Distance: 3.5 km or about 2 miles
Canterbury is a great place to visit for a weekend with lots of historical sites and history. The idea of this walk around the city was to attempt to avoid any Shepherd Neame pubs, which is difficult at the best of times.
We start at Canterbury West Station, this is a Grade II listed building and was opened in 1846 by the South Eastern Railway company. It was the only station serving Canterbury until Canterbury East was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1860.
There is no easy interchange between the two stations and in the 1980s, a proposal for a Canterbury Parkway Station at the place where the two lines cross was put forward. In 2018, the local MP Rosie Duffield suggested that the new station would be a better alternative to a new multi-story car park for Canterbury West, which opened in 2020.
With the station behind you, turn right and walk down Station Road West pass the new car park then turn right up St Dunstan’s Street and across the level crossing to our first stop.
1. Unicorn Inn
61 St. Dunstans St, Canterbury CT2 8BS
The building was originally a house built for Robert Budden in 1593, a woollen drayper who also owned two other properties in Canterbury. Then in 1664, Issac (Roberts Son) applied for a licence to sell ales from the premises and was known as the ale house in St Dunstans. When Issac died in 1692, he brother Jacob took on the ale house and registered it under the name “The Unicorn”.
The property changed hands several times over the following years and in 1741 it was renamed “The Star”, but that proved unpopular and in 1742 it was changed back. After several more changes of ownership in the early 1800’s, it had a nickname of “The Bawdy House” and the owner was fined 8 pounds for keeping a disorderly and bawdy establishment.
The early 1900’s saw the pub being sold to Flint and Son’s, owners of the nearby St. Dunstan’s brewery. In 1924 Flint’s was acquired by Alfred Leney & Co of the Phoenix Brewery, Dover, who in turn merged with Fremlin’s of Maidstone in 1926. The Unicorn remained a Fremlin’s house until 1967 when Whitbread took them over and soon afterwards, closed the Maidstone Pale Ale Brewery. Beers (brewed at the old George Beer & Rigden Brewery, Faversham) were then supplied by Whitbread Fremlin’s until 1990 when the Faversham Brewery was closed. In the mid-1990s Whitbread PLC exited the British pub market and sold all its pubs to non-brewing, Pub Operating Companies. As a result, since 1995, the Unicorn has been owned/supplied by the PubCo, Enterprise Inns.
Although the pub is tied to Enterprise Inns, they do have the freedom of a guest pump and guest tap, so they tried to showcase local independent breweries from Kent Brewery, Gadds and Canterbury Ales.
Exit and turn right back across the level crossing and on your left you will pass “The House of Agnes” although not the original name of the house. The current B&B took the name from the Charles Dicken’s story ‘David Copperfield’ and it was the home of Anges Wickfield. It has been a travellers inn since the 13th century and before that a Roman pottery kiln and even a Roman cemetery.
In 1934, the famous American MGM movie producer David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind) and director George Cukor (Director, Gone with the Wind) visited the house to be sure of originality when filming the first ever Hollywood movie of David Copperfield.
Now keep on walking towards the main gatehouse of Canterbury and you will reach our next stop on your right.
2. Pegasus Tap Room
86 St. Dunstans St, Canterbury CT2 8AD
This is a modern micro pub with 12 beers and 2 ciders (no cask).
When you leave turn right down Linden Grove and keep walking until you see the entrance to Westgate Garden which is next to the street sign “Whitehall Road”. Walk through the gate and immediately on your right is the Canterbury Italy Star Memorial and next to it, the Canterbury Burma Star Memorial. It is worth taking a look at these two and spend a little time paying your respects to those who gave their lives in the two campaigns.
Now following the main path across the Great Stour through Westgate Gardens which were given to the city in 1936 by Stephen and Catherine Williamson, who later became Canterbury’s first woman mayor in 1938.
Walk across St. Peter’s Place and down the alleyway between the houses opposite. Again cross over Black Griffin Lane which is typical of streets in the early 1900’s. It took it’s name from the former pub on the corner. A quick left and right down another alleyway. Across St Peter’s Grove and down the alleyway opposite into Greyfriars Gardens.
Follow the path through these gardens and you are now walking along Franciscan Way. These public gardens are were part of the Franciscan Monastery but you can visit the historical part of this site including the chapel and original gardens for a fee. The Franciscan Gardens are now a scheduled monument protected by Historic England and they played an important role in the history of Canterbury as a site of religious pilgrimage.
Cross over the Great Stour and walk down Water Lane turning left at the bottom following Stour Street to our next stop.
