Down at Your Feet

Plenty of reminders of the past may be seen in the pavements and street surfaces of the city - here are a few examples:

Black Griffin Lane

St. Margaret's Street

     Access covers likely to be attributed to the Canterbury Water Works which was located in Wincheap and which now houses Dunelm Mill in a replica of the original building. The smaller one  is in Black Griffin Lane 
next to the pub; the larger one may be found in St. Margaret's Street near Waterstone's.  

Stour Street

            A fire hydrant cover cast by Biggleston of Canterbury. This is in Stour Street near the old Two Brewers pub. This firm was active in Canterbury between 1835 and 1963. The Oaten Hill & District Society have published a booklet about the firm and more information can also be found on the Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society website - link on the right.

The Parade

This coal hole cover is located outside the Flight Centre on the Parade. This shop now occupies part of what is thought to be a pilgrim's inn similar to the famous Chequers which is situated diagonally opposite. This cover is likely to date from the 1880's, and was manufactured by Clark, Hunt & Co. of Shoreditch who, founded in 1838, called themselves the Middlesex Iron Works.

King Street

There are many of these concrete access covers dotted about the city. Rediffusion was a cable television company active between 1928 and 1988 and was particularly active in the south east once commercial television was given the go-ahead in 1954. Presumably these covers date from the later part of the company's lifespan? This one is in King Street on the corner with Blackfriars Street. 

St. Dunstan's Street.

 An airtight inspection cover branded with the name of A. Wiltshier, Builder, Canterbury. At some point this firm was located in Stour Street where the much lamented Chromos was until recently situated. There is still the faint outline of the firm's painted sign above one of the doors of the building. Other than this though, I can't find much recent reference to this company and so do not know how old this cover is. It is tucked away in a private car park off St. Dunstan's Street, the entrance of which is opposite Orchard Street.