The chapel that is 'secret but in plain sight'
GoogleA tiny chapel has been on the banks of a Kent river, in one of the busiest parts of town, for centuries - but not many people know it is there.
The Bridge Chapel, next to the Rochester Bridge, was built in about 1391 by Sir John de Cobham as a secret place of prayer for travellers crossing the River Medway.
"It's a secret but it's in plain sight, isn't it?" Alison Cable, archivist at The Rochester Bridge Trust, said.
"It's a very busy part of town, but people do look intrigued by the building."
The first version of the Rochester Bridge was built by the Romans but it collapsed due to ice and floodwater in about 1381, so a more robust version was constructed about 100m (328ft) upstream.
The chapel is believed to have been used as a house, a grocery store and an alehouse over the years, before becoming "very much a ruin" by the start of the 20th Century, Cable told Secret Kent.
The site was restored in the 1930s and is currently being used to store materials to maintain the bridge.
"There is a story to be told and we're trying to get people to learn more about the chapel by having open days and so on during the summer months," Cable added.
