The Vines, Rochester

The Vines, by Vines Lane, was leased from the Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral in 1879.

Benedictine monks were skilled horticulturalists and on this ground in medieval times they cultivated vines for the Priory of St. Andrew.

The following text is taken from the Kent Compendium of Historic Parks and Gardens for Medway:

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

In about the year 600, Ethelbert, King of Kent, was instructed by St. Augustine to build a church at Rochester in honour of St. Andrew with a monastery adjoining it. St. Augustine in 604 appointed Justus to be bishop and placed secular priests in the monastery. Portions of land both within and without the walls of the city were given to the monks so that they could maintain themselves. It is assumed that the land outside the city wall was the place where the monks had their vineyard and therefore was called The Vines. During the C13 and C14, in the records of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral, a vineyard is mentioned, with a curtilage described lying next to the city wall on the one side of the Priory vineyard and one headland extending to Crow Lane. Grapes and a small vine are also described (Records of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral, Medway Archives and Local Study Centre).

In 1539, following the dissolution of the monasteries, St Andrews Priory church was converted to Rochester's cathedral and a dean, chapter and canons were installed; the lands of the Priory were given to Henry VIII's supporters. However in 1558 these lands (which included The Vines) were given back to the cathedral and The Vines has remained in its ownership until the present day (2014) although they have always been leased out to various people.

That The Vines should serve as a permitted public thoroughfare is stated in the cathedral records of 1599. These say ‘if the marsh wall should break under heavy tides, all people connected with the cathedral can use The Vines as a way through.' (Records of the Dean and Chapter).

In 1661 the Records refer to the site as a four acre field, leased to Sir Francis Clarke, the owner of Restoration House across Crow Lane to the east of The Vines. In 1695 it was leased to a William Brockenham and the Records say ‘a messuage was built on The Vines with a quickset garden fence taking in a grove of young elms'. During the next few years it was leased by various people. In 1732 a timber survey lists 21 trees felled at The Vines for the use of timber. By 1755 the records state that ‘there is a garden extending into the Vines and another messuage'. it is now described as being 3 acres of land and the elms as a small grove.

The first definitive map of Rochester which was included in Denne's Guidebook of 1772 represents The Vines as abutting the outside of the city's southern wall with a grove of elm trees in the western corner, the reduction of open land to 3 acres being accounted for by the quickset garden fence. Hasted's map of Rochester of 1798 also depicts The Vines with the elm grove.

In 1790 George Gates is the lessee; a well is dug on the west side of the site and pipes laid to relay water to houses nearby. Gates is using the land for cattle grazing; the records stating that only sheds for cattle may be built on the site.R Sale's map of Rochester dated 1816 clearly show the quickset fence and the messuages that have been built in the site's south western corner; the grove of elm trees is also evident.

The tithe schedule of Rochester (1839-1842) establishes the ownership of The Vines to be that of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester cathedral and, for the first time, the present (2014) path that runs diagonally from the north-western corner to the south-eastern corner of the site is shown, James Darch is named as occupying the land which is in use as a market garden and pasture; this use is verified in the Records as £1.2s was paid to James Darch for making a hedge in the Vines in December 1841. The elm grove is apparent in the south east corner very specifically showing seven elms. The map shows that a well had been dug in the eastern corner. In 1831 Samuel Lewis, describing his visit to Rochester, says the ‘city is well paved and lighted with gas and has an ample supply of water from an excellent field called The Vines' (A Topographical Dictionary of England, vol. 3).

In 1820, and again in 1843, the Dean and Chapter are recorded as stating that ‘The Vines should preserve the ancient privilege as a place of recreation for all persons connected with Rochester Cathedral and Kings School'. The site provided a playing field for the school until 1865 when it became too small. A print by William Dadson of 1825 shows boys playing cricket in The Vines. The school subsequently bought the Paddock (described as pasture on the Tithe schedule 1839-1842) from Christ's Hospital who had been its owners since the dissolution of the monasteries. The Paddock is situated across Vines Lane to the south west of The Vines. The School also impinged physically on The Vines as it was expanding and in 1880 School House was built in the south-eastern corner on Crow Lane.

Dadson's 1825 print shows a rough hedge separating the main School site from its playing field on The Vines. By 1875 a (contemporary photograph) show rough and overgrown brambles separating the sites though by 1880 when School house was built, a photograph of that date shows the brambles replaced by a shrubbery with a flower bed which extended north-eastwards to a surviving section of city walls incorporated within the School's grounds.

Once the school had vacated its playing field on the site in 1885 it was leased to the City of Rochester Corporation. The first edition OS map (1862-1875) show for the first time another path running from the south-western corner to the north-eastern corner of the site, the two paths intersecting at the centre.

In 1909, in his book ‘The Months of the Year', the Rev. Pemberton Lloyd, who was a pupil at Kings School, wrote ‘on the other side of the school you have what in my time used to be a football ground called The Vines but it is now a most refined and tastily laid out park with seats but still called the Vines'. The 2nd edition OS map (1897-1900) shows for the first time an avenue of trees planted along the path that runs from the north west corner to the south east corner, this is now called the Broad Walk (information about The Vines www.medway.gov/leisure ). An 1880 photograph in the Medway Centre for Study and Archives shows an avenue of newly planted saplings alongside this path showing that the park was probably laid out during this time.

An illustration of Restoration House and The Vines by G Kitton (1856-1904), the Victorian woodcarver and engraver who studied the life of Charles Dickens, clearly shows the seven elms, a caption beneath says that this illustration is of Satis House, the home of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (The Victorian Web). In the novel, Pip describes crossing Priory Gardens as he approaches the house. A similar illustration by Robert Langton in the book ‘Charles Dickens and Rochester' also depicts Restoration House as Satis House and The Vines as Priory Gardens. Dickens also uses The Vines in ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood' which is set in Rochester; here he has Edwin meeting Rosa in a place called the Monks Vineyard which is near the cathedral.

During the C20 photographs depict the Vines as a pleasant public park and all C20 OS editions show the avenue of London Plane trees along The Broad Walk and the seven elms. Records from Rochester Corporation record that the seven elms were felled in the 1960s because they were deemed to be in a dangerous condition and it is here that they are first referred to as ‘the seven sisters'. Whitebeams were planted as replacements but these were vandalised soon after they were planted in 1970 so were removed. The plaque that was instated when the Whitebeams were planted is now in the bed on the north east side of the site, it says, ‘These seven Whitebeams..... replace the seven sisters that were taken down in 1965 beneath which Charles Dickens walked on his last visit to Rochester 3 days before his death on the 6th June 1870........'. There are a few Whitebeams in this bed which may have replaced those that were vandalised.

In the storm of October 1987 many of the Plane trees in the avenue were blown down. During the next twenty years The Vines became neglected and the vegetation over grown until in 2007 Medway Council tidied up the shrubberies and resurfaced the Broad Walk with a top-dressing of tar and gravel.

The first meeting of The Friends of The Vines was held in 2008, their main objective being to make The Vines a pleasant place for the community. The Friends and local schools work in partnership with Medway Council to manage the site which is also used for events. The Vines has been awarded a Green Flag from 2008 to 2013 and in 2009 it won the Conservation Award from the City of Rochester. The site remains in ecclesiastical ownership though leased to a public body.

Detailed history added 09/09/2015

Type

Park

Purpose

Recreational/sport

Principal Building

Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces

Survival

Extant

Hectares

1.2

Open to the public

Yes