Medieval Scent Chambers
Join us at Rochester Castle for a multi-sensory experience of the 11th century. From early September 2023, this impressive Norman fortress will be brought to life with a series of scent chambers designed by AVM Curiosities - in collaboration with Adrian Reynolds, Aroma Prime and Angela Stavrevska at CPL Aromas.
‘The Chapel’ Scent Chamber - Photo: Tasha Marks
The bespoke olfactory offerings will be installed on a permanent basis in The Food Store, The Chapel and The Cess Pit – each offering an aromatic insight into medieval life.
While the malodorous Cess Pit aroma might not be to everyone’s taste, The Chapel scent was based on an incense recipe from 1088 and offers a pleasant trip back in time to experience the smells of an 11th century church:
As part of my research I found some fantastic incense recipes from the period. There are ingredients you might expect, like frankincense, myrrh, musk and ambergris, but also cinnamon, iris, saffron, camphor and storax. Plus, strewing with herbs like meadowsweet and rosemary would be practiced, so my feeling is that the overall sensation would be resinous, spicy and musky, but also slightly herbal. - Tasha Marks
Angela Stavrevska from CPL Aromas further commented to say that, ‘we are often inspired by the past when creating new scents, but actually having a written recipe to explore was really fascinating’.
The scent chambers are included in the price of general admission and available to experience from 4 September 2023 onwards. For more information please click here.
