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Rochester Castle
DATE: 1066
First timber Motte and Bailey built at Rochester
DATE: 1087
Stone castle built at Rochester for William Rufus by Bishop of Rochester Gundulf
DATE: 1088
First siege of Rochester Castle during the rebellion of the Norman Barons under Odo Bishop of Bayeux against William Rufus
DATE: 1127
Construction of the Great Keep at Rochester is started by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE: 1215
Castle of Rochester occupied by a French garrison in support of the Barons ; King John besieges Rochester Castle which is held by the rebel Barons by undermining the walls. Custody of castle is regained by the Crown.
DATE: 1220
Henry III repairs Rochester Castle, replacing the fallen square tower with a rounded tower.
DATE: 1264
Rochester is beseiged again during the Second Barons War between Henry III and Simon De Montfort. The Keep is saved by the arrival of a relieving royalist force
DATE: 1300
Visit to Rochester Castle by Edward I
DATE: 1314
Queen Isabel of Scotland, wife of Robert the Bruce, was a prisoner in Rochester castle for several months
DATE: 1367
Rochester castle is repaired by Edward III and Richard II in response to growing threat of French raiding parties during the Hundred Years War
DATE: 1381
Rochester Castle is attacked during the Peasants Revolt
DATE: 1416
Visit by Sigismund Emperor of Germany, with a retinue of a 1000 knights
DATE: 1500
Rochester Castle falls into neglect after Henry VII forbids his nobles from having private armies. Domestic fire destroys the interior of the Keep.
DATE: 1522
Visits to Rochester Castle by Henry VIII and Charles V Emperor of Germany
DATE: 1540
King Henry VIII came to Rochester to meet his fourth wife Anne of Cleves
DATE: 1610
James I gives the castle to Sir Anthony Weldon in whose family it remains until the nineteenth century
DATE: 1870
Rochester Castle grounds leased and turned into a public pleasure garden during which the last traces of the medieval outer gate and drawbridge are demolished
DATE: 1884
Rochester Castle is purchased by the City of Rochester for £6,572
DATE: 1984
English Heritage takes over guardianship of Rochester Castle
Norman Connections
DATE: 2009
Towns of Caen, Bayeux and Falaise, the Calvados General Council, the Calvados Departmental Committee for Tourism, the counties of Hastings, Colchester, Norwich and Medway Council collaborate within the framework of the Norman Connection project on the restoration and improvement of Norman châteaux.
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The European Union, investing in your future
Fonds Européen De Développement RégionalL’Union Européenne investit dans votre avenir
INTERREG IV A France (Channel) – England, co-funded by the ERDF.