The Cantiaci Forum Friends met for the first time on Sunday 4th March.
Corinne, Caz, Shane and Anne B met at Rochester together with Pete from London and Sir Mark of Essex, plus a few ‘extras’ – Corinne brought her niece and nephew – Jed and Zoe, Caz brought daughter Lauren, Shane brought son James, Anne brought husband Bob and daughter Susan, and Mark brought daughters Emily and Charlotte.
Pete remarked that it was the first time he’d been to a meeting with as many youngsters as adults!! Mr Topes tearoom provided a welcome chance to get to know each other a bit (as well as have a warm drink on this very cold day!) before we adjourned to our first port of call.
The Guildhall Museum
The 17th century Guildhall building houses a wide-ranging collection of local artefacts, from the biggest Neolithic axe-head I’ve ever seen right up to Victorian and Edwardian times. The exhibits are laid out chronologically. They are clearly displayed with interesting background information and lots of hands-on activities for the children, including a replica musket which could be loaded and “fired”. This was particularly popular with Jed, Emily and Charlotte ! The children (as well as the adults) could also have a bash at brass-rubbing and coin minting.
Personally, I was particularly struck by the life-size reconstruction of part of a “hulk” – a warship reduced to its hull and little else, then anchored in the estuary and used to house prisoners-of-war. Kept below deck with little fresh air and exercise, the men kept in these living tombs still produced the most amazing pieces of artwork, from the most unpromising materials such as straw and bone, some of which were on display.
There are two panoramic cameras located above the tower which give you the opportunity to ‘city watch’ – Sir Mark of Essex had great fun with these!
The Guildhall Museum Building
The building now housing the Guildhall Museum was built in 1687 – the architect was Sir Christopher Wren. It has an arcaded ground level with paired Tuscan columns. In the Council Chambers are richly decorated plasterwork ceilings by John Bryan.
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle has one of the best-preserved Norman keeps in the country, with the outer walls intact up to roof level – it stands at 113 feet and is 70 feet square!
The four angled turrets stand a further 12 feet high.
You can climb right to the top and walk right around the battlements and admire the views. This involves a long climb via the circular stairwells Some of us (Corinne) had to tackle this twice due to wee ones needing lb’s .
Unfortunately the views were mostly hidden in the murk of the day , but we could still see enough to appreciate why there has been a fortification here since the Romans guarding Watling Street’s crossing over the Medway.
Finally we had a quick mooch around the cathedral before a service started.
Outside, we all agreed how much we’d enjoyed meeting each other and putting faces to the names we see regularly on the Forum.
To all those fledgling groups out there I say – Go for it! It is really worth the effort and you’ll be glad you did.
And to anyone else living in the Kent/Sussex/Surrey area – you missed a great day out but we hope to see you next time