The Romanesque West Door of Rochester Cathedral, in Rochester, Kent, England
Relatively little known, Rochester Cathedral – the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary – is the seat of England’s the second oldest bishopric, dating back to 604, but it has always lived in the shadow of nearby Canterbury. The present building was started in 1083 by the energetic Norman bishop Gandulf, who refounded it as a Benedictine Cathedral-Priory; although improvements continued throughout the mediaeval period, the diocese was never wealthy enough for a complete rebuilding in the gothic style, so much of the Norman nave of the late 11th and early 12th c. still survives, and is regarded as one of the cathedral’s chief architectural glories. It suffered considerably at the Reformation – the bishop, John Fisher, was executed in 1535, and in March 1540 the priory was suppressed (one of the very last monasteries to be dissolved); the cathedral continued, but went into decline. In the 19th and early 20th c. there were a series of restorations by L N Cottingham (1825-30), Sir George Gilbert Scott (1872), J L Pearson (1888), and C Hodgson-Fowler (1904-5), when the central tower was rebuilt. It was Pearson who restored the West Front, doing so in a very sensitive manner, especially the mid 12th c. West Door, which shows considerable French influence.
Size: 2848px × 4287px
Location: Boley Hill, Rochester, Kent, England
Photo credit: © David Knighton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: april, benedictine, britain, british, cathedral, door, doorway, england, english, exterior, kent, kingdom, monks, norman, priory, rochester, romanesque, scene, spring, topographical, uk, united
