Kingsgate is one of two surviving medieval gates to the city of
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, England (the other is the
Westgate Westgate or West Gate may refer to:
Companies
* Westgate Resorts, a real estate company and timeshare company
* Westgate Department Stores, the department store division of Anglia Regional Co-operative Society in the United Kingdom
Events
* Westg ...
). The name was first recorded in 1148. The gate is on, or near, the site of one of the Roman gates to the city, and was the entrance to the royal palace before the
Cathedral Close was enclosed in the 10th century. The present gate is probably 14th century, with 18th-century pedestrian walkways.
Above the gate is the small church of
St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate. St Swithun was built in the
Middle Ages in the
Early English style, and is unusual in forming a part of the fabric of the old
city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
. It first appears in thirteenth century records and achieved some literary fame, under the fictional name of St Cuthbert's, in
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
's novel ''
The Warden
''The Warden'' is a novel by English author Anthony Trollope published by Longman in 1855. It is the first book in the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, followed by '' Barchester Towers''.
Synopsis
''The Warden'' concerns Mr Septimus Ha ...
''.
[Official St Swithun's Church Leaflet]
Kingsgate is a
scheduled monument (St Swithun's Church is a Grade I
listed building).
References
* Pevsner, N. ''Hampshire: Winchester & the North'' (2010) (with Michael Bullen, John Crook and Rodney Hubbuck) (
Buildings of England series)
Notes
External links
{{Commonscat
Scheduled monuments in Hampshire
Town Gates in England
Buildings and structures in Winchester