The Guildhall

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005164
Date first listed:: 25-Mar-1948

User submitted image — Uploaded by Historic England Archive This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005164
Date first listed:: 25-Mar-1948

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Kent
District:: Canterbury (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: TR 14887 57862

Summary

A medieval undercroft and the remains of a guildhall, 82m east of The County Hotel.

Reasons for Designation

A guildhall is traditionally, the hall of a crafts, trade, or merchants' guild although the term is now often used to describe a town hall. The former guildhall at Canterbury incorporates significant remains of a medieval undercroft. Medieval undercrofts are stone built with vaulted bays and were used for the storage of provisions or items of special value. Placed beneath a building they could thus be kept under close supervision. Although undercrofts are sometimes referred to as cellars, they were not necessarily built entirely below ground level, but, where they are sunken into the ground this can aid their preservation when the building falls into disuse or is replaced by a later structure.

Despite later damage and alterations, the medieval undercroft and the remains of the guildhall 82m east of The County Hotel survive comparatively well. The site contains some significant architectural details such as a medieval pilaster, capital and the springing of an arch. It retains potential for the recovery of archaeological and environmental information relating to its construction, use and history.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 18 December 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a medieval undercroft and the remains of a guildhall situated at the corner of High Street and Guildhall Street in Canterbury. The exterior of No.11 High Street is modern but within and beneath are medieval remains. In the basement is a medieval stone undercroft dating from about 1200.

The walling on the east side of the undercroft contains the remains of a pilaster, capital and the springing of an arch, the other side of which would have rested on the central pillar. Above the undercroft are the remains of a medieval guildhall of six bays, dating from about the 14th century. The main walls are of flint and chalk rubble. It has a roof with moulded tie-beams and wall plates. The two bays nearest to the High Street are apparently a later addition, perhaps of the late 17th century. The side facing Guildhall Street was faced with an ornamental brickwork facade in 1700. The guildhall was entirely remodelled and covered with cement rendering in 1904.

The upstanding remains are Grade II listed.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: KE 99
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
NMR TR 15 NW 52. PastScape 464729. LBS 170639.

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.