Two sets of Second World War public trench air-raid shelters were excavated in the extensive lawn of Green Court, the King’s School quadrangle in the Cathedral Precincts. The first set, later referred to as ‘temporary trenches’ were in existence by mid September 1939 when the Dean and Chapter sought remuneration for their provision. These were doubtless timber-lined trenches, and were recognised by the Emergency Committee in early October. They comprised two long ‘corridors’, aligned roughly north-south, joined by six cross-passages which probably provided the main shelter accommodation; at each end of the latter projected a small latrine. These were placed about two-thirds of the way down the green court from the Mint Yard entrance. Timber trench shelters such as this were quickly supplanted by other kinds of shelter, and there soon plans to replace or extend those in Green Court. At the end of November 1939 a scheme was approved for the construction of shelters further shelters in Green Court at total cost of £1197 4s 6d. There were however, long negotiations over the cost, and the shelters were still not ready by mid March 1940. Plans in the Canterbury Cathedral Archive suggest the initial plan was for two sets of concrete-lined, covered trenches - each about the same size as the original provision. One of these was to replace the existing trenches, on the same spot; the other was to be excavated parallel to these, just to the east (nearer the Mint Yard). In the end, it seems only the latter was excavated, and may have coexisted, for a time, with the old trenches. Until early 1940 the Mint Yard gate was left open day and night in case of need for shelter, thereafter, for a time at least, it was locked a night. It seems the new shelter was intended to accommodate 700 persons. It was demolished, and the lawn reinstated, soon after the end of the war; no trace of it remains above ground, but anomalies detected by geophysical survey suggest much of the fabric survives below-ground.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : Destroyed
Date of visit :

Simon Pratt, Verbal Communication (Verbal communication). SKE14874.

Simon Pratt, Verbal Communication (Verbal communication). Ske14874.

Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee, 01/01/39, Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee Minute Books 1 to 6 (Unpublished document). SKE14875.

Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee, 01/01/39, Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee Minute Books 1 to 6 (Unpublished document). Ske14875.

Anon., 01/01/40, Layout of Green Court Trenches (Map). SKE14877.

Anon., 01/01/40, Layout of Green Court Trenches (Map). Ske14877.

Williamson C., 01/01/46, Though the Streets Burn (Bibliographic reference). SKE14876.

Williamson C., 01/01/46, Though the Streets Burn (Bibliographic reference). Ske14876.