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feature INDEX c. 1850: INN EXCESS


Most of the gateways into the city were demolished during the 18th and 19th centuries. Only one still stands today – Westgate – which was built in 1380. For a long time it was also the town’s jail. Better roads and access into the city led to a rapid expansion in stagecoach travel and large inns were built to accommodate the stagecoaches, their passengers and horses.


TOP TEN HISTORIC PLACES TO VISIT


Canterbury Cathedral | St Augustine’s Abbey | Canterbury Roman Museum Canterbury Heritage Museum | Canterbury Castle | The Canterbury Tales


Greyfriars Chapel | St Martin’s Parish Church | The Eastbridge Hospital | Westgate Towers Museum


1830 AD: TRACK SUIT


During the 19th century, Canterbury remained a quiet market town, increasingly overshadowed by the new industrial towns of the north and midlands. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was opened in 1830 – one of many ‘fi rsts’ for Canterbury. In time, better transport links fuelled a huge population growth in the city.


1942 AD: BLITZED!


During the Second World War, 10,445 bombs and incendiaries were dropped during 135 separate raids, destroying more than 1,000 buildings and killing 115 people. The most devastating raid was on 1 June 1942 during the retaliatory Baedeker campaign, when Germany’s Luftwaffe targeted strategically unimportant but picturesque British cities.


2005 AD: PARADISE FOR SHOPPERS


Rebuilding of the devastated city centre began in earnest in the late 1950s. In 2005, the new Whitefriars shopping centre was opened. This followed one of the largest urban archaeological excavations ever undertaken in this country. Thousands of objects are still being reviewed and catalogued, and they will help us to fi ll in the gaps in Canterbury’s fascinating 2,000- year history.


Take a walking tour with an official Canterbury Tourist Guide. The informative strolls start daily at 11am and 2pm from Canterbury Visitor Centre. Tickets cost £6 for adults, £5.50 for concessions and £4.25 for children. There’s no need to book, but you can find out more at www.canterbury-walks.co.uk or by calling 01227 459779.


Westgate Towers


The UK’s oldest Medieval gateway has been saved for future generations by a Canterbury businessman’s creative thinking. Westgate Towers was run as a museum, but seemed doomed to close in these straitened times. But businessman and trustee of Canterbury Archaeological Trust Charles Lambie stepped in to save the iconic structure. He purchased the adjoining Victorian gaol from


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the county council some years ago and has taken out a 40-year lease from the city council over the Westgate Towers. The prisoners’ exercise court is now an airy glass-roofed café space, which opened at the end of July. New displays here will encourage people to mount the spiral staircase to the museum.


The next step is to convert the gaol and police station into fi ve luxurious suites from 2013,


offering an opportunity to stay in the 1907 custody suite-cells. Charles said, ‘’Even if you just stop for a refreshing cup of tea or our freshly roasted house coffee you cannot help but connect with the history of these fascinating buildings and enjoy the riverside position. It is an unmissable part


of any visit to Canterbury to enjoy the stunning views from the battlements.’’


www.indexmagazine.co.uk


Wartorn St George’s Street Kentish Gazette


West Gate Tower


The Big Dig site, now beneath Whitefriars shopping centre


The Canterbury to Whitstable Rawilway opened in 1830


Cutting the ribbon are Amanda Cottrell, Charles Lambie and Dr Andrew Brown, while a Victorian police offi cer looks on


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