- Rochester, Ancient See of
- Rochester, Ancient See of
• The oldest and smallest of all the suffragan sees of Canterbury, was founded by St. Augustine, Apostle of England, who in 604 consecrated St. Justus as its first bishopCatholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006.
- Rochester, Ancient See of
Ancient See of Rochester† Catholic_Encyclopedia ► Ancient See of Rochester(ROFFA; ROFFENSIS).The oldest and smallest of all the suffragan sees of Canterbury, was founded by St. Augustine, Apostle of England, who in 604 consecrated St. Justus as its first bishop. It consisted roughly of the western part of Kent, separated from the rest of the county by the Medway, though the diocesan boundaries did not follow the river very closely. The cathedral, founded by King Ethelbert and dedicated to St. Andrew from whose monastery at Rome St. Augustine and St. Justus had come, was served by a college of secular priests and endowed with land near the city called Priestfield. It suffered much from the Mercians (676) and the Danes, but the city retained its importance, and after the Norman Conquest a new cathedral was begun by the Norman bishop Gundulf. This energetic prelate replaced the secular chaplains by Benedictine monks, translated the Relics of St. Paulinus to a silver shrine which became a place of pilgrimage, obtained several royal grants of land, and proved an untiring benefactor to his cathedral city. Gundulf had built the nave and western front before his death; the western transept was added between 1179 and 1200, and the eastern transept during the reign of Henry III. The cathedral is small, being only 306 feet long, but its nave is the oldest in England and it has a fine Norman crypt. Besides the shrine of St. Paulinus, the cathedral contained the Relics of St. Ithamar, the first Saxon to be consecrated to the episcopate, and St. William of Perth, who was held in popular veneration. In 1130 the cathedral was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury assisted by thirteen bishops in the presence of Henry I, but the occasion was marred by a great fire which nearly destroyed the whole city and damaged the new cathedral. After the burial of St. William of Perth in 1201 the offerings at his tomb were so great, that by their means the choir was rebuilt and the central tower was added (1343), thus completing the cathedral. From the foundation of the see the arthbishops of Canterbury had enjoyed the privilege of nominating the bishop, but Archbishop Theobald transferred the right to the Benedictine monks of the cathedral who exercised it for the first time in 1148.The following is the list of bishops with the date of their accession; but the succession from Tatnoth (844) to Siward (1058) is obscure, and may be modified by fresh research:St. Justus, 604Romanus, 624Vacancy, 625St. Paulinus, 633St. Ithamar, 644Damianus, 655Vacancy, 664Putta, 666-9Cwichelm, 676Gebmund, 678Tobias, 693-706Ealdwulf, 727Dunno, 741Eardwulf, 747Deora, 765-72Wærmund I, 781-5Beornmod, 803-5Tatnoth, 844Beadunoth (possibly identical with Wærmund II)Wærmund II, 845-62Cuthwulf, 860- 8Swithwulf (date unknown)Ceolmund, 897-904Cynefrith (date unknown)Burbric, 933 or 934Beorhtsige (doubtful name)Daniel, 951-5Aelfstan, c. 964Godwine I, 995Godwine II (date unknown)Siweard, 1058Arnost, 1076Gundulf, 1077Radulphus d'Escures, 1108Ernulf, 1115John of Canterbury, 1125John of Sées, 1137Ascelin, 1142Walter, 1148Gualeran, 1182Gilbert de Glanvill, 1185Benedict de Sansetun, 1215Henry Sandford, 1226Richard de Wendover, 1235 (consecrated, 1238)Lawrence de St. Martin, 1251Walter de Merton, 1274John de Bradfield, 1277Thomas Inglethorp, 1283Thomas de Wouldham, 1292Vacancy, 1317Hamo de Hythe, 1319John de Sheppey, 1352William of Whittlesea, 1362Thomas Trilleck, 1384Thomas Brunton, 1373William de Bottisham, 1389John de Bottisham, 1400Richard Young, 1404John Kemp, 1419 (afterwards Cardinal)John Langdon, 1421Thomas Brown, 1435William Wells, 1437John Lowe, 1444Thomas Rotheram (or Scott), 1468John Alcock, 1472John Russell, 1476Edmund Audley, 1480Thomas Savage, 1492Richard Fitz James, 1496Bl. John Fisher, 1504 (Cardinal)Schismatical bishops:John Hilsey, 1535Richard Heath, 1539Henry Holbeach, 1543Nicholas Ridley, 1547John Poynet, 1550John Scory, 1551Vacancy, 1552The canonical line was restored by the appointment in 1554 of Maurice Griffith, the last Catholic bishop of Rochester, who died in 1558. The diocese was so small, consisting merely of part of Kent, that it needed only one archdeacon (Rochester) to supervise the 97 parishes. It was also the poorest diocese in England. The cathedral was dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle. The arms of the see were argent, on a saltire gules an Escalop shell, or.SHRUBSOLE AND DENNE, History and Antiquities of Rochester (London, 1772); Wharton, Anglia Sacra (London, 1691) pt. i, includes annals by DE HADENHAM (604-1307) and DE DENE (1314-50); PEARMAN, Rochester: Diocesan History (London, 1897); PALMER, Rochester: The Cathedral and See (London, 1897); HOPE, Architectural History of Cathedral in Kent Arch*logical Society, XXIII, XXIV (1898- 1900); ERNULPHUS, Textus Roffensis, ed. HEARNE (London, 1720), reprinted in P. L. CLXIII; PEGGE, Account of Textus Roffensis (London, 1784) in NICHOLS, Bib. Topog. Brit., (London, 1790); J. Thorpe, Registrum Roffense (London, 1769); J. THORPE, JR., Custumale Roffense (London, 1988); WINKLE, Cathedral Churches of England and Wales (London, 1860); FAIRBANKS, Cathedrals of England and Wales (London, 1907); GODWIN, De pr*sulibus Angli* (London, 1743); GAMS, Series Episcoporum (Ratisbon, 1873); SEARLE, Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings and Nobles (Cambridge, 1899).EDWIN BURTONTranscribed by WGKofronThe Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat. 1910.
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