Rochester Cathedral

Parts of this wall dates back to the 12th century. It surrounds the rose garden which is at
Rochester Cathedral .

The cathedral has recently undergone extensive renovations and more areas are accessible to the public including the Library and the Undercroft.

Today in the crypt we visited an exhibition of art made by people with sight loss entitled Sensing Culture, and 2D and 3D artworks from the Kent Association for the Blind. It was an impressive exhibition and the old walls of the crypt was a wonderful backdrop for the display of art.See extra.

This was the final weekend of Medway Open Studios , and we visited a number of them and met the artists involved.
There was a fascinating project by a photographer who had researched and photographed street names in Rochester and thereabouts. Postcards of each street were put in alphabetical order in a box file. If you found a street name that had a personal meaning, you were asked to take the postcard and replace it with a card on which you wrote why that particular name meant something. I selected Ridley Road as my early years were spent in Hackney just a few minutes from Ridley Road Market. I recall my mother telling me that during the early war years Oswald Moseley and his Black Shirts would gather there and deliver their terrifying speeches. That's exactly what I wrote on the card. Apparently Ridley Road in Rochester
was named after Bishop Nicholas Ridley who was burned at the stake in 1555 having been tried for heresy.

We had a long walk in the drizzling rain from Rochester to Chatham, part of it along the River Medway. There are lots of old and interesting
buildings by the river. Some are run down or derilect and others are being used as artists studios.