What was new then is now part of history

When I first published the above photographs, in the Kentish Gazette, during the 1990s, they were presented as a ‘then and now’ pair.

However, the redevelopment of the entire Whitefriars area, at the beginning of the 21st century, has meant that all the ‘now’ pictures then taken have themselves become records of lost buildings and an area that has undergone massive changes.

The first picture dates from March 1964 and shows the corner of Gravel Walk with Rose Lane. By this time, both thoroughfares had been considerably widened.

This widening had destroyed the north side of Gravel walk, where the medieval Whitefriars precinct wall, together with some Simon Langton school buildings, had been demolished. Now, the south side was awaiting a similar fate.

Standing on the corner is the large Regency-period house at No. 7 Gravel walk, then occupied by the Ministry of Health. To the right are part of the premises of coachbuilders, W.S.

Williams and Son. The garage building seen here featured prominently in the 1944 film, A Canterbury Tale.

The second photo was taken by me and shows the same street corner, as it was in 1987. The late 1960s multi-storey car park is partially obscured by the fondly remembered Morelli’s Cafe, and a series of reliefs that showed the development of Canterbury across the centuries. Fads decorating shop could also be found beneath the bridge at the far end.

The Morelli’s bridge was cut up in September 2001, at the same time the multi-storey was demolished.

Blitz surviving buildings in Gravel Walk during 1964

All had changed by the time of this picture, in 1987