page_title: History of Rochester, Kent
section_title: Later Middle Ages
hierarchical_section_title: History of Rochester, Kent / Medieval / Later Middle Ages
caption_attribution_description: English: Rochester Castle, Kent, near to Rochester, Medway, Great Britain. Looking North by North-West from the corner of Boley Hill and St Margaret&#39;s StThis is a photo of listed building number 1336100.
context_page_description: Rochester is a town and former city in Kent, England. It is located at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles from London. The town's location is due to the bridge which carries the Roman Watling Street over the river.
context_section_description: In early 1215 the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, temporarily ceded control of the castle to King John.  The royal constable, Reginald de Cornhill, took control.  In June 1215 the barons met King John at Runnymede and agreed the treaty later known as the Magna Carta.  Shortly afterwards the agreement between Langton and John was dissolved, apparently de Cornhill switched sides and remained constable.  Shortly afterwards civil war broke out and rebels marched to Rochester to secure the castle.  It appears that the King demanded that Langton hand over the castle, but Langton refused.  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.  Langton fled, the King regarding him as a "notorious traitor".
  John rode to Rochester, sending forces ahead of his caravan to secure the city.  The royal forces entered with the element of surprise on 11 October, the king arriving two days later.  The castle was invested and a siege begun.  To prevent relief forces arriving the bridge was pulled down.
  The assault began with siege engines unleashing a barrage of missiles against the curtain walls which were breached by mining rather that assault.  The defenders retreated into the keep which withstood the siege engines.  The south-east corner of the keep was undermined and the pit props soaked in pigs fat.  When set alight the resulting fire collapsed the mine and brought down the turret.  The defenders retreated behind the great stone diving wall in the center of the keep.  On 30 November the defenders finally surrendered.
  The cathedral was being developed in this period.  In 1227 a new Early English quire was completed to replace the original Norman one.  In 1343, under Bishop Hamo de Hythe, the central tower was raised and four bells (called Dunstan, Paulinus, Itamar and Lanfranc) hung there, possibly transferred from the original camponile now known as "Gundulf's Tower", or possibly recast from the original metal.
  In 1264 civil war broke out between those loyal to King Henry III and the baronial forces led by Simon de Montfort.  Rochester's constable in 1264, Roger de Leybourne, held the castle in support of Henry.  A baronial army marched from Tonbridge and to deny them cover or shelter the royalist garrison set fire to the city suburbs.  Simon de Montfort led an army from London which crossed the river after some fighting.  When they entered Rochester the cathedral was raided.  the following day the curtain wall was breached and the defenders retreated to the keep.  Just as in 1215 siege engines were set up but could not break the keep.  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.
  Rochester suffered from the plague, as did the rest of the kingdom, in 1376.  In 1381 the castle saw fighting for the final time during the Peasants' Revolt. It was besieged and captured by a group of rebels who plundered the castle and released a prisoner.
  Accounts dating from 1339 reveal that the bridge was decaying, this appears to have been a 12th-century replacement for the AD 960 rebuild.  In 1339 the bridge was broken down for 24 weeks.  Subsequently, on several occasions, a ferry had to be hired, so dangerous had it become.  During the thaw of 1381 the pressure of ice finally demolished the old bridge.  A new stone bridge was opened in 1392 which lasted until the 19th century. Subsequent to this The Rochester Bridge Trust was established to take over responsibility for the upkeep.  The trust was founded by Sir Robert Knolles and Sir John de Cobham and granted its charter from King Richard II.  Subsequent benefactors included Ricardo Hwytynton, the real life "Dick Whittington". The money came, and comes, from property rents.
  In 1461 King Edward IV granted Rochester a charter in recognition of its loyalty to the crown.  The former post of bailiff became that of mayor and the inhabitants were recognised as "citizens", that is the town was recognised as a city. 
caption: The round tower (centre) was a replacement built by Henry III to repair the damage done to the keep by King John's mine. In contrast to the other two towers visible, it is cylindrical.
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