Historic Places in Medway

Rochester Castle in Kent is a Norman fortress of extraordinary scale and impressive preservation, its massive rectangular keep rising 34 metres from the ground to make it one of the tallest and most dramatic castle towers in England. The castle stands on the banks of the River Medway where the Roman road of Watling Street crossed the river, a strategically critical location that has been fortified in one form or another since the earliest period of the Roman occupation of Britain. The current keep was built by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, under a licence granted by King Henry I in the 1120s, and its scale and quality of construction reflect both the resources of the church and the political significance of controlling the crossing of the Medway. The walls of the keep are up to 4.5 metres thick and are faced in high quality Kentish ragstone, giving them a strength and durability that has survived the multiple sieges the castle has endured over eight centuries. The most famous of these sieges came in 1215 during the conflict between King John and the rebellious barons who had forced the signing of Magna Carta earlier that year. A baronial force held the castle for two months against John's army before the southeast corner tower was undermined using a technique that involved tunnelling beneath the foundations and then burning the wooden props to cause the tunnel roof to collapse, bringing the tower above down with it. The round replacement tower that was subsequently built on the southeast corner remains clearly distinguishable from the square Norman towers on the other three corners, a permanent record of this episode in the castle's history. The interior of the keep, though lacking its floors and roof, retains the framework of its original arrangement including the dividing wall that split the building into two halves for security reasons. Climbing through the levels to the roof provides exceptional views across the Medway estuary and the surrounding Kent and Essex countryside. Rochester's cathedral, medieval castle and the connections with Charles Dickens, who lived nearby at Gad's Hill and set significant portions of The Pickwick Papers and Great Expectations in the city, make it one of the most rewarding historic destinations in the southeast of England.

Upnor Castle is set in peaceful grounds in the village Upper Upnor, 3 miles from Rochester in the south east of England. Standing on the banks of the River Medway, Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort and comprises a triangular water bastion in front of a three storey rectangular fort with semi circular turrets and towers at each end. Facilities The castle is open to the public daily from 10am between April and September until 6pm and during October until 4pm. Visitors are invited to take an audio tour and to touch the powder barrels and cannons on the site. The fort is also licensed for civil wedding ceremonies for up to 80 guests. Upnor Castle was built in 1559 to build, repair and house war ships belonging to Queen Elizabeth, and by 1564 housed 23 of the fleet's largest ships. In 1585 modifications were planned and the Master Gunner laid a chain across the river to sink enemy ships; which was considered more effective than gunfire. In 1599 a timber palisade was built in the river, the bastion raised and a parapet added. On the landward side a ditch of 18 feet deep and 32 feet wide was dug, the north and south towers, gatehouse and connecting wall were also constructed creating a central courtyard. In the following years the fort was remodeled to accommodate more and more ammunition and by 1623 the fort held 18 guns. In 1668 the defenses of nearby forts were revised and new batteries built one mile further down stream towards the sea, there was no longer need for the chain across the river and the fort was converted into a gunpowder store. Hundreds of barrels of gunpowder were brought from the Tower of London and by 1691 the fort had to be modified to take the weight of 5,206 barrels. Barracks to house 64 soldiers were built on the site in 1718 and when the stocks of gunpowder where all finally used up the store closed with the building becoming an Ordinance Laboratory. In 1891 the castle was transferred from the Admiralty to the War Office who continued to use it until it until 1945 when it became a museum owned by English Heritage and run by Medway Council.

Cooling Castle is located six miles north of Rochester, Kent. The castle was built on the edge of marshes at Cooling to guard the Thames - it is now about two miles inland. It has a double bailey. The larger eastern bailey has a tower in each corner and earth walls in between surrounded by a dry moat, there is an impressive gateway flanked by twin drum towers . The smaller western bailey has stone walls with a tower in each corner and a wet moat on three sides. The castle is now in ruins but the gatehouse remains in good condition. There is a private house inside the castle owned by musician Jools Holland. The barns at Cooling Castle are used for weddings and functions. There are three barns for hire: The Heritage Barn for the reception of guests, The Fathom Barn for the Marriage Ceremony and The Tithe Barn for the Wedding Breakfast. Cooling Castle was built between 1380 and 1385 by John Cobham. The castle was besieged in 1554 by Thomas Wyatt the younger and was damaged by cannon fire. The Castle was abandoned after Wyatt's rebellion. During the 1990s, the property was owned by the Rochester bridge wardens.