Whitefriars Canterbury

History

Established in 2005.

Located within Canterbury’s medieval city walls to the south west of the city lies Whitefriars, a 12-​acre site that was once home to Austin friars, the so-​called ‘white friars’, whose monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538.

The friary site became home to Sir Henry Finch and his family and was noted for its fine gardens and orchards. In the late 19^th century, the Simon Langton Girls and Boys Grammar Schools were established on the site.

The Whitefriars area was extensively damaged during WWII bombing raids and was gradually redeveloped between the 1950s and 1970s with a mix of offices and retail units, the Whitefriars Centre and a multi-​storey car park.

The redevelopment erased the historic pattern of streets within the area and opted for an architectural style very different from traditional Canterbury, which proved unsuccessful. During the 1980s, it was realised that a redevelopment scheme could provide a more suitable form of development appropriate to the historic setting.