Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

By the summer of 1492 Christ Church Priory owned all the city walls between Burgate and Northgate. Thomas Chillenden (Prior 1391-1411) organised repair of the walls between Northgate and Queningate. Four square towers were added at that time, and two round bastions were probably added during Prior Selling's work on the defences in the 1480's.

Monument Types

• GATE (Roman to Post Medieval - 43 AD to 1900 AD)
• PRIORY (Roman to Post Medieval - 43 AD to 1900 AD)
• WALL (Roman to Post Medieval - 43 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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By the summer of 1492 Christ Church Priory owned all the city walls between Burgate and Northgate. Thomas Chillenden (Prior 1391-1411) organised repair of the walls between Northgate and Queningate. Four square towers were added at that time, and two round bastions were probably added during Prior Selling's work on the defences in the 1480's. Roman fabric survives adjacent to the square tower beyond steps up to the precincts entrance. Part of a brick arch and some large supporting blocks of Kentish ragstone indicate the position of a Roman gate, later known as Queningate.

Queningate is thought to be named for Queen Bertha, the Frankish princess who was already a practising Christian when she married Ethelbert, King of Kent. Traditionally Queen Bertha is believed to have passed through the Queningate on her daily journey from the King's Palace to St. Martin's Church in Longport.

A new postern at Queningate (the small entrance used today) was made in c. 1448-49 and a bridge (later called Dean's Bridge) was made across the ditch. The old entrance at Queningate seems to have gone out of use and was eventually blocked in 1468, probably when there were fears of attack from France.

The square tower next to Queningate is one of the four erected between 1390-96 during the works organised by Prior Chillenden.

Blockley, K., Sparks, M. & Tatton-Brown, T., 1997, Canterbury Cathedral Nave, Archaeology, History and Architecture (Monograph). SKE29723.

Elder, J. & Duncan, M., 2002, Canterbury City Wall Trail (Monograph). SKE29730.

Sources and further reading