Canterbury Castle

Read the full history of Canterbury Castle below

The castle is part of Canterbury Connected. In January 2023, Canterbury City Council was awarded £19.9m by UK Government for the bid, Connected Canterbury: Unlocking the Tales of England. The project transformed Canterbury’s public spaces and heritage to reflect its status as an international visitor destination and World Heritage Site. 

History of the garden by Purcell Architecture

Canterbury Castle was established on the current site in the 1080s and replaced an earlier motte and bailey fortification built in the Dane John Gardens soon after 1066. The castle is an example of a tower keep castle, built throughout the medieval period following the Norman Conquest to the mid-15th century.

The Norman stone keep was largely built in the reign of Henry I as one of three Royal castles in Kent alongside Rochester Castle and Dover Castle. Construction began around 1100 and was largely completed by 1120. Roman fabric was incorporated into the keep, alongside Quarr and Caen Stone and reused flint, brick and squared facing stones.

Henry II expanded the castle and repaired it between 1173 and 1174 at a cost of £1,000, likely because Henry II had made Dover Castle the primary royal stronghold in Kent. The keep was subsequently used as a jail by the Sheriffs of Kent until the 18th century. Repairs were undertaken again between 1190 and 1193 during the reign of Richard I amid fears of invasion from Philip II.

During the First Barons’ War (1215–1217), supporters of John surrendered the castle to Louis VIII, then Dauphin of France. Following his defeat, the castle returned to royal ownership before being granted to Hugh de Burgh by Henry III in 1227.

A major 13th-century alteration added symmetrical drum towers to the east elevation, forming a gatehouse. Though later ruined and no longer surviving, this feature influenced later landscaping.

The keep originally had no ground-floor entrance and was entered via external stairs to the first floor. The structure measured approximately 85 feet along the north and south walls and 98 feet along the east and west walls. Four corner towers and external buttresses strengthened the building. The first floor housed the great hall, kitchen and large chambers, while the darker ground floor was likely used for storage. Two major cross walls divided the internal spaces.

The surrounding bailey covered around four acres. Part of the Roman town wall formed the south wall of the bailey, while medieval curtain walls enclosed the remaining sides. The main southern entrance was through Worthgate, a Roman gateway later reinforced with a barbican or towers.

Worthgate was blocked by the mid-16th century and later demolished in 1791. Castle Street now follows the historic route through the bailey.

By the 17th century the castle’s judicial role had ended after James I granted it to the Watson family. Hebrew inscriptions observed in the 18th century may relate to the imprisonment of Jewish people there during the 13th century.

In 1730 a County Sessions House was built near the keep. By the late 18th century various sheds and structures had been erected around the castle grounds.

The bailey walls and Worthgate were demolished between 1791 and 1792 as Castle Street was driven through the former precinct. During the Napoleonic Wars the castle precinct served as a military stores depot.

In 1825 the newly formed Gas, Light and Coke Company acquired the keep and converted it into a coal and coke store. The upper floor and internal cross walls were removed following concerns about structural instability. Gas Street was created at this time, separating the castle from the gasworks.

Throughout the 19th century additional industrial and ancillary buildings appeared around the castle grounds, including oast houses and outbuildings. Much of the northern bailey wall was lost through development.

Canterbury City Council purchased the castle in 1928 after decades of neglect. Surrounding buildings and internal storage structures were subsequently removed, creating the open grounds seen today.

Post-war road developments, including Rheims Way and the Wincheap Roundabout, significantly altered the castle’s wider setting and resulted in further demolition nearby.