Two large air-raid-shelter-like structures survive, almost end-to-end, in good condition, built into the intramural rampart of Canterbury’s City Wall, in the Dane John Gardens. They are covered with earth, descending from parapet-level at a rather shallower slope than the rampart to either side. They have red-brick end walls and entrance structures - the latter with thick concrete roofs. A notice on one of the shelters reads: ‘W.W.II Shell Shelters / These shell shelters were constructed to serve as ammunition stores for a heavy artillery battery positioned here as a defensive measure following the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.’ Indeed, these highly unusual shelters do not readily agree with any of the four groups of public air-raid shelters in the Dane John Gardens which are known from documentary sources. These may have housed shells for a pair of howitzers stationed nearby in the Gardens, but there is some uncertainty regarding the dating (see separate entry).
Owner : Public
Publicly accessible : Yes
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : good
Date of visit :