Medieval Wall -- Canterbury High Street, Canterbury, Kent, UK
N 51° 16.732 E 001° 04.807
31U E 366097 N 5682587
A preserved remnant of a medieval flint cobble wall stands in what is now a pocket park hosting a combined Boer War and WWI Memorial on the Canterbury High Street
Waymark Code: WMT4NQ
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/25/2016
Views: 7
Blasterz have nor been able to find out much about this remnant, except that it was built in the 1100s around the same time as the nearby Pilgrim Hospital, and was damaged in the "Baedecker Raids" during WWII that saw the Luftwaffe bomb cities of deep historical (as opposed to military) significance in Britain.
The remant of this medieval wall stands in a small cleared pocket park alomhg the Cantervury High Street. It;s so nondescript and subtle it is easuly missed in the middle of a vibranty and busy hisgtorical town.
The remnant stands near a 1920s-era memorial to the men of the Royal Kent Yeomanry and East Kent Yeomanry who fought and perished in the Boer War and the Great war of 1914-18.
Our tour guide knew little about it, except that this was an area that had been bombed in the Baedecker raids, and that this wall was likely preserved as a reminder of that terrible time.
From the Imperial War Museum website: (
visit link)
"What Were The Baedeker Raids?
By Amanda Mason
In spring 1942, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) launched a series of destructive air raids against historic towns and cities in Britain.
These attacks were termed the 'Baedeker' raids after the famous German travel guides.
It is thought that the 'Baedeker' raids were a reprisal for the Royal Air Force's bombing of Lübeck and other historic towns in Germany. This photograph shows the extent of damage to Lübeck after the Royal Air Force (RAF) raid on 28-29 March 1942. . . .
. . .
Canterbury was raided on 31 May-1 June. Many houses, shops and notable buildings such as the Corn Exchange and City Market were destroyed in the raid, together with the bus depot, three churches and two schools. . . . Canterbury was hit again two nights later and again on 6-7 June. In the three raids, 45 people were killed and a similar number injured."