THE GUILDHALL & GUILDHALL MUSEUM

The Guildhall & Guildhall Museum

Built between 1687 and 1695, and paid for from private funds!, the Guildhall was the center of local authority until well into the twentieth century. One feature of particular note is the impressive ceiling of the Court Room on the first floor, now most often used for weddings. It was paid for by Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Cloudesley Shovel, MP, an incredibly generous philanthropist who was MP for Rochester four times and had a home built in the High Street not far from the Guildhall.

The Guildhall Museum is a free-to-enter local treasure trove of the history of Rochester and neighboring areas. It has recently opened a new attraction – The Making of Mr Dickens – which traces the connections and influences on the life and work of England’s greatest novelist, Charles Dickens, who fell in love with Rochester as a small boy and featured it’s buildings and locations in many of his 320 known works.