Members of an exclusive club descended on Canterbury to study the wall that casts a stone collar round the city.

Delegates from all over Europe examined the fortification that was built in Roman times and re-built in the 14th century.

They were all members of the Walled Towns Friendship Circle, an organisation established to promote, preserve and appreciate the historic traditions of walled cities and towns.

Fifty delegates from Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and England, Northern Ireland and Wales met in Canterbury for four days of lectures, workshops and visits organised by the city council.

They were welcome by the Lord Mayor, Carolyn Parry, and the city council’s international manager, William Pettit, who organised the 18th symposium of a club that comprises 152 cities and towns in Europe and beyond.

He said: “The feedback from the delegates so far has been really good. Everyone has been very impressed with Canterbury’s cultural offering, from the festival events to the Cathedral and, of course, our stunning city walls.”

John Price, president of the Walled Towns organisation, said: “This has been a magical experience for the delegates and a long-held ambition for the Walled Towns Friendship Circle to meet in Canterbury and to reaffirm in these turbulent times the enduring values of our cities.”

Subjects under discussion at the symposium included the exploration of regeneration through culture, tourism, traffic congestion, marketing strategies, and preservation.