's Tower#, on the north side of the choir, between the main and
choir transepts, only ruins now remain, but these are older than any
other part of the church's buildings still in existence above ground.
The tower was certainly Gundulf's work and built before his church. The
construction of the latter rendered useless two out of the four long
narrow windows that had been inserted in the tower, one in each side, on
the ground floor, and they were therefore blocked up. The tower, though
rather dilapidated, was still almost complete at nearly the end of the
last century. A view in Grose's "Antiquities," vol. iii., shows it as it
was in 1781. At that time it still rose as high as the parts of the
church beside it, and traces are to be seen in the print of the flying
bridge that formerly connected it with the Early English turret at the
north-west corner of the choir transept. There is now, however, only a
mere shell of the lower part left. The walls were 6 feet thick,
inclosing a space 24 feet square. In the "History and Antiquities of
Rochester" (1772), we are told that there were at that time traces of
one floor at a height of 20 feet, and of another 25 feet above that. The
walls then rose 20 feet more, giving a total height of 65 feet. During
the Early English period the north-east angle, which stands quite clear
of the church, was strengthened by massive buttresses, and a story,
apparently of wood, was added on projecting arches resembling
machicolations. This wooden story probably formed the bell chamber; the
machicolation-like supports still existed in 1781.
There has been much discussion as to the original purpose of the tower.
Some leading antiquaries of the eighteenth, and of the early part of
this century, thought that the bridge entrance at the top was at first
the only one and that the structure with its massive walls formed the
cathedral treasury. It must be remembered, however, that the early
English turret to which the bridge was thrown was not in existence until
much later. The lower part still remaining is so dilapidated, with all
its ashlar facing gone, that it seems impossible to fix the position of
the original entrance. At the present day there are two entrances, one
through a large opening in the north wall, the other through a doorway
in the south-west corner formed by knocking out the back of an old
recess.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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