List of town walls in England and Wales

Reconstruction of Worcester city walls in 1250, viewed from the north^{[nb 1]}

This list of town walls in England and Wales describes the fortified walls built and maintained around these towns and cities from the 1st century AD onwards. The first town walls were built by the Romans, following their conquest of Britain in 43 AD. The Romans typically initially built walled forts, some of which were later converted into rectangular towns, protected by either wooden or stone walls and ditches. Many of these defences survived the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, and were used in the unstable post-Roman period. The Anglo-Saxon kings undertook significant planned urban expansion in the 8th and 9th centuries, creating burhs, often protected with earth and wood ramparts. These burh walls sometimes utilised older Roman fortifications, and themselves frequently survived into the early medieval period.

The Norman invaders of the 11th century initially focused on building castles to control their new territories, rather than town walls to defend the urban centres, but by the 12th century many new town walls were built across England and Wales, typically in stone. Edward I conquered North Wales in the late 13th century and built a number of walled towns as part of a programme of English colonisation. By the late medieval period, town walls were increasingly less military in character and more closely associated with civic pride and urban governance: many grand gatehouses were built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The English Civil War in 1640s saw many town walls pressed back into service, with older medieval structures frequently reinforced with more modern earthwork bastions and sconces. By the 18th century, however, most town walls were falling into disrepair: typically they were sold off and demolished, or hidden behind newer buildings as towns and cities expanded.

In the 20th century there was a resurgence in historical and cultural interest in these defences. Those towns and cities that still had intact walls renovated them to form tourist attractions. Some of Edward I's town walls in North Wales were declared part of the internationally recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site. Urban redevelopment has frequently uncovered new remnants of the medieval walls, with archaeological work generating new insights into the Roman and Anglo-Saxon defences.

