Rochester: Medway Cathedral City That Shaped the Novels of Charles Dickens
Rochester is one of the Medway towns in Kent, about 30 miles southeast of central London. The population of the wider Medway unitary authority is approximately 280,000, with Rochester forming the historic core. The city's origins are Roman; Durobrivae was a staging post on Watling Street. Rochester Cathedral, founded in 604 AD, is the second oldest cathedral in England after Canterbury. Rochester Castle, a Norman keep built in the 1120s, stands at 113 feet and is one of the tallest in the country. Charles Dickens spent part of his childhood in Chatham next door and set scenes from "Great Expectations," "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," and "The Pickwick Papers" in and around Rochester. His connections to the area run through much of his work, and the annual Dickens Festival draws visitors each summer.
Rochester's High Street runs from the castle and cathedral down towards the River Medway, lined with Georgian and Tudor buildings. The Guildhall Museum occupies a 17th-century building on the High Street. Rochester station is on the Southeastern line, with services to London St Pancras via the high-speed Javelin in about 40 minutes and to London Victoria in roughly an hour. The M2 motorway runs to the south, connecting to the M25 and London. Chatham Dockyard, now a museum and heritage site, is immediately to the east. For those considering adult companionship in the Medway area, Rochester's high-speed rail link to London and motorway connections put the wider region within easy reach.
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Rochester is one of the Medway towns in Kent, about 30 miles southeast of central London. The population of the wider Medway unitary authority is approximately 280,000, with Rochester forming the historic core. The city's origins are Roman; Durobrivae was a staging post on Watling Street. Rochester Cathedral, founded in 604 AD, is the second oldest cathedral in England after Canterbury. Rochester Castle, a Norman keep built in the 1120s, stands at 113 feet and is one of the tallest in the country. Charles Dickens spent part of his childhood in Chatham next door and set scenes from "Great Expectations," "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," and "The Pickwick Papers" in and around Rochester. His connections to the area run through much of his work, and the annual Dickens Festival draws visitors each summer.
Rochester's High Street runs from the castle and cathedral down towards the River Medway, lined with Georgian and Tudor buildings. The Guildhall Museum occupies a 17th-century building on the High Street. Rochester station is on the Southeastern line, with services to London St Pancras via the high-speed Javelin in about 40 minutes and to London Victoria in roughly an hour. The M2 motorway runs to the south, connecting to the M25 and London. Chatham Dockyard, now a museum and heritage site, is immediately to the east. For those considering adult companionship in the Medway area, Rochester's high-speed rail link to London and motorway connections put the wider region within easy reach.
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