Castle · near Rochester · Kent

Rochester Castle

Rochester Castle is a castle in Rochester, Kent, South East England. It is a Grade I listed building. Close by, Rochester Cathedral is 200 m away, one of 58 within 15 km.

Photo: Rochester Castle, Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent (CC BY 3.0)

Where

100 m

northeast of Rochester

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 2%

#107 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

May–Sep

highs of 17–23°C

In brief

Castle near Rochester

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#107 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (26 Wikipedias). About ↓

Just outside Rochester

Rochester Castle is 100 m northeast of Rochester. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Grade I listed building

On the official list of protected heritage; Rochester has 279 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

Afternoons in Rochester peak at 17–23°C, May to September.

Jan8° / 3°62 mm

Feb8° / 2°51 mm

Mar11° / 3°41 mm

Apr14° / 5°46 mm

May17° / 8°48 mm

Jun21° / 11°50 mm

Jul23° / 13°44 mm

Aug23° / 13°53 mm

Sep20° / 11°55 mm

Oct15° / 8°76 mm

Nov11° / 5°73 mm

Dec8° / 3°67 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Rochester, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Rochester. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Rochester’s full climate →

About

Rochester Castle

Its care is managed by English Heritage. 26 Wikipedia editions have an article on it.

Rochester’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Grade I listed building
Wikipedias: Covered in 26 languages
Town: 100 m northeast of Rochester
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rochester-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Where it sits

Spot Rochester Castle in orange, then follow the numbers to the places below.

Towns near it

The nearest towns

Gillingham tops the 8 for size, at 108,485 people. Its own town leads; the rest list it too, closest first.

1 · 100 m southwest of it

Rochester

67,279 people · 34 places to visit

2 · 1.1 km southeast of it

Chatham

76,956 people · 37 places to visit

3 · 1.8 km east of it

Gillingham

108,485 people · 33 places to visit

4 · 2.1 km northeast of it

Lower Upnor

837 people · 27 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Rochester Castle is	People	Places to visit
Rochester	100 m southwest of it	67,279	34
Chatham	1.1 km southeast of it	76,956	37
Gillingham	1.8 km east of it	108,485	33
Lower Upnor	2.1 km northeast of it	837	27
Cuxton	2.6 km southwest of it	3,039	25
Higham	3.3 km northwest of it	2,642	19
Chattenden	3.5 km northeast of it	2,417	24
Shorne	4.1 km northwest of it	1,038	16

Make a day of it

Beyond Rochester Castle

Within 15 km you can add 4 historic ships, a cathedral and a castle.

CathedralRochester Cathedral200 m away 2

Castle · English HeritageUpnor Castle2.6 km away 3

Historic shipRussian Foxtrot B-39 (U 475)600 m away 4

Historic shipHMS Cavalier1.8 km away 5

Historic shipHMS Gannet1.9 km away 6

Historic shipHMS Ocelot1.9 km away 7

Historic house · English HeritageTemple Manor900 m away 8

MuseumGuildhall Museum100 m away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

A visit to Rochester Castle: questions

Where is Rochester Castle?

Rochester Castle is 100 m northeast of Rochester, Kent.

What is Rochester Castle?

Castle in Rochester, Kent, South East England.

Who runs Rochester Castle?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Rochester Castle?

May to September are the warmest months in Rochester, with afternoon highs of 17–23°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Rochester Castle a listed building?

Yes: Grade I listed building.

What else is there to see near Rochester Castle?

Within 15 km: Rochester Cathedral (200 m), Upnor Castle (2.6 km), Russian Foxtrot B-39 (U 475) (600 m) and HMS Cavalier (1.8 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

Rochester Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Rochester Cathedral: Raggatt2000, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Upnor Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Russian Foxtrot B-39 (U 475): Hammersfan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Cavalier: en:User:Swpmre, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Gannet: Paul Englefield from Leamington Spa, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Ocelot: Mark.murphy at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Temple Manor: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent., CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Guildhall Museum: ClemRutter at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.