A medieval Canterbury landmark that once sheltered pilgrims journeying to Thomas Becket’s shrine now faces the prospect of tumbling into the River Stour without urgent intervention.
Eastbridge Hospital, which has stood on the city’s High Street for 840 years, requires £100,000 in repairs to prevent potential structural failure.
The Grade I-listed building, established in 1180 to accommodate visitors to the 10th century Archbishop’s tomb, has been placed on English Heritage’s at-risk register.
Volunteers managing the site report the ancient structure is tilting increasingly towards the waterway, with masonry visibly deteriorating from its walls.
The charity responsible for the almshouse and museum is now seeking grant funding and launching a public appeal to save the historic property.
Trustee Nigel Fletcher-Jones has warned without drastic action, part of the building could give way entirely.
“What we’re seeing is that the building is increasingly leaning,” he told KentOnline. “It’s probably fairly stable, but you can see from the amount of material that’s falling out and the cracks in the walls that something major is happening.”
The structural distress is most apparent in the Undercroft, a subterranean space divided into sleeping cubicles where medieval travellers once rested, which sits below the level of the river.
Eastbridge Hospital requires £100,000 in repairs
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Mr Fletcher-Jones described collapse as “a real possibility” if repairs are not undertaken promptly.
“It’s not something we can just leave in the hope that it will go away,” he said. “Unless we do something about it now, I think we’re storing up problems for the not-too-distant future.”
Mr Fletcher-Jones believes the building’s advanced age combined with shifting weather patterns may be responsible for the deterioration.
“The changes in the weather are causing some of the problems of how the damp is increasing and how the damp is rising,” Mr Fletcher-Jones explained.
Thomas Becket was slain in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
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He noted humidity levels in the Undercroft are exceptionally high, partly owing to its position beneath the river’s surface, although he suspects climate change is hastening the decay.
“My suspicion is these things are accelerating because of the change in weather patterns,” he added.
News arrived this week the site has been added to English Heritage’s at-risk register, a development trustees hope will unlock new avenues for grants and financial support.
Eastbridge Hospital holds profound historical significance as the principal stopping point on England’s most important medieval pilgrimage route to the Shrine of Thomas Becket, who was slain in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
Mr Fletcher-Jones emphasised structures of this kind are exceptionally rare across the country, describing the building as being of “national importance”.
The site has remained closed to visitors for more than twelve months following safety concerns, with scaffolding erected in the vestibule to support repair work in the Upper Chapel above.
CEO Louise Knight said trustees took the decision to keep the doors shut “until we actually know what’s happening” with the structure.
The charity has already invested half a million pounds in restoration work elsewhere in the building, but a further £250,000 is needed for the interior and exterior river wall.