Rochester Castle

We visited Rochester Castle on the same day as we visited Rochester Cathedral - a Castle and a Cathedral in one day, wonderful :)

The keep from the Castle Gardens.

Rochester Castle was built in the 12th Century, it holds a strategic position on the River Medway in Kent, with its beautiful keep overlooking the shipping travelling up and down the River. The Keep is the best preserved stone keep in England or France.

Looking down to the lower levels of the building.

Norman arches.

The Castle has been under siege twice since it was built, and a fire in the 13th Century had a great effect on the castle, with many of the buildings in the Bailey not being rebuilt. The Castle went into a long decline, with the Bailey eventually being opened as a Public Garden in 1870.

Looking down...

...and looking up :)

Looking down from roof level, the netting is there probably to stop birds getting inside.

The Keep itself is 125 feet high, built  of Kentish Ragstone, with finely dressed Caen stone window surrounds, and corner stones. The building has been roofless since the 16th Century, Joist holes in the walls show the original floor levels, and remains of fireplaces and internal windows can still be seen.

The Cathedral as seen from the Castle, which shows how close the two buildings are.

One of the roof walkways.

You can see the steeple of the Cathedral in this photo :)

It is thought that the principal state rooms were situated on the 2nd floor, with store rooms below, and private chambers above. 

Looking down on the Castle Gardens with the River Medway in the background.

The Castle Gardens as seen from the roof of the Keep. This area was the Bailey of the original castle, and would have had various buildings on it.

Another view of the River Medway, showing part of the Curtain Wall and maybe some remains of the buildings which once stood on the site.