The Rochester Sheela Na Gig

The Rochester sheela is quite difficult to find if you dont know exactly where to look. It can be found high on the western facade of Rochester Cathedral. To the left of the main door look up until you can see two small thin windows one above the other. Look down until you come to three arches. The figure lies in the middle arch.

The genital area has been probably been chipped away, this damage is unlikely to be due to erosion because of the positioning of area at the bottom of the carving. The sheela is cracked as well lending further weight to the theory.. During the civil war the two main figures on the ornately carved chapter door inside were decapitated by Cromwell's soldiers. So if the figure was originally exhibitionist it would undoubtedly have been be a target for puritan attention as well. Unusually the figure holds two fishes, this feature may well have parallells in the carvings of double tailed mermaids found elsewhere.which hold their tails in their hands While we can not be sure that the figure was originally exhibitionist it seems likely due to the positioning of the damage.

In addition to the carvings outside the church there are also many "green men" on the roof bosses inside the church. I was informed that there were up to 23 of them in total.