Rochester Castle is a strong stone castle in Kent, England built in AD 1090. It has been besieged many times, but its thick walls and towers have kept it standing. Although expensive to build, it was designed to last for centuries. The most famous siege occurred in 1215 when King John undermined the walls to gain control. Despite being slated for demolition in the eighteenth century, the castle has been repaired and improved by several individuals, including Edward III and Richard II.
Rochester Castle is a stone castle in Kent, England built by the Bishop of Rochester around AD 1090. Although these castles are strong enough, they are not impregnable. Many groups have besieged this castle over the years and control it. it has changed hands many times. The construction of this castle required much of the king’s wealth at the time. The towers were added in the year 1127 by Archbishop William de Corbell. The highest point of this castle reaches 110 feet (33.5 meters).
Rochester Castle and other square castles feature stone buildings. These castles were designed to last for many centuries. Resistant to rot, these castles were incredibly strong and could outlast any wooden structure. The strength of the stone allowed builders to build square castles, such as Rochester Castle, at great heights, which allowed people to see potential enemies advancing from miles away. The walls of Rochester Castle were built over ten feet (3.05 metres) thick in places, making the castle very difficult to attack and destroy.
Despite the strength of castles such as Rochester Castle, there were disadvantages attached to them. Enemies could easily surround these castles. Cutting vital supply lines to these castles meant certain doom for the inhabitants.
One of the most famous sieges of the Middle Ages occurred at Rochester Castle in 1215. The siege followed an incident in which Archbishop Langton failed to hand over control of it to the Bishop of Winchester on King John’s orders. King John unleashed his trebuchets on the castle, but they had little effect on the castle’s stone exterior. He had to undermine the castle walls to get inside. Undermining walls involves digging the earth underneath them, causing them to collapse under their own weight.
Sieges and weakenings can destroy castles. Rochester Castle had been abused for hundreds of years and was slated for demolition in the eighteenth century. Since then several individuals, including Edward III and Richard II have repaired and improved the castle. Such efforts have kept the castle standing.
This particular castle was not cheap to build. In total, Rochester Castle cost approximately $4,724 United States Dollars (USD) to build. This was equivalent to about a third of the king’s annual income at the time. In these times, workers earned about three cents a day.
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