1 mya Prehistory 54 BCE
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54 BCE Roman occupation 410 CE
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410 CE Anglo-Saxon era 1066 CE
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1066 CE Norman period 1299 CE
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1300 CE Late Middle Ages 1499 CE
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1500 CE Early Modern era 1799 CE
| 1504 | John Fisher is appointed Bishop of Rochester. He figured in the anti-Lutheran policies of King Henry VIII. | |
| 1535 | Fisher remained true to Rome and for his defence of the Pope was elevated as a cardinal in May. King Henry was angered by these moves and, on 22 June, Cardinal Fisher was beheaded on Tower Green. | |
| 1540 | Henry VIII visited Rochester on 1 January when he met Ann of Cleves for the first time and was “greatly disappointed”. Whether connected or not, the old Priory of St Andrew was dissolved by royal command later in the year, one of the last monasteries to be dissolved. | |
| The English Reformation. | 1542 | A new foundation of a Dean and six Canons was established and the cathedral dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. |
| 1547 | Nicholas Ridley was consecrated Bishop of Rochester. During his time at Rochester he directed that the altars in the churches of his diocese should be removed and tables put in their place to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. | |
| 1548 | Bishop Nicholas Ridley helps Thomas Cranmer compile the Book of Common Prayer. In 1550 he was translated to London. | |
| Nicholas Ridley is involved in the plot to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne in preference to the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. The plot failed and Ridley was burnt at the stake for treason on 16 October 1555. | 1553 | |
| 1573 | Queen Elizabeth I stays in Rochester for four days, attending divine service in the cathedral on 19 September. | |
| 1606 | James I & VI and his brother-in-law, Christian IV of Denmark, visited the city, accompanied by his family (Queen Anne and Prince Henry). King James was accommodated at the bishop’s palace and the whole party attended a Sunday service at the cathedral led by Bishop Barlow. | |
| 1633 | Archbishop Laud visited the cathedral and complained about its general state, in particular that it “suffered much for want of glass in the windows”. | |
| 1634 | The defects pointed out by Archbishop Laud had been mainly remedied (apart from some of the glass), the excuse being that the backlog had built up due to money (£1,000) being spent on “making of the organs”. Laud accepted this and required completion, noting among other items that the bells and their frame needed to be put into good order | |
| 1635 | The cathedral is described as: “small and plaine, yet it is very lightsome and pleasant: her [the cathedral’s] quire is neatly adorn’d with many small pillars of marble; her organs though small yet are they rich and neat; her quiristers though but few, yet orderly and decent.” The author then describes the various monuments “divers others also of antiquity, so dismembred, defac’d and abused”. | |
| The English Civil War breaks out. | 1642 | The cathedral was damaged by Cromwell’s soldiers. |
| 1664 | The south nave aisle is recased, an inscription high in the wall records the date. | |
| 1670 | Most of the north wall of the north nave aisle is rebuilt. | |
| 1705 | Work started to relead the roof, completed by 1724. | |
| 1730 | The old ringers’ loft above the quire steps was removed and the crossing vaulted. | |
| 1742 | Major work was undertaken in the quire, sufficiently disruptive that the dean and chapter used nearby St Nicholas’ Church until 1743. | |
| 1749 | The steeple is rebuilt | |
| 1751 | The cathedral’s south quire aisle and transept are giving cause for concern, so they were buttressed, the roof lightened and supporting brickwork placed in the crypt. | |
| 1765 | The west front towers are rebuilt, the work lasts until 1772. | |
| 1791 | A new organ is completed. |
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