List

Place	County	Date built	Condition	Image	Notes
Abergavenny	Gwent		Masonry fragments		A small Norman wall was built around the town in the 11th century, linked to Abergavenny Castle. The Norman wall was demolished in the 12th century and a new stone wall was built in the late 13th century, approximately 350 by 215 metres (1,100 ft × 710 ft). This was destroyed by the modern period.[1]
Alnwick	Northumberland		Two gatehouses survive		The walls were built in the 15th century to protect Alnwick against border instability and raiding, and commemorated the powerful local Percy family, who controlled the local castle.[2][3]
Bath	Somerset		Fragmentary remains		Bath's first walls were built by the Romans. The Anglo-Saxons established a fortified burh at Bath, utilising the existing walls, and they were further strengthened during the medieval period. Parts of one medieval gatehouse still survive.[4][5]
Beaumaris	Gwynedd		Vestiges		The town was captured by Owain Glyndŵr in 1400. Once recaptured by English forces, a stone wall with three gates was built around the town, and maintained until the late 17th century.[6][7]
Berwick-on-Tweed	Northumberland		Substantially intact		The first walls built in the early 14th century under Edward I were 2 mi (3.2 km) long. Replaced in 1560 by a set of Italian-inspired walls with 5 large stone bastions, the walls are today the best-preserved post-medieval town defences in England.[8]
Beverley	East Riding of Yorkshire		One gatehouse survives		12th century Beverley was protected by a "great ditch" rather than a stone wall. In the early 15th century 3 brick gatehouses were built; more ditches and other fortifications were later added, but these failed to protect the town during the Civil War.[9][10]
Brecon	Powys		Vestiges		Originally constructed by Humphrey de Bohun after 1240, the walls were built of stone, with 4 gatehouses and 10 semi-circular bastions. They were largely destroyed during the Civil War.[11][12]
Bridgnorth	Shropshire		Vestiges		Bridgnorth's town walls were initially constructed in timber between 1216 and 1223; murage grants allowed them to be upgraded to stone between the 13th and 15th centuries including 5 gates.[13]
Bristol	Bristol		Fragmentary remains		The fine St John's Gate is built into the church under its spire; the line of the walls is walkable.[14]
Caerleon	Gwent		Fragmentary remains		[15]
Caernarfon	Gwynedd	1283 !1283–92	Largely intact		Constructed by Edward I at a cost of £3,500, alongside the castle, the walls are 2,408 ft (734 m) long and include eight towers and two gatehouses. Today they form part of the UNESCO world heritage site administered by Cadw.[16][17]
Caerwent	Gwent		Substantial remains		[18]
Canterbury	Kent	280 !3rd-16th centuries	Substantial remains		First built by the Romans in the 3rd century, retained by the Anglo-Saxons, the walls were rebuilt in the late 14th century owing to fears of a French invasion and feature early gunports. Over half of the original circuit, with 17 out of 24 towers, survives.[19]
Cardiff	Glamorgan	1100 !12th-15th centuries	Vestiges		First recorded in 1111, the walls were 1.28 mi (2.06 km) long and 10 ft (3.0 m) high with 5 town gates. Sections collapsed in the 18th century, many stones being reused as building material. The last large section was demolished in 1901.[20]
Carlisle	Cumbria		Substantial remains		[21]
Castle Acre	Norfolk		Fragmentary remains		[22]
Chepstow	Gwent		Substantial remains		A late thirteenth century stone wall constructed for the twin purposes of defence and tax collection.[23]
Chester	Cheshire	0070 !70 AD–12th century	Largely intact		Chester's walls were originally built by the Romans between 70 and 80 AD and were used by the burh in 907. The Norman walls were extended to the west and the south to form a complete circuit, which now provides a walkway of about 2 mi (3.2 km).[24][25]
Chichester	West Sussex		Substantial remains		[26]
Cirencester	Gloucestershire	0201 !3rd–4th century	Vestiges		Remnants of the stone walls of the Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum are visible in the Abbey Grounds.[27]
Colchester	Essex		Substantial remains		[28]
Conwy	Clwyd		Largely intact		Constructed between 1283 and 1287 after the foundation of Conwy by Edward I, the walls are 0.8 mi (1.3 km) long, with 21 towers and 3 gatehouses, and formed an integrated system of defence alongside Conwy Castle.[29][30]
Coventry	West Midlands	1350 !1350s–1534	Fragmentary remains		With its walls nearly 2.2 mi (3.5 km) around and 12 ft (3.7 m) high, with 32 towers and 12 gatehouses, repaired during the 1640s, Coventry was described as being the best-defended city in England outside London.[31][32]
Cowbridge	Glamorgan		Substantial remains		[33]
Cricklade	Wiltshire		Fragmentary remains		[34]
Denbigh	Clwyd		Substantial remains		[35]
Durham	County Durham		Fragmentary remains		[36]
Exeter	Devon		Substantial remains		[37]
Gloucester	Gloucestershire		Vestiges		[38]
Great Yarmouth	Norfolk		Substantial remains		[39]
Hartlepool	County Durham		Substantial remains		[40]
Hastings	East Sussex		Vestiges		[41]
Haverfordwest	Pembrokeshire		Vestiges		[42]
Hay-on-Wye	Powys		Vestiges		[43]
