Waterstones Canterbury opened in 1990, only the 30th branch. There are now 350!

There has been a building here since the time of Jesus.

In the basement you can see the Roman Bath-house floor, a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Latham exposed these remains by paying the Canterbury Archaeological Trust £1000: the biggest Petty Cash slip in history! According to the Trust, these very large Baths were probably ritual as well as relaxing: such Bath-complexes housed sleeping areas where bathers could enjoy beneficial dreams after their cleansing. Perhaps the site has a memory: the bookshop still develops the subconscious of its visitors, and our author talks over the years (Paulo Coelho, for example) have profoundly affected thousands of people.

A medieval building wall is also visible in the basement, and parts of the seventeenth century building are hidden around the shop too.

Christopher Marlowe’s father’s cobblers’ shop was 50 yards down the street. We like to think the boy who grew up to inspire Shakespeare knew the building on this site well.

Waterstones took over from Martins, and the site features in the Powell and Pressburger classic film, A Canterbury Tale

Our escalator is 21 years old. The repair company think it is the oldest working escalator between London and Paris. It was made in Keighley, Yorkshire.