TELLING THE STORY...
Part of the Society's remit is to promote public interest in and care for the beauty, history and
character of the city and its surroundings. One way it does this is by publishing books and
pamphlets covering a wide range of Rochester-related topics. It also publishes a quarterly
Newsletter for its members containing articles on aspects of the city's history and issues of
current interest and concern.
Copies of the Society's publications are obtainable from the Society (see below) and from local
outlets, including the Visitor Information Centre, 95 High Street, Rochester. They are available
for consultation - and to buy - at the Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre in Strood. The
publications and the quarterly Newsletter also form part of the local archive itself and thus, it is
hoped, will be of help and interest to future generations researching the history of our city.
Click on the title to find out more about each one
Rochester - the past 2000 years: An illustrated record
Rochester's Heritage Trail: A do-it-yourself walking tour
The Dutch Raid: Samuel Pepys's account of the Dutch raid on the Medway
Rochester '98: An illustrated record of events in Rochester during one year
Merrily to Frendsbury: A history of the parish of Frindsbury
The Medway Towns 1790 - 1850: The emergence of Britain's first conurbation
Leaflets - free of charge:
Eastgate Without
Charles Dickens and the Medway Towns
Strood Explored
Rochester - a walk around the City
Victorian and Edwardian Rochester
A tour of Dickensland
Down the River
The Vines and Other Green Spaces
All the Society's publications may be obtained from:
City of Rochester Society publications
32, Powlett Road,
Frindsbury,
Rochester,
Kent, ME2 4RD
Telephone 01634 721886
Cheques should be made payable to
The City of Rochester Society
Edwin Harris of Rochester 1859 - 1938
By Pat Salter
Edwin Harris was indeed a man of many parts: writer, businessman,
antiquarian, Dickensian, special constable, druid and family man. He
lived here for nearly his entire life and recorded its history in fact and
fiction producing a prodigious number of books about the city. Pat
Salter has researched the man, his life and his work in this delightful
book about a character who can truly be described as a man of
Rochester.
Price £8.95
by post £10.50
Rochester - the Past 2000 Years
records some of the major events which have occurred in
and around our city since the arrival of the Romans in AD 43.
Available in both hard and soft back, it is beautifully illustrated and
easily readable. It is an ideal reference book for those with an interest
in Rochester's long history.
Price
£15.00 hard back
£10.00 soft back
by post
£17.00
£11.50
City & Liberty of Rochester (1782)
The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent was Hasted's
life work and remains today the finest of the 18th century county
histories. The story of Rochester is contained in the fourth volume of
the second edition, published in 1798., and it is from this edition that
we have taken this extract covering the city.
Price £10.00
by post £11.50
This very reasonably priced little book can fairly be described as a do-it-
yourself walking tour. It covers the route of the Society's own conducted
walking tour and tells something of the many historic buildings
and sites along the way. It also gives a brief resume of the city's long and
illustrious history. For those who do not have the time to take a tour with a
Society guide, this is the ideal substitute.
Price £1.50
by post £2.00
This is the story of the worst naval defeat suffered by the English made
even more infamous by the incompetence and self-interest of those
involved. Drawing extensively on the diarist's own observations
recorded during the heat of the crisis, and in the aftermath, Peter
Downton gives us a fascinating insight into those troubled times.
Price £3.00
by post £3.50
Literally a snapshot of a year in the old city.
This booklet records happenings during the year caught in about
forty photographs with enlightening captions.
Price free
by post 50p
The ancient Parish of Frindsbury transcends the city boundary and for
centuries part of it lay within the City and Liberty of Rochester. Thus
the histories of city and parish are intertwined and in this compact
volume the story of the Parish unfolds from the pen of long-time
resident Derek Barnard. Frindsbury could be described as a microcosm of
Kent itself, with so many of the county's distinctive characteristics
and features represented there - from farming to hop growing, chalk
quarrying to fishing and ship building. It is a must both for the
serious researcher and for those with a passing interest in this
fascinating area.
Price £10.00
by post £11.50
We take it for granted now that the Medway Towns together form a single
conurbation, the boundaries of the three principal towns having long since
become so blurred as to be almost indistinguishable. But it was not
always so. For centuries Rochester - former Roman settlement and
centre of England’s second oldest diocese - stood separate and aloof from
the small fishing hamlets of Chatham and Gillingham, but meeting the needs
of the great naval and military bases which became established here led
the two hamlets to expand in size and importance, physically to merge with
one another and with their more historic neighbour, and in some ways to
overshadow it. This process was already under way by the end of the
18th century, well before the emergence of many of the better
known conurbations elsewhere in England. This booklet is
invaluable in helping the student of British urban expansion to understand
the cause and effect of this development.
Price £3.50
by post £4.50
This publication evolved from researches begun in the 1980s by a small
group of people whose primary interest lay in garden history. In 1994
the group became involved in a survey of local cemeteries organised by
the Kent Garden Trust. It was soon realised that the history of the
Medway Towns cemeteries was far more complex - and interesting- than
had been suspected. The Victorian Cemeteries of the Medway Towns has
proved very popular at a time when family history research is so popular.
Price £4.00
by post £5.00
In 1800 and again in 1820 fire devastated two densely populated areas of
Chatham between the Rochester boundary and Military Road. This booklet
recounts the stories of these tragedies but just as importantly tells
the stories of the efforts made to bring aid to those most seriously
affected. They draw on the reports of William Jefferys, Attorney at
Law, whose attention to detail and his quality of presentation give a
fascinating insight into the affected areas of a Royal Naval Dockyard
and military town.
Price £4.00
by post £5.50
A Walk Around the City
This is a self-guiding walk around the city centre
looking at some of Rochester's principal buildings: the Cathedral, Castle,
Guildhall, Restoration House, etc. It is available at a small charge from the
Visitor Information Centre.
The Society has also produced a series of self-guiding leaflets covering other
areas of the City and its surroundings:-
- Eastgate Without covering the eastern part of the city centre between Star Hill and the former borough boundary with Chatham
- Strood Explored covering parts of the City west of the bridge
- Victorian and Edwardian Rochester covering the area immediately to the south of the city centre.
- The Vines and other green spaces telling the story of The Vines - the former vineyard of the Priory of St Andrew - and mentioning some of the city's other parks and gardens.
- Down the Medway describing a trip down river from Rochester Pier to Kingsnorth - a popular cruise undertaken regularly by the Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle.
- A tour of Dickensland for those with an interest in the countryside around Rochester made famous in Charles Dickens's novels.
- Charles Dickens and Rochester is for those seeking to identify the Dickens connections in and around Rochester.
Single copies of these leaflets are available for 30p including postage.
Available to members.....
The Society produces its own Newsletter containing articles of general and historic interest about
Rochester and about the current issues affecting the future of our city. It is sent to all members
four times a year - in February, May, August and November.