The Vines, now a public garden, owes its name to the moks of the Priory of St. Andrew. In 600 AD, the land was granted to be used as their vineyard. The land was granted back to the church post-dissolution. In 1539, St Andrews Priory church was converted to Rochester's Cathedral, a dean, chapter and canons were installed. In 1558, the lands of the former Priory were returned to the chathedral, remaining in the owndership of the Dean and Chapter of the cathedral ever since. From 1820/1843, the site served as a playing field for nearby Kings School, until 1865 when it became too small. In 1855, the land was leased to the City of Rochester Corporation. An 1880 photograph in the Medway Centre for Study and Archives shows an avenue of newly planted saplings alongside the path that runs from the north-west to the south-east corner of the park, now known as the Broad Walk. In 1909 the park was described as 'now a most refined and tastily laid out park with seats but still called the Vines’, by Rec. Pemberton Lloyd in 'The Months of the Year'. An Elm Grove previously existing on the site was felled in 1965. Replacement Plane trees were planted, however many were vandelised. In the storm of October 1987 many of the Plane trees in the avenue were blown down. During the next twenty years The Vines became neglected and the vegetation over grown until in 2007 Medway Council tidied up the shrubberies and resurfaced the Broad Walk with a top-dressing of tar and gravel. The first meeting of The Friends of The Vines was held in 2008, their main objective being to make The Vines a pleasant place for the community. The Friends and local schools work in partnership with Medway Council to manage the site which is also used for events. The Vines has been awarded a Green Flag from 2008 to 2013 and in 2009 it won the Conservation Award from the City of Rochester. The site remains in ecclesiastical ownership though leased to a public body.