Leeds Castle and Rochester
Today’s adventure was a tour of Leeds Castle and a walk around the city of Rochester and its ruined castle. The two castle visits in one day would hopefully satisfy my brother Graham’s “had to do” for his trip. Like everything in England whatever you want to see or do is close by, but takes hours to get to. With five adults in Geoff’s Vauxhall the drive was bound to be a chore.
Leeds Castle is nine hundred years old and set within five hundred acres of beautiful parklands and gardens in the heart of Kent, the garden of England.
The outdoor spaces were truly spectacular. There were a number of gardens to wander; ancient Castle Island with its marigolds, roses and lavender. The Barbican Rockery showcased flora and fauna from around the world. The castle’s original kitchen garden, the Culpeper Garden was set with low box hedges amongst roses, lupins, poppies and was still a riot of colour and scent. The Lady Baillie Mediterranean Garden with its south exposure was perfect for palms and cactuses that oddly didn’t feel out of place. Surrounding all theses gardens and the castle are vast lawns with tree covered pathways running alongside creeks and streams and a lake with a waterfall. It took us half an hour just to traverse the lawns.
When we came in sight of the castle the original gate, moat and barbican greeted us. In the moat which lapped up to the castle walls were many varieties of waterfowl happily paddling about. The most impressive were the black swans, which I’d never seen before. I think I read somewhere that every black swan in England is the property of the Queen.
In the mid 800’s the surrounding area was controlled by a Saxon chief called Led (Leed) who built a wooden fort on two islands in the middle of the River Len. The first stone castle was constructed in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoeur as protection for the nervous Norman conquerors. The place remained in the family for nearly a hundred and fifty years. Like most defensive structures they are never as impregnable as owners hope, over the centuries Leeds Castel was captured and renovated to make it stronger many times. In 1278 it became one of Edward l’s royal castles. He and the wife loved the place so much he spent a fortune on renovations, including creating the lake that surrounds the castle today.
Happier times came and in 1519 Henry Vlll transformed it into a residence for he and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Later she would live there alone for a while after he’d decided Anne Bolyen was the one. In 1552 the castle title was transferred to Sir Anthony St. Leger and that was the end of it being a Royal household.
The castle, unlike many remained unscathed during the Civil War, the owner at the time sided with the winning side. Although not the whole family were as clever. After the Restoration a member of the family was granted vast holdings in Virginia as reward for his loyalty to the crown during the troubles. Those family lands in Virginia were to provide a fortune for the family and an ongoing connection to the USA. Today a sundial on the grounds still tells the time in Belvoir, Virginia. The American holdings were sold off in the early 1800’s and the resulting cash allowed for extensive repairs and remodelling. Today the place remains as it was after the 19th century Tudor style renovations.
The last private owner bought the pile in 1926 and renovated the interior to a 16th century style which I thought a shame. During the Second World War the castle was graciously offered to be used as a hospital for injured servicemen. There was a display on the third floor where a training film was playing in a loop about how American soldiers should interact with the locals. The film was narrated by actor Burgess Meredith and he offered up some local customs that soldiers could expect, in places like pubs for instance. In 1974 the castle was left to the Leeds Castle Foundation for the benefit of the public.
After a few hours of wandering about we were ready for a rest. Fortuitously the castle guardians had opened a Costa’s cafe on the grounds. It was very handy as we still had a half hour return tramp through the gardens back to the car..
Next up, Rochester, famous in part as the place where Charles Dickens lived and wrote a number of his books. I’d been here before and was glad to wander its very Victorian streets again.
Rochester is situated at the lowest bridging point on the River Medway and is about fifty kilometers from London. Neolithic remains have been found in and around the city and over the centuries it was occupied by the usual cast of characters, Celts, Romans, Jutes and the Saxons. During Roman times a large battle was fought and won by the Italians. The victors then built the first bridge over the Medway. They later ringed the city with a stone wall.
In spite of having found and online ordered the pea jacket he’d been searching for since we arrived my brother Cameron continued to check every shop he came across. Just in case he came across a better one, to some great aggravation to his companions I add. As a result Gillian, Graham and I left Geoff and Cameron to it and wandered off towards the castle. Halfway there we began to feel guilty so decided to wait for them at a large intersection. Some convenient benches had been placed alongside the road. We sat and watched the traffic traverse the river for what seemed like a bit too long. Fortunately we had cell phones so made a call and learned they were close by but heading to our destination down another roadway, we agreed to meet at the castle.
I though was on edge. I’d tried to visit the castle on my last trip but found it locked up tighter than a tart’s heart. Today I had no intention of letting anything get in the way and make me miss the opportunity of getting inside. Determined and tired of waiting as the others explored the courtyard I headed off by myself, there was only an hour before closing after all.
I entered the castle by way of a twenty foot wooden stairway into a refurbished entranceway that served as the ticket shop and of course a convenient place to buy souvenirs. Once past it was right into the ruin. As you’d imagine all wooden structures, like roofs, floors and interior walls had long since fallen to dust. But the stone walls and perimeter hallway floors of the four story structure are as strong as they day they were constructed. I noticed the steps of all the circular stone staircases had been worn down by the tread of people over a thousand years.
Rochester Castle was built by Bishop Odo, a half brother of William the Conqueror. It was barely twenty years old when in 1087 it was rebuilt and some of that construction can be seen today. The various owners, renovations and rebuilding plus countless attacks against the castle are too numerous to relate here. Suffice it to say the castle had a storied history over the years. The last military action was in 1381 and thereafter the place fell into disuse. Then enterprising citizens started to dismantle what they could and materials were taken for other construction projects. Ultimately the Crown gave away its rights to the castle and by the 1870’s the ruins and grounds were open to the public.
The views of the surrounding countryside and the river from the castle ramparts were spectacular. I had great time exploring; the great central halls. Though the castle is floor and ceiling less the halls were easily identifiable by the numerous fireplaces set into the stone walls. The remains of the sanitation system were a surprise. In the lower reaches of one corner was a space five meters square that rose the entire height of the castle, it was the cess pit. There were toilets, actually stones slabs with conveniently sized holes at various places up above where one did your business. Gravity then took over and it all collected at the bottom where every few months some poor guy had to clean it out. It must have been as horrible as it sounds but it was worse. The material was removed through a doorway substantially smaller than doors we are used to. I imagined it was chucked out shovelful by shovelful.
Once we’d all been satisfied combing through the castle we went on to have a look at Rochester Cathedral which was right across the road. The cathedral was founded in 604 but today’s building dates to only 1080. You can’t swing a dead cat in this country without hitting a thousand year old church, castle or happily, a pub. After a beer in very convenient public house we headed home for a hearty stew that Gillian had waiting for us in the slow cooker.