At the south west corner of Green Court stands Chillenden chambers, built in flint by Prior Chillenden in the late 14th century for the use of prestigious guests. It is now the house of the Archdeacon (Image 1). The two main rooms were very well appointed – hence the room names Paradise and Heaven adopted by the monks.
Two KS (King’s School) arms appear high on the wall above the arch (Image 2) – one denoting KS Canterbury and the other KS Parramatta, an Anglican private school founded in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, in 1831. The two schools continue to have active links – hence the large Australian coat of arms appearing in the centre. Parramatta is Australia’s oldest independent school.
Visitors have given two reasons for the choice of kangaroo and emu for the Australian arms (Image 3): A) they are the only creatures which (in keeping with the Australian positive spirit) never walk backwards, and more prosaically, B) the Australians preferred creatures they could eat!
Source: Woodman (1980)