2024 has been an incredible year at Rochester Cathedral. Dean Philip looks back at just some of the amazing things we’ve been up to.

A project to transform parts of Rochester Cathedral’s secret gardens into a wellbeing space is underway thanks to a grant from the UK Share Prosperity Fund.

Marvel at the spectacle of the red planet. Luke Jerram’s Mars: War and Peace is coming to Rochester Cathedral in February 2025. The incredible artwork follows his previous astronomical artworks Museum of the Moon and Gaia, which drew record visitor numbers to the Cathedral in 2020 and 2022.

Rochester Cathedral was thrilled to be the recipient of a grant from the Cathedral Music Support Programme. They join 28 other Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals and churches in receiving a share of £500,000 awarded by the Cathedral Music Trust.

Rochester Cathedral win Philanthropic Partner of the Year at the annual award show organised by the Kent Association for the Blind.

A chance discovery has uncovered, what is believed to be the earliest live recording of a Cathedral choir. It was recorded nearly 100 years ago in 1926 right here in Rochester.

Our choir were honoured to perform at St Paul’s Cathedral alongside the choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral and Durham Cathedral on the 7th May.

Our summer exhibition opens on the 1st June. Meet Draco Roffensis - a spectacular dragon inspired by Textus Roffensis. Find out how you can get involved with creating this amazing artwork.

Part of Textus 900

After over a year at Rochester Cathedral, the Fenland Black Oak Table has left Rochester Cathedral. A look back over the events and activities we’ve hosted around this spectacular table

Dean Hesketh reflects on the season of Lent

On the 6th February Rochester Cathedral officially became a registered charity.

Rochester Cathedral is marking a month-long season of Safeguarding this year, in which we invite everyone to reflect on the past failures of the Church in protecting children and vulnerable adults, here in Rochester and elsewhere.

Dean of Rochester, Philip Hesketh looks back at 2023 at Rochester Cathedral in this short video.

A message from our Dean on Christmas morning

Rochester Cathedral will remain closed to visitors tomorrow (22nd December) to allow more time for specialist cleaning and ventilation following a small fire on the 20th December. Our morning services will take place in the Ithamar Chapel. Our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service will start at 7.30pm with doors opening at 6.45pm. We will reopen to visitors on the 23rd December.

Today (20th December) a small fire broke out at Rochester Cathedral. The fire was quickly contained by Kent Fire and Rescue Service with no injuries. The Cathedral was evacuated as a precaution. 

Every Church of England Cathedral is to benefit from the generosity of one man who so loved cathedrals he spent ten years of his life on pilgrimage visiting each one and has left them all a bequest in his will. But the legacy is more than financial. Frank Buzzard, who died last year at the age of 95, wrote his own guide to each of the cathedrals too, ranging from short reports to what he called an “epic poem.”

Rochester Cathedral were honoured to welcome HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh to Rochester Cathedral on the evening of the 14th November. The Duchess joined other esteemed guests for a special dinner inaugurating the campaign for a new Song School at the Cathedral. The Duchess of Edinburgh is the Royal Patron of the Rochester Cathedral Trust who organised the dinner.

Recently consultations took place with members of the Cathedral community. The aim of these consultations was to allow members of our community to comment on the proposed new Constitution and Statues. These are the governing documents of our Cathedral. They have been rewritten to bring the governance of Rochester Cathedral into accord with the Cathedral Measure 2021.

This year Rochester Cathedral will again be holding a ‘Safeguarding Season’ during which special attention will be paid to the safeguarding an wellbeing of all with whom we have to do, but especially remembering and showing solidarity for all who are victims and survivors of abuse within and outside Christian Churches.

The Voluntary Choir sing at Southwark Cathedral

The recently installed lighting system at Rochester Cathedral has been awarded an IALD Award of Excellence. The International Lighting Design Award celebrates exceptional lighting design and is considered one of the highest accolades in the lighting industry

Rochester Cathedral is to commemorate two early medieval saints whose shrines were lost for nearly 500 years. St Paulinus and St Ithamar were Bishops of Rochester in the 7th century, nearly 1400 years ago.  On the 24th September the new shrine markers will be dedicated. They have been installed in front of the High Altar.

On the 25th July Textus Roffensis was officially added to a prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World UK Register.

The Royal Engineers joined us for their annual memorial service at Rochester Cathedral on Sunday 17th September.

Rochester Cathedral is to commemorate two early medieval saints whose shrines were lost for nearly 500 years. St Paulinus and St Ithamar were Bishops of Rochester in the 7th century, nearly 1400 years ago.  On the 24th September the new shrine markers will be dedicated. They have been installed in front of the High Altar.

Rochester Cathedral is celebrating 900 years since the creation of the most exceptional item in its collections, TextusRoffensis, ‘the book of Rochester

A rarely seen portrait by renowned artist Sir Joshua Reynolds is to be displayed at Rochester Cathedral to mark the Tricentenary of his birth. The portrait depicts former Bishop of Rochester, Dr John Thomas.

Rochester Cathedral honoured to have received a hazel tree which formed part of a huge sculpture for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

On July 5th, the National Health Service was 75 years old. This key milestone, in the life of one of our most treasured institutions was marked with a special service at Rochester Cathedral on Monday 3rd July.

Could your skills help with the governance of one the oldest but most forward-thinking and dynamic Cathedrals in the country?    We are looking for new non-executive members of our board –(the Chapter) , to support the clergy and staff in the mission of the Cathedral. We’re also looking for members of the board for our trading company, Rochester Cathedral Enterprises Ltd., and for sub-committee members with expertise in historic property management, finance, safeguarding and health and safety.

‘Dickens in a Time of Migration’

Text of a lecture given by Catherine Water, President of the Dickens Fellowship and Professor Emerita of Victorian Literature and Print Culture at the University of Kent.

Rochester Cathedral marked the historic Coronation weekend with a Street Party and a Service of Thanksgiving attended by hundreds of people

The Chapter of Rochester Cathedral is delighted to announce the appointment by the Lord Chancellor, of the Revd. Canon Christopher Dench, as the Cathedral’s new Canon for Worship and Spirituality.

An incredible 13m long table made from fossilised wood is coming to Rochester Cathedral from the 3rd March.

The Fenland Black Oak Table was made to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and is made of the nation’s rarest and most precious hardwood – black oak.

A special evening commemorating Ukrainian culture is taking place at Rochester Cathedral on the 24th February.

The event has been jointly organised by Rochester Cathedral and Medway Help for Ukrainians Both were keen to mark this date with unity and solidarity, and felt the Cathedral provided a space for people to come together to do this. Over the past year Medway has welcomed many Ukrainians.

The latest large-scale immersive artwork at Rochester Cathedral is now open. Peace Doves is made up of around fifteen thousand individually handmade paper doves which are suspended above the Nave. It is an artwork by Peter Walker Sculptor. It brings a message of peace and hope as the doves collectively form a beautiful artwork which as a whole reflects joining together in unity, peace and hope moving forward.

Rochester Choral Society to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a performance of a newly-commissioned choral work Regards from Rochester by award-winning British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones. Premiering at Rochester Cathedral on the 18th March 2023.