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Monument details

Summary

Grade II listed building. Main construction periods 1386 to 1937 A Chapel at the end of the medieval bridge of Rochester was founded by Sir John de Cobham in 1399. It had ceased to be used as a place of worship around the time of Elizabeth I and became dilapitated. It was restored in 1937 and now remains in excellent condition.

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval to Modern - 1386 AD to 2050 AD)
• PLAQUE (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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This record was formerly TQ 76 NW 440 but has been renamed TQ 76 SW 94 as this is still referred to in the Scheduling and Listing records at Historic England (Feb 2017)

Description from record TQ 76 NW 94 :
[TQ 74146875] BRIDGE CHAPEL [G.T.] (Rems. Of) (1)

The Chapel of All Souls, at the end of the Medieval Bridge of Rochester (TQ 76 NW 99), was founded by Sir John de Cobham in 1399 (5) and ceased to be used as a place of worship about the time of Elizabeth and became dilapitated. Kershaw (3) notes there is no authority for Philpott's reference (5) to it as "Trinity Chapel" but the chapel is referred to as such within a short time of its foundation.(4) In 1735 a Bridge Chamber or record room, was erected over part of the site and this was replaced by another chamber in 1879. Smith's architectural description infers that much of the original chapel was used in this structure( 6). Scheduled. [2-7].

Bridge Chapel was extensively restored in 1937 and is in excellent condition. It is now the meeting chamber for the Rochester Bridge Wardens. (See GP.AO/64/123/3-4) (8)

Additional bibliography. (9-11)

From the National Heritage List for England:

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Bridge Chapel 14m WSW of Castle Club.

Reasons for Designation
A medieval chapel is a building, usually rectangular, containing a range of furnishings and fittings appropriate for Christian worship in the pre-Reformation period. Chapels were designed for congregational worship and were generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provided accommodation for the laity, and the chancel, which was the main domain of the priest and contained the principal altar. Around 4000 parochial chapels were built between the 12th and 17th centuries as subsidiary places of worship built for the convenience of parishioners who lived at a distance from the main parish church. Other chapels were built as private places of worship by manorial lords and lie near or within manor houses, castles or other high-status residences. Chantry chapels were built and maintained by endowment and were established for the singing of masses for the soul of the founder. Some chapels possessed burial grounds. Unlike parish churches, the majority of which remain in ecclesiastical use, chapels were often abandoned as their communities and supporting finances declined or disappeared. Many chantry chapels disappeared after the dissolution of their supporting communities in the 1540s. Chapels, like parish churches, have always been major features of the landscape. A significant number of surviving examples are identified as being nationally important.

Despite restoration work and alterations, Bridge Chapel in Rochester survives well with a considerable amount of medieval standing remains. Bridge chapels were a relatively common feature of major bridges in the medieval period. They were a type of chantry chapel where prayers were said for the founder and benefactors of bridges and as a place for travellers to attend mass and pray for a safe journey. There are now few surviving examples. Although the bridge over the River Medway associated with the chapel is no longer extant, Bridge Chapel is a significant surviving testament of this tradition. The site will contain below-ground archaeological information relating to the construction, use and history of the chapel.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 18 March 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a medieval chapel, known as Bridge Chapel and as The Chapel of All Souls, surviving as upstanding and below-ground remains. It is situated between the Esplanade and Gundulph Square at the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester.

The chapel is built of ragstone. It is rectangular in plan and about 12m long and 8m wide internally. The chapel was restored in 1937 but includes substantial medieval standing remains including the walls, and several windows and doorways. In the west wall is a pointed arched doorway with hoodmoulding. It is flanked by three-light straight-headed windows also under hoodmoulds. Above the doorway is a modern round-headed three-light window. In the north wall of the chapel is a blocked pointed doorway and two-light windows, either blocked or with renewed tracery but with original inner arches. The roof of the chapel was added in 1937 but the medieval roof line is visible under a parapet. The chapel interior includes an aumbrey in the north wall and two piscinas in the south wall; one at the eastern end and another near the centre. Half-way along the south wall are notches for a rood screen, hidden behind modern panelling. The rood screen originally divided the chapel in half. Against the west side of the screen were two additional altars each side of a central doorway. The high altar of the chapel originally stood against the east wall, flanked by lamp corbels. Remains of these survive behind modern panelling. At the west end of the chapel is a gallery with re-used medieval fragments. The gallery was originally reached by a circular stairway in a clock tower at the north-west corner. On the south wall of the chapel is a plaque, which commemorates the construction of an adjoining porch in 1735. The porch was used to store records relating to a bridge across the River Medway.

