King Edward's Gatehouse - College Street, Gloucester, UK
N 51° 52.011 W 002° 14.867
30U E 551793 N 5746496
This remnant of the gatehouse, that stands at the north east end, of College Street, was one of the entrances in to the cathedral precints.
Waymark Code: WMKC9F
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/18/2014
Views: 7
The blue, metal plaque, that includes the coat-of-arms of Gloucester, tells us:
King Edward's Gate
Gave entrance from the main
street of medieval Gloucester
to St Peter's Abbey precinct.
The body of King Edward II
was here received by the Abbot for
burial after the King's murder at
Berkeley Castle in 1327.
The gatehouse is Grade II* listed with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:
Formerly known as: Remains of Abbey Gate COLLEGE GREEN. Gatehouse, then lodge or office, now house. Early C19 with later C19 extension; incorporates substantial remains of the former early C16 gatehouse, known as King Edward's Gatehouse. All that remains of the gatehouse is the west flanking wall, which now forms the front of the house. Gatehouse wall of ashlar with some exposed stone and brick rubble corework; later house of red brick, bituminous felt flat roof and tiled roof, brick stack.
PLAN: a single cell block built against the retained wall on the west side of the early C16 gatehouse, with an added gabled wing on the west side of the block over an open carriage shed; at the southern end of the gatehouse wall the decayed remains of its south-west corner and at the north end an octagonal stair turret; the plan of the excavated foundations of the gatehouse indicated in the street paving.
EXTERIOR: two storeys; the ashlar west side wall of the former gatehouse now the front of the house, on the face of its south end the badly weathered remains of the moulded west jamb of the former arched carriageway flanked to left by two badly decayed moulded and canopied niches; at the bottom of the upper niche an inserted stone block carved with arms. The stair turret at the north end, faced in ashlar, has an offset plinth with weathered capping and at high level a moulded string course; in the north-east face of the turret a two-light window below the string course and a similar window above, both with chamfered jambs and mullions; in the centre of the wall the entrance doorway to the house, c1800, in a plain stone frame with pointed arch containing fanlight inset with wrought-iron Gothic tracery above the transom. The north front shows evidence of a former central infilled doorway, with three semicircular stone steps to threshold, on each side a sash, with glazing bars (3x4 panes); on the first floor two large double sash windows in openings with segmental-arched heads, one above the former doorway and one above the open front of the carriage shed.
INTERIOR: on both floors early C19 features including staircase with stick balusters and in the ground-floor front room a fireplace with reeded architrave surround.
HISTORY: gatehouse built for Abbot Parker on the south side of the Cathedral precinct opposite the south porch of the Cathedral (qv), formerly the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter. Built on the site of earlier gatehouse. The gatehouse demolished in C17 to create a wider entrance to the precinct.
The Visit Gloucestershire website tells us more about the gatehouse:
Moving along the street towards the Cathedral, the next building you come to is King Edwards Gate. This is the oldest structure in College Street. A plaque on the wall states that it was at this gate that the Abbot of St. Peters ( one John Thoky ) received the body of King Edward 2nd for burial following the Kings murder at Berkley Castle in 1327. The gate originally consisted of 2 gate houses with a room above. This room was leased as a dwelling until it was removed in 1805 or 1806 leaving only the piers standing. The pier on the eastern side was removed in the 1890s when it’s site, and the house adjoining were taken for the widening of College Street. The remaining portion of the western gatehouse that we can see today dates from a rebuilding by Abbot Malvern in the early 16th Century.
While standing by the old gatehouse, one cannot help noticing the beautiful new gates that grace the southern entrance to the Cathedral. A wall plaque on the eastern side of the street informs us that these gates were planned as part of the 900th anniversary of the Cathedral building and were erected in 1992. The ironwork was obviously cast earlier as the date above the pedestrian gates reads 1989. Moulded into the top of each pillar are shields bearing the crossed keys device. These represent St. Peter for St. Peters Abbey, which was the Cathedrals identity until 1541.