Rochester Castle Research Rough Draft
Known as one of the earliest castle of England. The Rochester castle was a castle built for Roman castrum, or military camp. In 1066, shortly after the Norman Invasion, a castle was built on a hill, the castle was used to overlook the River Medway which was an important route in and out of southern England. The first castle at Rochester was constructed by the Normans following their victory in the battle of Hastings in 1066. This early castle was made of wood and was controlled by the Bishop Odo, who was William the Conqueror’s half-brother.
In 1087, after William the Conqueror had died, Odo with many others, supported William’s elder brother Robert as a new leader, while others supported William’s younger
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This was granted by King Henry I. In 1126, the construction was begun by William de Corbeil, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Even now, some evidence of the original stonework can be seen.
Between October and December of 1215, King John laid siege to Rochester Castle in a bid to retake it from the rebels. The Rochester Bridge was destroyed and the castle bailey was captured. The royal army bombarded the rebels inside, while the miners attacked the castle’s south-east turret. Burned the fat from 40 pigs to fire the timber props to support the undermined masonry. The attackers brought down the south-east corner and forced the rebels to retreat to the northern half of the interior. Soon, the starvation forced the rebels to surrender.
In 1216, King John was succeeded by his nine-years old son, Henry III with the support of barons after his died. In 1217, Louis returned to France with no prospect of becoming King of England, Rochester Castle returned to the royal control. The castle has been damaged during King John’s siege, been dire need of repairs. Spends around 20 years and around 680 pounds, the castle has been saved. There was 530 pounds been taken up by the work on the keep during the