Rochester Bridge is a bridge over the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, England. For centuries, it was the lowest fixed crossing of the river in South East England. There have been several generations of bridge at this spot, and the current "bridge" is in fact four separate bridges: the Old Bridge and New Bridge carrying the A2 road, Railway Bridge carrying the railway and the Service Bridge carrying service pipes and cables. The bridge links the towns of Strood and Rochester in Medway. All except the railway bridge are owned and maintained by the Rochester Bridge Trust.
History
Roman The Romans built a bridge across the River Medway as part of Watling Street, carrying traffic from London to Dover (the port for Continental Europe). This was almost certainly the first bridge at the site, and probably the earliest major bridge built in Britain by the Roman army, as the Romans were the first occupiers to have the necessary technology to bridge such a wide and fierce tidal river. The Roman engineers might have initially built a pontoon bridge to support and supply their invading armies; however this would have needed replacing by a stronger, more permanent bridge to support increased traffic. Victorian engineers discovered the Roman foundations when they were building the current Old Bridge; they found that stone foundations had been used, probably to support a wooden deck.
Middle Ages The piers of the Roman bridge survived well into the Middle Ages, supporting a timber deck with three beams of cross-planking. In 1264, Simon de Montfort besieged the gate house and set fire to the bridge as part of his successful attempt to take Rochester. In the latter part of the 14th century the bridge consisted of nine stone piers supporting a wooden superstructure. Administratively the responsibility for bridge was divided amongst local landowners and institutions. This worked reasonably well, though sometimes those liable refused to co-operate and had goods seized. In 1311 for instance the King's bailiff, William Mot, seized a horse and five cows from the tenants of Westerham, however Richard Trewe and Hamon le Brun "rescued" the animals back and Richard "beat the said William". Despite partial rebuilding, the bridge fell into disrepair and collapses occurred with the worrying frequency of about once a year. In 1339 the bridge was down for 24 weeks, then the first and third piers were found to be decayed (repairs estimated at £19 and £8 6s 8d). In 1361 the bridge was in a dangerous state for 3 weeks and a boat had to be hired as a ferry. In the winter of 1380–81 a large proportion of the bridge was carried away by the combined forces of meltwater and ice. In 1382, the bridge being impassible" a commission was appointed to enquire as to those responsible for its maintenance. The commission included John de Cobham who as supervisor of repairs ensured the bridge was passable by the following year.
1391–1856
The building of a stone bridge was organised and funded by Sir John de Cobham and Sir Robert Knolles (or Knollys), finished in 1391. It was located about 100 yards upstream of the Roman bridge and had 11 arches and a total length of 570 feet (170 m) It was 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. To ensure the maintenance of their new bridge, the two men instituted the Wardens and Commonalty of Rochester Bridge. The two elected wardens were appointed under letters patent from Richard II to own land and use the income for the bridge. The Wardens and Commonalty received grants of land from Henry IV and Henry V, as well as money from other benefactors, including Richard Whittington. The trust was able to maintain the bridge using income from property and investments, and materials from its own woods and quarries. A scheme of improvements were carried out from 1792 to widen the roadway of the bridge, to the plans of the engineer Daniel Asher Alexander. The two central arches merged into one in 1824 to provide a wider channel for shipping, under the supervision first of John Rennie the Elder, and completed by Thomas Telford. In 1856, when modern river traffic demanded a new structure the medieval bridge was demolished with the help of the Royal Engineers.
1857–1914
Sir William Cubitt's cast iron bridge was built in 1856 to replace the stone bridge. This bridge was built downstream of the stone bridge, on the alignment of the current bridge and where the Romans had built theirs. It comprised three cast iron arches and a swing bridge span designed to swing open to allow river traffic, but the mechanism was never used and was eventually removed. The cast iron arches were below the road deck, making the bridge relatively low and meant that passing traffic at high tide had to navigate to line up with the top of the arch or risk striking the bridge. Not every ship was successful and many collisions occurred. These took their toll on the bridge and an inspection in 1909 showed fractured ribs and missing bolts. After a relatively short life a new bridge was needed. From around 1908 to 1932 the bridge also carried the tracks for the local tram system linking Strood and Frindsbury with Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham.
1914 to present day
The cast iron arched bridge was partly reconstructed with bowstring-shaped trusses above the deck at a cost of £95,887. During these works the bridge remained open for traffic. The reconstructed bridge was formally opened on 14 May 1914, by Lady Darnley. In 1970 a second road bridge, the New Bridge, was opened immediately next to the first, to increase capacity. It was opened on 15 April 1970, by Princess Margaret. At the same time, the Service Bridge was built between the Old Bridge and the New Bridge, to carry gas, electrical, water, sewage and communication services. All three bridges underwent major maintenance and complete refurbishment, completed in December 2021. As for all the work to the bridges, this was paid for by the Rochester Bridge Trust with the proceeds from the original endowments and was carried out at no cost to the public taxpayer or bridge users. National Cycle Route 1 passes over the road bridges.
Constructional methods There are four extant bridges, and also the Roman bridge, and the Mediaeval bridge that was built 40m upstream, and the first railway bridge.
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