Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The city walls of Canterbury are some of the most interesting and in places best preserved, of their kind in southern England. The whole of the medieval city wall was on the same line as the Roman city wall, built in the late third century. Structural remains of four Roman gates are known, the Worth Gate, the Riding Gate, the London Gate and the Queningate. All except the London Gate were re-used in medieval times. There are good grounds for supposing that Roman gates also preceded the medieval North Gate and West Gate, a seventh gate may have preceded the Burgate. Documentary evidence records the wall in 605 and 1011, when the Danes were "thrown from the wall", suggesting that they were then of a defensible height. Since the beginning of the twelfth century a stretch of wall, nineteen feet six inches high was incorporated in the nave of St Mary's Church. Repairs and building took place between 1153 and the late fifteenth century. Twenty- four medieval towers have now been identified. The city wall has disappeared over much of the area between the West Gate and Worth Gate.

Monument Types

• TOWN DEFENCES (TOWN DEFENCES, Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• TOWN DEFENCES (TOWN DEFENCES, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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City Wall City Wall (Course of) Various Bastions and Gates. (See Map diagram). (1) TR 152582, TR 145573. City Wall, Canterbury. Scheduled monument 23. (2) (TR 14625812) to TR 14705819) The City Walls along Pound Lane under the Wool Store, burnt down November 1977, and still surviving about 9ft high; and a rectangular tower at Pound Lane ("Sudbury Tower" on OS 25" 1957) are part of scheduled monument 23 additional to the length previously scheduled (TR 15165822 through E and S to TR 14475746). (TR 14475746 to TR 14425756) The sites of the City Wall and ditch, a tower ("Bastion" at TR 14455750 on OS 25" 1957 and postern gate "Postern" at TR 14475746 on OS 2" 1957) now occupied by the open grassland of a public open space are scheduled monument 349. (3) (TR 1457. Sited to locality only) The presence of a coin of Tetricus found in the rampart bank had a bearing on the date of the town walls. (4) The city walls of Canterbury are some of the most interesting and in places best preserved, of their kind in southern England. The whole of the medieval city wall was on the same line as the Roman city wall, built in the late third century. Both the wall and Roman bank are contemporary. In a number of places the city wall survived to a height of eight to twelve feet above the footings and at one point near the North Gate (TR 15 NE:160) still stands up to the base of the parapet at a height of nineteen feet two inches. It was generally seven feet six inches wide and built of coursed flint and mortar with no tile bonding-courses. Traces of two external wall-towers have been excavated. Structural remains of four Roman gates are known, the Worth Gate (TR 15 NW:187), the Riding Gate (TR 15 NW:141), the London Gate (TR 15 NW:166) and the Queningate (TR 15 NE:122). All except the London Gate were re-used in medieval times. There are good grounds for supposing that Roman gates also preceded the medieval North Gate (TR 15 NE:160) and West Gate (TR 15 NW:155), a seventh gate may have preceded the Burgate (TR 15 NE:85). Documentary evidence records the wall in 605 and 1011, when the Danes were "thrown from the wall", suggesting that they were then of a defensible height. Since the beginning of the twelfth century a stretch of wall, nineteen feet six inches high was incorporated in the nave of St Mary's Church (TR 15 NE:153). Repairs and building took place between 1153 and the late fifteenth century. Twenty- four medieval towers have now been identified. The city wall has disappeared over much of the area between the West Gate and Worth Gate. (5)

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments:

West Gate: built between 1375 and 1381. Two storeys and is flanked by drum towers, with loops(?) in three stages, pointing in all directions. The gateway itself has stone quadripartite vaults with intermediate ribs. Outer opening was defended by a portcullis and stout doors as well as by deep machiolations which were versed from the parapet. Appears to have been no barrier in the inner opening towards the city. Lateral doorways admit to the lower stages of tower and in the case of that in the N to a mural stairway leading to upper floors and parapet. The upper storey formed a large guardroom and had a wide fireplace in the S row built in and apparently a doorway communicating with parapet walk in the N.

As before and see stone by stone survey by Canterbury Arch. Trust Castle to Northgate (A28): this is a long stretch of upstanding city wall of the 14th century. The walls and towers are of flint construction with some later brick repairs in places. For most of its length the walls are circa 4m high trough the stretch adjacent to the castle is less substantial, being circa 2.5m high. St Radigund St (additional area): short fragm,ent of unscheduled wall discovered when former Bligh's garage was demolished. At present waste ground and in poor condition.

This is the stretch of wall running parallel to Church Lane from Northgate to St Radigund St. The eastely part is in the wall of St Mary Northgate Hall and stands to a reasonable height while the W part is only the lower part of the wall in a small piece of formal garden. Rectangular tower: the rectangular tower, called Sudbury tower, is of flint with stone quoins. Towards the W end of this section of city wall the flint walling gives way to brick (6).

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments (DKE 19263 KE 348)

The site of the City Wall of Roman 'London' Gate. Bastions and ditch in a public park (excavated by prof S Frere in the 1950s).(6)

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments (DKE 19264 KE 349)

Site of City wall and tower, postern gate and ditch, now a public open space, open grassland. Site is a scarp slop under grass, with formal flower bed.

A survey of a section of the wall in 2001-2 at 89a Broad Street, revealed the face of the medieval wall composed of coursed flint and greensand set in greyish lime mortar. Later alterations to the wall during the post-medieval period included the refacing of areas of the wall with flint, stone and brick during the late 18th - early 19th century. Areas of the wall are galletted and there are variations to the stone and style of alterations along the wall. One area of the wall face is thought to have been rendered due to the construction of an outbuilding against it.
The ground level is recorded as being around 1.5m higher on the inside of the wall. (7)

A later evaluation and borehole survey at the site revealed evidence for post-medieval refacing and alterations to the wall at 89a Broad Street, alongside evidence for a post-hole potentially associated with scaffolding for the wall during alterations. (8)

<1> OS 1:2500 1957 (OS Card Reference). SKE48200.

<2> DOE (IAM) List Anc Mons 2 1978 111 (OS Card Reference). SKE40711.

<3> DOE (IAM) Rec Forms 28.6.78 and map (OS Card Reference). SKE40726.

<4> Arch NL 5 1954-55 251 (B de Cardi) (OS Card Reference). SKE36799.

<5> Arch of Cant 2 1982 plans photos (SS Frere S Stow and P Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE36834.

<6> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<7> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2002, The extra-mural face of the City Wall behind 89a Broad Street, Canterbury (Jervis House). (Unpublished document). SKE54983.

<8> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2003, King's School, Canterbury, Jervis House: Archaeological Evaluation of the City Wall. (Unpublished document). SKE55031.

Sources and further reading

Related records

Related thematic articles

• Medieval Kent (Thematic Essay)
• The Defence of Kent (Thematic Essay)