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)
#St. Paulinus# came over with Justus; ordained Bishop of York, in 625, to
accompany Ethelburga, princess of Kent, when she went to marry Edwin of
Northumbria; baptised Edwin himself in April, 627, and earned well his
title of the Apostle of Northumbria; preached also, we are told, in
Lancashire, in Cumbria, on the Trent, and at Lincoln; fled with the
widowed queen on Edwin's overthrow in 633, as he owed attendance to her;
gladly received in Kent and persuaded to accept the see of Rochester,
where, probably, he received the pallium sent him in 634; died in 644;
buried in the _secretarium_ of the church, whence his remains were
afterwards transferred to the Norman cathedral.
#St. Ythamar#, the first bishop who was an Englishman by birth; died in
655; like Paulinus, buried in the church, and much revered, though the
Normans seem to have been less eager to translate his remains.
#Damian# succeeded in 656, died in 664.
#Putta# succeeded five years later in 669; translated to Hereford in 676;
died in 688.
#Cuichelm# resigned the see, through poverty, after only two years.
#Gebmund#, appointed in 678, died in 693.
#Tobias#, appointed in 693; famous for his great learning, which included
a knowledge of both Greek and Latin; died in 726; buried in the
_Porticus_ of St. Paul, which he had himself built on to the cathedral.
Then came #Alduulf#, 726--d. 739 or 741; #Duina#, 741-747; #Earduulf#, 747 (or
757)-765; #Diora#, 778--d. 781; #Wermund#, 788-802; #Beornmod#, 803 (or
811)-814; #Tathnoth#, 841 (or 844)- ; #Godwin I.#; #Cutherwulf#,
868- ; #Swithulf#, 880- ; #Ruhric#; #Cheolmund#; #Chinefurth#;
#Burrhic#; #Alfstan# (#Athelstan#), 955- ; #Godwin II.# (#Godric#) and
#Godwin III.#, c. 995--c. 1012. This is as complete a list as can be given
until we come to Bishop Siward.
#Siward# was appointed in 1058; under him the establishment reached the
greatest extreme of poverty, but, though it is suspected that the
services of the church were also neglected, he was allowed to retain the
see after the Conquest until his death in 1075.
#Ernost#, a monk, appointed by Lanfranc in 1076, died in the same year.
#Gundulf#, consecrated in 1077; came over with Lanfranc; also a great
friend of Anselm; a skilful architect, rebuilt much of the cathedral,
built the White Tower in London, St. Leonard's Tower and the nunnery at
Malling, part of Dartford Church, and a tower at Rochester earlier than
the present keep; substituted Benedictines for the old secular
establishment of the cathedral; famous for piety and holiness, and in
favour with the Conqueror and the two sons who succeeded him; died in
1108, aged 84; buried by Anselm in the cathedral, where a plain tomb is
still called by his name.
#Ralph d'Escures#, an abbot of Sees who had been forced to flee by Robert
of Belleme; a friend of Gundulf; some architectural work at Rochester
carried out under his sway; Archbishop of Canterbury in 1114; died in
1122.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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