In late August 1940 it was agreed to there being a public air-raid shelter under a grandstand at the St Lawrence’s Cricket Ground in Canterbury, chiefly to serve the adjacent Kent and Canterbury Hospital. This was referred to as the ‘stand nearest [the] hospital,’ which suggests the Leslie Ames Stand - although, for constructional reasons the Frank Wooley Stand seems more probable. The plan was deferred, following the evacuation of the hospital, until mid November that year, when the shelter was approved to accommodate eighty-eight persons. Around January 1941 this shelter was selected to house an alternative civil-defence Control Centre (see separate entry) for use in case the main centre, at the Municipal Buildings, should be damaged. This use of the shelter seems to have lapsed by the end of the following year, when a new Alternative Control Centre was sought. The shelter itself seems to have remained in use at least until 1943, however.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : Unknown
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : unknown
Date of visit :

Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee, 01/01/39, Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee Minute Books 1 to 6 (Unpublished document). SKE14879.

Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee, 01/01/39, Canterbury City Council Emergency Committee Minute Books 1 to 6 (Unpublished document). Ske14879.