Bridge Chapel was built and endowed as a chantry chapel by Sir John de Cobham in the 14th century at the south end of a bridge (demolished 1856) across the River Medway. It was founded in honour of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and All Saints, probably reflecting the dedications of the three separate altars. The chapel was suppressed in 1548. It subsequently served as a store room for the bridge before being converted into a dwelling. In the Victorian period it was used as a shop. The adjoining Bridge Chamber was built in 1879. The chapel was restored in 1937 and is now (2010) used as a meeting and function room.

Bridge Chapel is listed Grade II together with the adjoining Bridge Chamber. (12)


The following text is from the original listed building designation:
ROCHESTER ESPLANADE TQ 7468 NW 7/35 Bridge Chapel and No 5 (Bridge 24.10.50 Chambers) 19.2.70 GV II Chapel with offices of the Rochester Bridge Fund. Chapel built and endowed as a chantry by Sir John de Cobham in 1386-7 at the S end of the bridge he and Sir Robert Knowlles built across the Medway (demolished 1856); it fell into ruin and was restored and partially rebuilt in 1937. Bridge Chambers, 1879 to replace an early-C18 building. Ragstone (random to chapel, snecked to Chambers); Kent tile roofs. Chapel. W end: 1937 3-light window; medieval central door with hood mould flanked by 3-light straight-headed windows, under hood moulds, the lights cusped, all much renewed. Old roof line visible under parapet. N side with blocked window; a doorway (visible internally) once led into what is now the garden of the Castle Club, but there is no evidence to indicate the plan or extent of the buildings associated with the chapel. Interior: W gallery, re-using medieval fragments. 2 piscinas to S. N door (blocked) has tall pointed inner arch with single chamfer. 2 light windows either blocked or with renewed tracery, but inner arches original in part. Roof (5 bays) 1937. Weathered (formerly external) string course to S wall now visible from within Chambers. Bridge Chambers. Entrance hall with trustees' Board Room above, central stair to rear, other principal offices, 1st floor S, 2 storeys. An informal composition but presenting a symmetrical front to Esplanade: parapet with coping and cornice string rises to form a stepped gable above central combined porch and oriel; canted porch with large doorway under hood mould, half glazed double doors with tracery bars, and single-light square-headed side windows; narrower 1:4:1 light oriel with transom, and leaded roof. Later 2-light ground floor window to left. Right return (to Castle Hill); irregular elevation with canted wing to right (with single-light windows under hood moulds to 1st floor, and without hood moulds to ground floor) connected by plain angled stair turret to lefthand bay with 3-light window to each floor; parapet with central stepped gable over this bay continues over wing. Rear with stair turret and large 3-light transomed window lighting stairs. Interior: good joinery, open well stair, panelling to Board Room, and ceilings. One stone C16-style fireplace. The Bridge Chapel and No 5 Esplanade were originally listed as two separate items.
Listing NGR: TQ7413468748 (13)

An archaeological watching brief conducted in 2019 revealed 'horizons of archaeological interest with the medieval Chapel, within the existing Chamber and to the rear of the existing Chamber'. The remains of a north-south orientated wall that predates the existing Chamber were recorded. The wall may relate to either a post-medieval building/public house present on the site or to earlier medieval/Romano- British structural features known to have existed within this area of Rochester. (17)

<01> OS 25" 1938 (OS Card Reference). SKE48265.

<02> Cal Patent Rolls Richard II 1396-99 488 M 11 (OS Card Reference). SKE38475.

<03> Trans St Paul's Eccles Soc 1881-5 203-9 (SW Kershaw) (OS Card Reference). SKE50666.

<04> Trans St Paul's Eccles Soc 3 1891-5 286 (LL Duncan) (OS Card Reference). SKE50667.

<05> "Kent Surveyed" 1659 288 (T Philipotts) (OS Card Reference). SKE32663.

<06> "Hist of Rochester" 1928 417-23 (FF Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE32633.

<07> AM England & Wales 1961 59 (OS Card Reference). SKE33019.

<08> F1 ASP 16.12.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42132.

<09> Blgs of Eng West Kent and the Weald 1980 493 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38184.

<10> Arch Cant 29 1911 251 (A Hussey) (OS Card Reference). SKE34957.

<11> Field report for monument TQ 76 NW 94 - July, 1965 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4129.

<12> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<13> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<14> OS Card / NAR index entry. Arch Cant 91 1975 211 (ETL Baker) (OS Card Reference). SKE48405.

<15> OS Card / NAR index entry. OS 1/1250 1953 (OS Card Reference). SKE48409.

<16> OS Card / NAR index entry. RCHME Recorder amendment. (OS Card Reference). SKE48411.

<17> Ravelin Archaeological Services, 2019, Rochester Bridge Trust Chamber, The Esplanade, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1QE, Archaeological Watching Brief Report (Unpublished document). SKE53552.

Sources and further reading

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