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The new Westgate Towers and City Gaol Museums have officially
opened after a local resident put £1million of his own money into
the project.

After a year of work on the medieval and Victorian buildings,
they were finally unveiled during a gala reception in front
dignitaries and members of the public.

The re-opening of Canterbury’s second most famous building was
the culmination of almost a year of work after the buildings were
bought by entrepreneur Charles Lambie.

It consists of the towers and gaol plus a new cafe restaurant on
the ground floor, where the reception was held.

“This would not have been possible without the help of a huge
number of people, but there are a few people without whom this
would not have been possible,” Mr Lambie said.

“Without council leader’s John Gilbey engagement straight, we
would not be where we are today. The council has done so much work
to help us.

“We have had so much support from private individuals as
well.”

Amanda Cottrell, the chairman of Visit Kent, added: “Even in
this county of such historic importance, extraordinary things
happen.

“And here today we are witnessing something extraordinary with
an entrepreneur bringing his business head to this project and I
look forward to seeing many of you here often.”

The new City Gaol Cafe features a glass frontage which is built
on the felons’ former exercise yard.

Cells occupied by the felons are also now able to be viewed for
the first time – and historian Marjorie Lyle had a fascinating fact
to reveal.

She said: “The cells feature the first flush toilets in Europe.
The prisoner would do his thing in little loo in the corner of the
cell and then he would alert the warder who would have to pour
water over it to flush it away.”

In June, the Westgate Towers was awarded the Cultural Landscape
Award in the first ever Canterbury Cultural Awards for its
“significant positive impact to the district’s environment and
architecture”.