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Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

HER Number:	TR 15 NW 116
Type of record:	Listed Building
Name:	Canterbury City Wall

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.

Grid Reference:	TR 14 57
Map Sheet:	TR15NW
Parish:	CANTERBURY, CANTERBURY, KENT

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)

Protected Status:	Listed Building (I) NAR

Full description

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Sources and further reading

Cross-ref.	Source description
<1>	Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index entry. OS 1:2500 1957
<2>	Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index entry. DOE (IAM) List Anc Mons 2 1978 111
<3>	Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index entry. DOE (IAM) Rec Forms 28.6.78 and map
<4>	Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index entry. Arch NL 5 1954-55 251 (B de Cardi)
<5>	Unpublished document: OS Card / NAR index entry. Arch of Cant 2 1982 plans photos (SS Frere S Stow and P Bennett)

Related records

TR 15 NW 109	Parent of: Angle of Ro/Med Wall (Monument)
TR 15 NE 85	Parent of: Burgate (Monument)
TR 15 NE 160	Parent of: Gateway (Monument)
TR 15 NW 166	Parent of: London Gate - Ro (Monument)
TR 15 NW 134	Parent of: M bastion (Monument)
TR 15 NW 150	Parent of: M postern (Monument)
TR 15 NW 154	Parent of: M Sudbury Tower (Listed Building)
TR 15 NW 160	Parent of: M tower (Listed Building)
TR 15 NW 148	Parent of: M tower (Listed Building)
TR 15 NW 167	Parent of: M tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 197	Parent of: M tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 129	Parent of: M tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 146	Parent of: M tower (Monument)
TR 15 NE 76	Parent of: Newin or St George's Gate (Monument)
TR 15 NW 151	Parent of: Remains of C14th tower, Pound Lane, Canterbury. (Listed Building)
TR 15 NE 158	Parent of: Rems of tower (Monument)
TR 15 NE 159	Parent of: Rems of tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 141	Parent of: Riding Gate (Monument)
TR 15 NW 118	Parent of: Romano-British angle tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 183	Parent of: St Mildred's Postern (Monument)
TR 15 NE 112	Parent of: Tower - Medieval (Monument)
TR 15 NE 106	Parent of: Tower (Monument)
TR 15 NE 142	Parent of: Tower (Monument)
TR 15 NE 157	Parent of: Tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 475	Parent of: Tower 17 (Monument)
TR 15 NE 70	Parent of: Tower 6 (Monument)
TR 15 NE 71	Parent of: Tower 7 (Monument)
TR 15 NE 79	Parent of: Tower 8 containing zoar chapel (Monument)
TR 15 NW 155	Parent of: West gate (Listed Building)
TR 15 NW 100	Parent of: Whitecross Tower (Monument)
TR 15 NW 212	Parent of: Wincheap Gate (Monument)
TR 15 NW 187	Parent of: Worth Gate (Listed Building)