Canterbury Roman Museum
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Canterbury city walls are a sequence of defensive walls built around the city of Canterbury in Kent, England. The first city walls were built by the Romans, probably between 270 and 280 AD. These walls were constructed from stone on top of an earth bank, and protected by a ditch and wall towers.
The walls are not complete but well signposted from the town centre. Access is slopped and stepped and provides a panoramic view over the exterior circular road and interior gardens such as the Dean John Gardens. There are plaques detailing the wall's history. Read more.
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The city walls around Canterbury are some of the best preserved, in places, of their kind in southern England. The medieval city wall was on the same line as the Roman city wall, built in the late third Century, and is a sequence of defensive walls around the city.
Canterbury City Walls. 225 reviews. #15 of 120 things to do in Canterbury. Historic SitesPoints of Interest & Landmarks. Write a review. What people are saying. By Jonathan C. “ canterbury city walls ” Aug 2023. Nice area to walk around the perimeter of the city, with some elevation for great views. By Cheekycockney190757.
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3rd–4th centuries
The first city walls in Canterbury were built by the Romans. Canterbury, then called Duverovernum Cantiacorum, was initially probably defended by a small fort but had not required any other civic defences. The security situation in Britain deteriorated in the late 3rd century AD and a circuit of defensive walls were built around the city, probably between 270 and 290. They enclosed an area of 130 acres (53 ha), cutting off the old industrial parts of the western side of the city, but incorpor...
5th–11th centuries
During the 5th century, Canterbury went into decline and its Roman institutions and buildings crumbled, although the city walls survived. In 597, Augustine was sent to Kent by Pope Gregory I to convert the local population to Christianity. Augustine established Canterbury Cathedral within the city, possibly because the walled site gave them additional protection or because it was symbolically important as a former Roman city. Canterbury, now called Cantwaraburh, prospered and its population a...
11th–13th centuries
The inhabitants of Canterbury put up no resistance to the Normans during their conquest of England in 1066. William the Conqueror instructed that a castle was to be built in the city; Canterbury Castle was built on the south side of the city and formed part of the circuit of defence, with property being destroyed to make room for it. Despite its location along the walls, archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham have observed that the castle was not an “addition” to the defences, but...
Canterbury’s city walls in the 21st century are a mixture of survivals from the multiple periods of building, from Roman to the 20th century, but the majority of the visible walls are medieval in origin. Over half the original circuit survives, and archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham consider it “one of the most magnificent in Britain...
Brent, John (1860). Canterbury in the Olden Time: From the Municipal Archives and Other Sources. Canterbury, UK and London, UK: A. Ginder, and Bell and Daldy.Cox, J. Charles (1905). Canterbury, a Historical and Topographical Account of the City. London, UK: Methuen.Creighton, Oliver; Higham, Robert (2005). Medieval Town Walls: an Archaeology and Social History of Urban Defence. Stroud, UK: Tempus.Fleming, Robin (2011). Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400 to 1070. London, UK: Penguin Books.The text of this page was adapted from “Canterbury city walls” on the English language website Wikipedia, as the version dated 9 August 2018, and accordingly the text of this page is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Principal editors have included Hchc2009, Grandiose and Gilliam, and the contributions of all editors can be found on the history tab of t...
Canterbury city walls are a sequence of defensive walls built around the city of Canterbury in Kent, England. The first city walls were built by the Romans, probably between 270 and 280 AD. These walls were constructed from stone on top of an earth bank, and protected by a ditch and wall towers.
Canterbury City Walls. 225 reviews. #15 of 120 things to do in Canterbury. Historic SitesPoints of Interest & Landmarks. Write a review. What people are saying. By Jonathan C. “ canterbury city walls ” Aug 2023. Nice area to walk around the perimeter of the city, with some elevation for great views. By Cheekycockney190757.
