Gundulf of Rochester
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| Denomination | Catholic |
|---|---|
| Senior posting | |
| See | Diocese of Rochester |
| Title | Bishop of Rochester |
| Period in office | 1077–1108 |
| Predecessor | Arnost |
| Successor | Ralph d'Escures |
| Personal | |
| Date of death | March 7, 1108 |
Gundulf (or Gundulph) was a Norman monk who came to England following the Conquest. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there; built castles including Rochester, Colchester and the White Tower of the Tower of London and the Priory and Cathedral Church of Rochester.
[edit] Life
Gundulf was a monk of Bec Abbey in Normandy and a friend, pupil and also chamberlain of Lanfranc. He was a monk of St. Etienne in Caen before he came to England in 1070, as one of several clergy Bec and St Etienne.[1] He was one of the most important of those chosen by Lanfranc to help him with the reorganisation of English monasticism, as Lanfranc had been charged to do, following his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury by King William I.
In 1075 at Lanfranc's instigation, King William I agreed to the appointment of Gundulf as bishop of Rochester and Gundulf was consecrated on March 19, 1077.[2] Earlier that year Lanfranc had recovered much of the lands once belonging to St. Andrews Church at Rochester from the Kings half-brother Odo and when Gundulf was enthroned Lanfranc endowed much of this property back to the church. This restored income enabled Gundulf to start reconstruction work on the almost derelict church building in 1080.
In 1078 King William used Gundulf's skill in the construction of the White Tower: the keep of the Tower of London; also the castle at Colchester which was started around 1080. Sometime around 1092 Gundulf founded the abbey of St Mary's, at West Malling, Kent for Benedictine nuns. He was also responsible for the founding of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in Rochester.
In 1083 the Cathedral Priory of St. Andrew the Apostle was founded at Rochester with Gundulf as Prior. He personally purchased a great deal of property for his house and also acquired other properties as the Priory found continued favour with the Norman kings. Together with Archbishop Lanfranc he began the construction of the monastery buildings and continued work on the church. Later Gundulf had the relics of St. Paulinus, a previous Bishop of Rochester, housed in a silver shrine at the church. By the time of Gundulf's death on 7 March 1108[2] the nave and western front of the church had been completed.
[edit] Memory
One of the guilds at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School was named after him by Lady Bennett.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ British History Online Bishops of Rochester accessed on October 30, 2007
- ^ a b Powicke Handbook of British Chronology p. 248
[edit] References
- British History Online Bishops of Rochester accessed on October 30, 2007
- Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arnost |
Bishop of Rochester 1077–1108 |
Succeeded by Ralph d'Escures |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gundulf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gundulf of Rochester; Gundulph |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Rochester |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 1108 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
