Retirement Properties Spotlight in Rochester

Rochester is an ancient Celtic name and city on the banks of the Medway south of London. The town was important in Roman times defending the mouth of the river and became the second Christian see in Britain after St Augustine ordained Justus as its Bishop in 604. Today it is a major port and commercial centre being close to Chatham and Gillingham. The great Cathedral was begun in 1077 and stands a little distance away from the tallest keep in Britian, the magnificent Rochester Castle, started fifty years later.

The High Street has many Georgian and Regency shops and Eastgate House is a fine Tudor building now the Charles Dickens Centre. Dickens was brought up in Rochester and lived at Gad's Hill until his death in 1870. He wrote Great Expectations based on the town and the marshes nearby and at the west end of the High Street is one of the largest second-hand bookshops in England.