Hereford	Herefordshire		Fragmentary remains		[44]
Ilchester	Somerset		Vestiges		[45]
Kidwelly	Carmarthenshire		Substantial remains		[46]
Kings Lynn	Norfolk		Fragmentary remains		[47]
Kingston upon Hull	East Riding of Yorkshire	1301 !14th century	Vestiges		Built of brick in the 14th century, with 4 main gates and up to 30 towers, the walls were maintained until the early 1700s. They were demolished during the building of the docks, beginning in the 1770s.[48]
Langport	Somerset		Fragmentary remains		[49]
Launceston	Cornwall		Substantial remains		[50]
Lewes	East Sussex		Vestiges		[51]
Lincoln	Lincolnshire		Fragmentary remains		[52]
London	London		Fragmentary remains		Built by the Romans and maintained until the 18th century, nearly 3 mi (4.8 km) long, the wall defined the boundaries of the City of London with the Thames to the south. Short sections remain near the Tower of London and in the Barbican area.[53]
Ludlow	Shropshire	1233 !1233–1317	Fragmentary remains		Built to defend this Welsh Marches market town, the walls remain in sections, as does the Broad Gate (shown in photo). The large Ludlow Castle is now a ruin but with substantial remains.[54]
Malmesbury	Wiltshire		Vestiges		[55]
Monmouth	Gwent	1201 !13th–15th century[56]	Only the Monnow Bridge gate survives		Originally formed a circuit wall with four gatehouses, none of which survive. The fortified Monnow bridge still remains, the only surviving medieval bridge gate in the UK.[57]
Newark on Trent	Nottinghamshire		Vestiges		[58]
Newcastle upon Tyne	Tyne and Wear		Substantial remains		Built during the 13th and 14th centuries the wall was about 2 mi (3.2 km) long, 6.5 ft (2.0 m) thick and 25 ft (7.6 m) high, with 6 main gates. The town was successfully defended twice; but during the Civil War the wall was breached using mines and artillery.[59]
Northampton	Northamptonshire	1001 !11th–17th century			Destroyed by Royal order in 1662[60]
Norwich	Norfolk		Fragmentary remains
Nottingham	Nottinghamshire	1267 !1267-1334	Vestiges		A fragment of the wall is visible in a hotel complex near Chapel Bar.[61]
Oxford	Oxfordshire		Fragmentary remains		[62]
Pembroke	Pembrokeshire		Fragmentary remains		A stretch of wall survives along Common Road, as well as the base of a tower, now surmounted by a 19th-century gazebo.[63]
Poole	Dorset		Vestiges		[64]
Portsmouth	Hampshire	1301 !14th–18th century	Fragmentary remains		First constructed of earth and timber, probably in the late 14th century,[65] the walls were repeatedly repaired and rebuilt until the mid 18th century. They were largely removed in the 1870s and 80s.[65]
Richmond	North Yorkshire		Fragmentary remains		[66]
Rochester	Kent		Fragmentary remains		[67]
Rye, East Sussex	East Sussex		Substantial remains		[68]
Salisbury	Wiltshire	14/15th century	Fragments and one gatehuose		North Gate. Two-storey building over and around north entrance to the Cathedral Close.
Sandwich	Kent		Fragmentary remains		[69]
Shrewsbury	Shropshire	1201 !13th–14th century	Fragmentary remains		Begun in the 13th century after attacks by the Welsh, adding to the natural defences of the Severn, the walls were strengthened by the Royalists during the Civil War. A tower and short sections remain, notably along the street named Town Walls.[70]
Silchester	Hampshire	0200 !3rd century	Substantial remains		The Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum was abandoned around the 5th or 6th century. Much of the walls survive, the area within them largely farmland.[71]
Southampton	Hampshire		Half the medieval circuit survives		Built after French raids in 1338, the walls were 1.25 mi (2.01 km) long, with 29 towers and 8 gates. They were amongst the first in England to have new technology installed to existing fortifications, with new towers built specifically to house cannon.[72]
Stafford	Staffordshire		Vestiges
Stamford	Lincolnshire		Fragmentary remains		[73]
Swansea	Glamorgan		Vestiges		[74]
Tenby	Pembrokeshire		Substantial remains		[75]
Totnes	Devon	1300 !14th century	Fragmentary remains		Remains include the Baste Walls, South Street and the Eastgate, which was greatly altered in the 19th century.[76]
Verulamium	Hertfordshire	0100 !2nd-3rd century	Fragmentary remains		The site of the Roman town of Verulamium was abandoned when the later settlement of St. Albans was established nearby.[77]
Warkworth	Northumberland		Fragmentary remains		[78]
Warwick	Warwickshire		Fragmentary remains		[79]
Winchelsea	East Sussex		Substantial remains		[80]
Winchester	Hampshire		Substantial remains		[81]
Worcester	Worcestershire	0001 !1st–12th century	Vestiges		First built by the Romans, the walls were extended by the Anglo-Saxons to create a walled burh. A longer circuit of stone walls was built in the late 12th century and further fortified during the Civil War.[82][83]
York	North Yorkshire	0201 !3rd–14th century	Largely intact		2.5 mi (4.0 km) long, enclosing an area of 263 acres,[84] the defences are the best preserved in England. On high ramparts, retaining all their main gateways,[85] the walls incorporate Roman, Norman and medieval work with modern renovations.[86]

Notes

References

Bibliography

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