Bargate

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title: "Bargate" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buildings-and-structures-in-southampton", "grade-i-listed-buildings-in-hampshire", "grade-i-listed-gates", "scheduled-monuments-in-hampshire", "town-gates-in-england"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargate" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox historic site"]

FieldValue
imageFile:Bargate 2021.JPG
typeGatehouse
locmapinSouthampton
coordinates
gbgridrefSU 41997 11636
locationSouthampton City Centre
builtc 1180
architectureMedieval
ownerSouthampton City Council
designation1Grade I
designation1_offnameBar Gate and Guildhall
designation1_date14 July 1953
designation1_number
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::callout[type=note] the city gate ::

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The Bargate is a Grade I listed medieval gatehouse in the city centre of Southampton, England. Constructed in Norman times as part of the Southampton town walls, it was the main gateway to the city. The building is a scheduled monument, which has served as a temporary exhibition and event space for Southampton Solent University since 2012.

History

The Bargate was built c. 1180, constructed of stone and flint. Alterations were made to the building around 1290, when large drum towers were added to the north side, with arrow slit windows.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Southampton-Bargate.jpg" caption="The Bargate from the south"] ::

A two-storey extension was made to the south side towards the end of the 13th century, with four windows lighting the upstairs room. Work was also carried out to the interior of the upper room during the 13th century, when the stone fireplaces were installed. The embattled north front was added to the building around 1400. A survey of the town's guns in 1468 reported that the Bargate held two breach loader guns and a brass muzzle loader. It is not clear when the Bargate started being used as a prison but the first records of it date from 1439. The area outside Bargate was an execution site during the Later Middle Ages; notably, two of the men convicted of plotting against Henry V in 1415 were beheaded there.

At some point in the 16th century, the court leet of Southampton started to meet in the Bargate, Also around the 16th century it is thought that wooden sculptures of lions were added in front of the Bargate. The surviving mayors accounts for 1594 include payments for the construction of new lions and the use of the word new suggests that lion sculptures existed before that point.

A bell was added to the southwest corner of the building to 1579. The current bell is inscribed 1605 and was used as the city's curfew and alarm bell. In 1644 the panels featuring Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart were repainted.

The room above the gate itself was probably added shortly after 1400 and the town steward books mention a banquet held there in 1434. It was originally used as the city's guildhall, until the 1770s. It was at this point that the city began to grow to the north of the gate. Also during the 18th century, five panels containing painted shields and the sundial were added to the building and in the middle of the century the old wooden lions were replaced with new lead sculptures.

Additional archways were added in 1764 and 1774. In 1765, a passage was cut through the eastern side of the arch for pedestrians. A further passage through the western side was added later. The construction of these passages ended (for a time) the Bargate's use as a prison.

19th century

In 1809 a statue of George III in Roman dress was added the middle of the four windows of the southern side. It replaced a wooden statue of Queen Anne.

Following the establishment of Southampton's police force in February 1836, the upper room was used as a prison The current guildhall within the Bargate was constructed in 1852 and was designed to be used as a criminal court. In addition to this the Bargate continued to be the site of meetings of Southampton's court leet until 1856. In 1881 the panels featuring Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart were moved into the building for protection.

20th century

By 1899, the increase in road traffic and the introduction of trams led to proposals for the Bargate's demolition. It was reprieved at a subsequent council meeting but the issue arose again in 1914 and 1923. The Bargate was however eventually separated from the adjoining town walls in the 1930s using a scheme previously suggested in 1900. The first separation was made on the east side in 1932 with the second on the west carried out in 1937. Around this time Portland cement was used in works on the Bargate. The Bargate ceased to be used as a court in 1933 with the court functions moving to the law courts in the new Southampton Civic Centre. In 1951 a museum of local history was opened in the Bargate as part of celebrations to mark the Festival of Britain. Among its collection the museum included the painted panels of Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart. The museum later closed.

21st century

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Repainted_bargate_lions.JPG" caption="The bargate lions post repainting"] ::

Between 2006 and 2012, following refurbishment funded by the South East England Development Agency, the upper room served as The Bargate Monument Gallery, during which time 42 exhibitions featuring the work of over 250 artists were staged here.

