Prior’s Gate is a 14th-century gatehouse, constructed to guard the south side of Rochester Cathedral’s priory.
History
Rochester was defended by a city wall, although the growth of the cathedral priory and lands on the southern edge had put pressure on the existing boundaries. In 1344, the monks were authorised to extend the city wall further south; a licence to crenellate was issued the following year, permitting the cathedral to build a fortified wall.
As part of this work, Prior’s Gate was constructed, possibly on the site of a previous gateway dating from the 13th century. The gatehouse was built from rubble ragstone, with two storeys and spiral staircase in the north-west turret.
The gatehouse still survives, and is protected under UK law as a Grade I Listed Building and as a Scheduled Monument.
Bibliography
- Renn, Derek, (2004) “Refortification at Rochester in the 1220s: A Public/Private Partnership?” Archaeologia Cantiana Volumer 124 pp. 343-363.
- Bacchus, D., (1986) “Excavations at the south-east bastion, Rochester city wall” Archaeologia Cantiana Volume 110 pp. 129-138.
- Flight, C. and Harrison, A.C., (1986), “The southern defences of medieval Rochester” Archaeologia Cantiana Volume 103 pp. 1-26.
- Harrison, A.C. and Williams, D., (1979), “Excavations at Prior’s Gate House, Rochester, 1967-77” Archaeologia Cantiana Volume 95 pp. 19-36.
- Harrison, A.C., (1972), “Rochester East Gate, 1969” Archaeologia Cantiana Volume 87 pp. 121-158.
- Harrison. A.C. and Flight, C., (1968), “The Roman and Medieval Defences of Rochester in the Light of Recent Excavations” Archaeologia Cantiana Volume 83 pp. 55-104.
- Kent County Council, (2004), Kent Historic Towns Survey. Kent County Council and English Heritage: Maidstone, UK.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Images on this page include those drawn from the Geograph website, as of 27 May 2020, and attributed and licensed as follows: “Prior’s Gate, Rochester“, author Chris Whippet, released under CC BY-SA 2.0.