3. The Foundry
77 Stour St., Canterbury CT1 2NR
This award winning brewery and tap room brew their own beers on site and usually have about 3 ales on hand pump plus keg-conditioned beers and ciders.
The building was the old foundry of Drury and Biggleston from the early 1800’s to the late 1900’s supplying the South East railway and repairing the winding engine to the Crab and Winkle line. Being an inventive bunch, they turned their hand to almost anything from constructing one of the first ever torpedoes under the design of Admiral Harvey to the lampposts that can be seen all over Canterbury.
When you leave turn right and continue along Stour Street until you reach the pedestrianised High Street. A quick left / right and walk down Best Lane passing the museum of the Grand Jury. If it’s open then I would pop in and learn all about Grand Jurys in the UK before their abolition in 1933 or you can read about them here – https://www.grandjurymuseum.uk/
Continue along Best Lane and straight across the small junction into King Street. After a short walk turn right up St. Alphege Lane and the left at the end to our next stop.
4. Bell and Crown
10-11, 31 Palace St, Canterbury CT1 2DZ
First licensed in 1862, the name was chosen to commemorate the marriage of Princess Alice, Queen Victoria’s second daughter, to Prince Louis Grand Duke of Hesse. on the 1st July 1862. The pub has a nearly complete list of Inn keepers and in fact they can all but match the Archbishops, one for one, in their palace across the street. Arthur Michael Ramsey was a frequent visitor to the pub but it’s thought unlikely that the present landlord will be the next Archbishop in waiting.
The flint walled church next to the pub is part of the King’s School and is St. Alphege’s Church subsequently it is not open to the public. The church has a long association with Kings School, many of the pupils having being baptised, married or buried here. In 2007 it was acquired by the school and is now used for musical and dramatic events, lectures and examinations. It is also used as a music venue for the annual Canterbury festival.
When you leave, turn left and continue along Palace Street and at the end follow the road to the right along Borough. On the bend you will see on your right a stone archway which is Mint Yard Gate. This is now the main entrance to King’s School but it was originally the site of the short lived 16th century Royal Mint.
Keep following Borough as it changes into Northgate and keep walking to our next stop.
5 . The Thomas Tallis Alehouse
48 Northgate, Canterbury CT1 1BE
It might not be to everyone’s liking but this gem of a place is worth a visit as there is no bar and you order your beer from a doorway. They offer around 30 beers at any one time and the selection is constantly changing.
Opened in 2016 in a beautiful 15th century building it was once part of the historic hospital of St John. The hospital was part of the Knights Templar and the forerunner to the present day St. Johns Ambulance Service. You can read more here – https://museumstjohn.org.uk/our-story/history-of-the-order/.
The location was previously a tattoo parlor, florist, hairdressers, and tea room, and was even a pub called the “White Swan” in 1903. Thomas Tallis was a composer and organist at the Cathedral but the connection to the building I do not know.
Now turn right and follow Northgate swinging right down Union Street and right again into Victoria Row. Shortly turn left up Artillery Street crossing over the ring road (A28) turning left. Ahead you should see a blue footpath/cycle sign to ‘Canterbury Christ Church University 200yds’, turn right and follow this path.
At the end continue straight across then turn right down Havelock Street to our next pub.
6. The New Inn
19 Havelock St, Canterbury CT1 1NP
This is a fantastic Victorian back-street pub set in a converted terraced house. Listed in 1861 as the ‘New Inn’ but it seems to have changed its name in 1900 to ‘Ye Vines’. The pub was an Ind Coope House being previously owned by Bushell, Watkins and Smith of Westerham. They bought the pub from Original Brewery, Broad Street, Canterbury when they went into liquidation.
Original Brewery was owned by Alfred Beer, brother of George Beer who owned Star Brewery on Broad Street. They were both sons of William Beer of St. Augustine’s Brewery. As you could imaging, the brothers probably didn’t get on having competing breweries opposite each other on the same street.
Now turn right and continue along Havelock Street before turning left up Monastery Street. You will pass Saint Augustine’s Abbey on your left but continue into Love Lane. Turn left at the end walking up Ivy Lane then right at the end down Lower Chantry Lane to the traffic lights. Go straight across into Upper Chantry Lane and continue into Oaten Hill. At the lights turn left and walk along the Old Dover Road to our last stop.
7. The Phoenix
67 Old Dover Rd, Canterbury CT1 3DB
A pub has stood here since 1874 and was originally called the Bridge House Tavern. In 1968 it was almost destroyed by a fire and was rebuilt adopting the current name. As an independent free house it aims to serve eight real ales on hand pump at any one time.
The owners have been in the pub trade all their life and their mantra is: