Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The French Hospital was originally founded to support people of Huguenot descent and continues to do so from its present home in Rochester, where it provides sheltered accomodation. 'La Providence', at its fourth home, operates from the terraced houses around Theobald Square, now known as 'La Providence'.

Monument Types

• SHELTERED ACCOMMODATION (Modern - 1960 AD to 2007 AD (between))

Full description

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The French Hospital was founded to provide care and a home for poor Huguenot refugees after they had fled from persecution in France in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. Whilst needs have changed greatly since then, 'La Providence' has continued to to support people of Huguenot descent and provides sheltered accomodation from its present home in Rochester.

The current site of the French hospital is a set of 19 terraced houses that made up Theobald Square in the centre of Rochester. The square had been laid out in the 1840s on the site of an old brewery, whose vaults still lie beneath the road and gardens (TQ 76 NW 376). The houses were completely restored and re-arranged to make 39 self-contained flats.

La Providence, at its fourth home, was opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent. Lord Cornwallis on 21st June 1960. The accommodation was enlarged by the addition of 14 new flats in 1974. In 1983, on land acquired between the square and the old city wall, four more flats were built, together with a common room for the residents with gardens on either side, including a 'Huguenots' garden' in which flowers and shrubs associated with the Huguenots are planted. The development of the 'City Wall site' was completed in 1988 with the addition of three flats beside the drum tower at the northern end of the wall. Four flats in the square have also been reconstructed with special facilities for disabled residents [information from the 'French Hospital in Rochester' website].

In April 1997, a watching brief was maintained on the site, prior to the insertion of a new lift shaft (centred on grid ref 574421,168464). Medieval or earlier deposits were not reached. Nothing of significance was recovered, although post medieval deposits were observed. These included a stretch of n-s running wall and e-w abutting wall. These walls were associated with various deposits, surfaces and trample layers of eighteenth or nineteenth century date. To the west, an 18th or 19th century brick vaulted drain was also observed. The drain is probably earlier in date than the walls [1].

During April 2000 a watching brief investigated two further areas. In the first trench, a fragment of the Roman town wall was recorded [TQ 76 NW 361]. The wall had two offsets. Built over the remains and at right angles to them was a stretch of probable post medieval wall. The trench also contained post medieval and modern deposits. In the second trench, a series of archaeological deposits were recorded, which were undated, although they sat on what was interpreted as an old Roman topsoil (2).

In July and August 2003, a watching brief observed the reduction of an area and the augering of six pile holes on a site just inside the eastern defences of the city. Three deposits were observed just above the final reduced level, although they are all considered to be upcast from recent trench digging and general construction work.
During the augering it is possible that some of the clay deposits observed were from the 2nd century rampart of the phase 1 Roman defences (see TQ 76 NW 361) [3].

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1997, An Archaeological Watching Brief at the French Hospital, Rochester (Unpublished document). SKE7188.

<2> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2000, An Archaeological Watching Brief at the French Hospital, Rochester 2000 (Unpublished document). SKE7628.

<3> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2003, An Archaeological Watching Brief at the French Hospital, Rochester (Unpublished document). SKE12452.

Sources and further reading