Canterbury Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Canterbury Castle stands at the south-western corner of the old city of Canterbury, in Kent, a few steps from the city walls and Canterbury East station. It is one of the three original royal castles of Kent, along with Dover and Rochester, established after 1066 along the old Roman road linking Dover to London, the route taken by William the Conqueror. What survives of the castle is essentially the great rectangular keep built in the early 12th century, one of the largest in England by footprint. Although reduced to two storeys in the 19th century, it still retains its thick walls of flint and Caen stone, its cross walls and the remains of spiral staircases and fireplaces. Long the county gaol, then a depot for a gas company, the monument has belonged to the city council since 1928. Closed to the public since 2018 because of falling masonry, it is the subject of a restoration programme funded as part of the regeneration of Canterbury city centre.