I stumbled acros this website which shows lots of old pictures of Rochester Castle in Kent.  The place is of enormous interest to me, as I pass the castle on the train each day going to and from work (although I must admit that on many occasions I am asleep at the time).

 

I hope others find it fascinating too.

 

http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/query....+Images

Thanks Andrew, I see this is going to be one of my top favorite book marks, heck of a great site!!    

The link sends you to just one album of images (Group 7). Negotiating backwards, by searching for the "Couchman" collection, you can also find a few images of Cooling Castle, West Malling Castle and Upnor Castle in album in Group 24 (or was it 25?), as well as more images of Rochester Castle in Groups 3 and 8.

 

The images are rather large, but they are worth downloading for future perusing.

Those were really nice images. Thanks for the links.

From the BBC Website, 25th November 2004

 

Castle closed pending repair work

 

Rochester Castle has been temporarily closed to the public following a routine inspection of the structure.

The building, next to the River Medway in Kent, is one of the best preserved and finest examples of Norman castles.

However, a surveyor identified loose masonry when asked to review the condition of the stonework and mortar.

Medway Council said the closure was a "precautionary measure", although the castle's grounds are unaffected and remain open to the public.

Festival go-ahead

The surveyor was asked to look at the extent to which wind, rain and frost had damaged the 12th Century castle over the last 900 years.

Signs announcing its closure have been placed around the site, while a cordon prevents anyone from getting too close to it.

Kathy Wadsworth, Medway Council's assistant director for economic development, said: "We intend to deal with this problem as soon as possible and get the castle re-opened to the public."

She said the date depended on the weaknesses in the structure and the amount of remedial action that needed to be taken.

Medway Council said the Dickensian Christmas festival planned for the first weekend in December would not be affected.

A hand-coloured steel engraving by Winkles from a drawing of Rochester Castle by W. Bartlett, published by Geo Virtue in 1829. It shows the interior of the castle, and was recently added to my collection.

Found this rather unusual print of Rochester Castle, from 1828. (courtesy of www.antiqueprints.co.uk)

From the “Medway Messenger”, 14th October 2005

 

Roof Plan Resurrected

 

A controversial plan to put a roof on Rochester Castle has been resurrected. The idea for changing the chief tourist attraction of Medway was re-launched to finance scrutiny councillors.

 

It is part of a programme of repairs and overdue maintenance the council is planning to undertake after three years of negotiations with English Heritage.

The talks covered who does what, and how much it will cost. Medway Council will increase its £20,000 a year for the three historic monuments it manages to £25,000.

 

The cash will be used for interpretation work at Rochester and Upnor castles, as well as to promote Temple Manor in Strood. But the council is expected to commit itself to five years of major repairs jointly with English Heritage.

 

About £250,000 has to be spent on the Tudor Upnor Castle, but little on the 13th century Temple Manor, because, despite its age, it is still in very good repair. The bulk of the cash – about £600,000 – is to be spent on Rochester Castle keep.

 

It could become Medway’s new visitor centre, with a major new interpretation exhibition provided within the structure. But most of the money is needed to tackle significant deterioration to two of its walls, according to tourism chief, Simon Curtis.

 

“We are seriously looking at roofing the castle keep”, he said.

Currently, the castle just about covers its costs, but Mr. Curtis said: “It just about washes its face, but there is no doubt we can improve its commercial performance.”

 

Education overview chairman, Ron Hewittt, said anything that supported the three buildings was to be praised.

This will be interesting as the job gets under way and hopefully they will show images of the beams and roof structure.

Another old postcard.