Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/344

Rh ROCHE. 332 ROCHESTER. Littleborough, by which a Roman way formerly ran, a tunnel has been cut through the solid rock, 80 feet be- low the surface, and 2,800 yards in length, at a level of 500 to 600 feet above the sea. The family of Byron were Barons de Rochdale, and held the manor and estates for more than two centuries, but these were sold by Lord Byron, the poet, in 1823. They are said to extend over more than 32,000 statute acres. Many re- mains of antiquity have been found in the neighbour- hood. In 1820 a small iron box was discovered, con- taining rouleau of brass coins of the Lower Empire, in very good preservation. At another place some Roman coins and the right arm, in silver, of a statue of Vic- tory, were dug up, the" latter 10 inches long, and weigh- ing 6 ounces. About the wrist was a loose armilla, and another was fastened to it above the elbow ; attached to the former was a plate of silver, inscribed, " Victoriae Leg. VI. Vic. Val. Rufus. V.S.L.M." In the township of Castleton the mound of an ancient castle is still pre- served. The Poor-law Union of Rochdale comprises the tnshps. of Spotland, Blatchinworth, Butterworth, Castleton, Wardleworth, and Wuerdle, with an area of 40,310 acres, and a population in 1861 of 91,754. ROCHE. 'See ROACHE, cos. Cornwall and Louth. ROCHE ABBEY, a ruined abbey in the West Riding co. York, 4 ijniles S.W. of Tickhill. It is situated in Sandbeck Park, the seat of the Earl of Scarborough, and was originally built in 1147 by Richard de Boulli for monks of the Cistercian order. ROCHE CASTLE, a ruined castle in the co. of Wex- ford, Ireland. It is situated on the river Slaney, and formerly belonged to the Roches of Rochisland. ROCHE POINT TOWER, a lighthouse on the E. side of Cork Harbour, Ireland, about 100 feet above sea level, and visible for 15 miles. ROCHESTER, a city, market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, locally situated in the lathe of Aylesford, co. Kent, 8 miles from Gravesend, 26 N.W. of Canterbury, and 29 from London by road, or 30 by the North Kent railway, and 33 by the London, Chatham, and Dover line. It is situated on the right bank of the Medway, about 15 miles from the Nore, and is a place of considerable trade, having Sheerncss and Maidstone as sub-ports. On the land side it is sheltered by a range of chalk hills, rising almost per- pendicularly from the river, which is here crossed by an iron bridge, connecting this town with Strood, on the left bank of the Medway. The borough, as extended by the Reform Act, includes, besides the two parishes forming the City of Rochester, parts of Chatham, Frinds- bury, and Strood. These places, being all immediately adjacent, form as it were one continuous town, though differing widely in appearance, and each having many objects of interest, requiring separate notice under their several heads. Rochester is of very ancient date, and was once of more importance than at present. By the Romans it was called Durobrivis, and by the Saxons Hroffe-ceastre. King -3ithelbert first raised the place into importance by enclosing it with a well-built wall ; he also founded a priory, and made it the seat of a bishopric, to which St. Augustin ordained Justus in 604 as first bishop. It was frequently destroyed before the Norman conquest, having been besieged by Ethelred, and sacked and burnt several times by the Danes. Wil- liam the Conqueror rebuilt the castle, the ruins of which still remain, and gave it to Bishop Odo, his brother, but he rebelling against William Rufus, this king besieged and took the castle into his own hands. In the three following reigns of Henry I., Stephen, and Henry II., Rochester was nearly destroyed by fire. In 1215 King John took the castle from the insurgent barons ; in the following year it was retaken by Louis, Dauphin of France, but again retaken in 1217 by King John. In 1264 Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, held posses- sion of the city and castle for a short time. It was attacked by Wat Tyler at the time of his insurrection. The last king who took any interest in keeping the castle ill proper repair was Edward IV. The Protestant mar- tyrs were burnt here in 1556. Henry VIII., his daughter Elizabeth in 1573, and Charles II. soon after hia restoration, paid visits to Rochester ; and here it was ,hat his brother, James II., embarked for France ifter his abdication. It was devastated by the plague n 1665. In consequence of the attack made on Rochester jy the Dutch in the reign of Charles II., when they sailed up the Medway, it was fortified. The chief object of interest in the town is the cathedral, which in parts s one of the most ancient churches in the kingdom. Originally a priory, founded about the year 604, it was rebuilt by Bishop Gundulph about 1076, and although )artly burnt some fifty years afterwards, was restored ind has now many portions of the old structure remain- ing. The tower on the N. side of the choir is called jundulph's tower, the walls of which are 6 feet in .hickness, and the nave is likewise part of the ancient juilding. The W. part is of the enriched Norman style of architecture. Bishop Gundulph's statue is in one of the towers. The extreme length of the cathedral, ncluding the nave and choir, both of which are about ,he same length, is 306 feet ; the principal transept is 122 feet, and the smaller transept 90 feet; the Norman W. front is 81 feet; the eastern part is chiefly of plain early English architecture ; the tower which intersects as 1825; and the whole building has within the last above 20,000. The crypt, which is ancient, is exten- sive. The original Chapter House has perished, but a modern one, though of mean pretensions, now answers the double purpose of Chapter House and library, in which there are some ancient MSS., among them the register of the diocese, the Textus Roffensis and the Cus- tumale Roffeme. The bishop holds his consistory court in one of the many chapels, called St. Mary's, or Henry VII. 's chapel. There are many monuments, tombs, and brasses of an ancient date, including that of St. Paulinus, who converted Edwin the Saxon King of Northumbria, and died here in 644. Lord Chancellor Merton, founder of Merton College, Oxford, has a monu- ment of Limoges enamelled work. The diocese of Rochester, until the recent alterations made pursuant to the Commission of Inquiry issued 4th February, 1835, comprised the western part of the county of Kent and the peculiars of Iselham and Freckenham, but by Order in Council 8th August, 1845, so much of the county of Kent as was in the diocese and archdeaconry of Rochester, except the city and deanery of Rochester, was subtracted from this diocese, and added to those of Canterbury and London ; and the county of Essex, except the parishes of Barking, Great Ilford, East Ham, West Hani, Little Ilford, Low Layton, Walthamstow, Wanstead, Wood- ford, and Chingford, was added, together with the whole county of Hertford. The whole of this diocese was under the jurisdiction of the Archdeacon of Rochester until the Order in Council just mentioned; that order places the new district or see of Rochester under the jurisdiction of the several archdeacons of Essex, Col- chester, and St. Al ban's, and suppresses the archdea- conry of Rochester upon its next avoidance. The pecu- liars were abolished by Orders in Council dated 8th August and 23rd December, 1845. Until these altera- tions the members of the cathedral body were the bishop, dean, archdeacon, and six prebendaries, one of these last being annexed to the provostship of Oriel College, Ox- ford, and another to the archdeaconry. At present there are, besides the bishop, the dean, archdeacons of Roches- ter, St. Alban's, Colchester, and Essex, with four canons and eight honorary canons. The city is straggling, and extends for a considerable distance along the river banks. The principal street leads direct from the bridge into Chatham. Many improvements have been made during the last few years. The streets, though irregularly laid out, are well paved and lighted with gas. There ara many good houses, especially in the environs and on the heights. The population in 1851 was 14,938, with 2,549 inhabited houses, which in 1861 had increased to 16,362, with 3,074 inhabited houses. It is well supplied with water from a reservoir at Gillingham. Many of the in-
 * he transepts is modern, having been erected so recently
 * hirty years undergone thorough repair, at a cost of