Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle boasts the tallest Norman keep in England, rising to 113 feet. Built from the 1080s onward and given its great tower by Archbishop William de Corbeil in 1127, it guards the crossing of the River Medway on the road from London to Dover. The castle endured two famous sieges, the most dramatic in 1215 when King John undermined its south tower with a mine fuelled by pig fat.

Why it mattered

• Tallest Norman keep in England
• Controlled the strategic Medway crossing
• Scene of a legendary siege in 1215

Architecture and the site

• Rectangular great tower with cross-wall dividing the interior
• Round replacement tower on the undermined south corner
• Curtain wall with flanking towers

Chronology (selected)

• 1087: Bishop Gundulf begins the stone castle for William Rufus
• 1127: Archbishop William de Corbeil builds the great tower
• 1215: King John besieges the castle; south tower undermined

Further reading

• R. Allen Brown, "Rochester Castle" (English Heritage guidebook, 1986)

Hub essays

• Region context: norman england conquest and governance and the shared bibliography.
• Castles and fortification: Norman castles — motte to stone.

On the map

Use Open on map to fly to this pin in the Norman expansion era. Layers are teaching overlays — pair them with charters, excavation reports, and the works above.