In 2016 the Portland cement mortar that had been used on the structure in the 1930s was removed and replaced with lime mortar. In September 2018 corrosion on the lion sculptures caused the tail on one of them to fall off. As part of this the previous internal structure was removed and replaced with a stainless steel version. They were subsequently returned to public display in March 2021 having repainted in what is believed to be their original colours.

Heraldic shields

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Heraldic_Shields_on_the_Northern_Side_of_Bargate.jpg" caption="Heraldic shields on the north of the Bargate"] ::

There are eleven heraldic shields on the north side of the Bargate. Aside from the crosses of Saints George and Andrew, they are the coats of arms of leading families of the town from the end of the 17th century and early 18th. The shields have repeatedly suffered from decay, due to damp. The original shields largely decayed away by the early 19th century. They were replaced by shields made from Caen stone. These shields were in turn damaged by damp and were heavily decayed by the start of the 20th century, at which point they were patched with mortar held together by iron. These repairs again failed, and work was again carried out in the 1990s, but these repairs again decayed.{{cite news |last=Rimell |first=William |date=20 March 2019 |title=Southampton council to hold talks over future of shields on city's historic Bargate |url=https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/17511173.southampton-council-to-hold-talks-over-future-of-shields-on-citys-historic-bargate/ |work=Southern Daily Echo |access-date=23 March 2019 }} Another attempt to repair the shields is planned in the aftermath of the 2016 mortar replacement.

::data[format=table]

ArmsInspired byImage
Cross of Saint GeorgeSaint George
St. Andrew's CrossAndrew the Apostle
PauletCharles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton & Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton
TylneyFrederick Tylney
CardonnelAdam de Cardonnel
NoelSir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baronet & Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough
FlemingRichard Fleming
Leighs of Testwood?Leighs of Testwood family?
MillJohn Mill
WyndhamCharles Wyndham
NewlandBenjamin Newland
::

Historical images

File:Southampton Bargate in 1917.jpeg|The Bargate from the south in 1917 File:HighStreetSouthamptoncirca1930.jpg|The Bargate from the south c. 1930, flanked by buildings and with tram lines running through the arch

References

References

  1. "Southampton City Council: Listed buildings in Southampton".
  2. "Bargate Monument Gallery". a space.
  3. Davis, Philip. (24 July 2008). "SOUTHAMPTON TOWN WALL AND GODS HOUSE TOWER". The Gatehouse.
  4. "Sites and Monuments". Southampton City Council.
  5. Rance, Adrian. (1986). "Southampton An Illustrated History". Milestone Publications.
  6. Peberdy, Philip. (1967). "Bargate Guildhall Museum Southampton". Southampton Museums.
  7. Pugh, T.B.. (1986). "Kings and Nobles in the Later Middle Ages: A Tribute to Charles Derek Ross". St. Martin's Press.
  8. Thomson, Sheila D. (1989). "Southampton Common". City of Southampton Society.
  9. (19 September 2018). "Southampton Bargate lion's tail drops off". BBC News.
  10. (1986). "The Bevis and Ascupart Panels, Bargate Museum, Southampton". Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society.
  11. Peberdy, Philip. (1971). "Historic Buildings of Southampton". The Libraries and Arts Committee of the City of Southampton.
  12. Peberdy, Philip. (1971). "Historic Buildings of Southampton". The Libraries and Arts Committee of the City of Southampton.
  13. "zzzzz -About the Bargate – aspacearts". aspacearts.org.uk.
  14. (14 March 2021). "A History of Southampton". localhistories.org.
  15. Rance, Adrian. (1986). "Southampton An Illustrated History". Milestone Publications.
  16. Butler, Cheryl. (2020). "Powder, Prisoners & Paintings: The History of God's House Tower".
  17. "Southampton City Police".
  18. Peberdy, Philip. (1967). "Bargate Guildhall Museum Southampton". Southampton Museums.
  19. (7 January 1899). "The Bargate". Hampshire Advertiser.
  20. (11 January 1899). "In Defence of the Bargate". Hampshire Advertiser.
  21. (28 January 1899). "Southampton Bargate. Decision of the town council". Leicester Chronicle.
  22. (9 April 1914). "The Bargate". [[Western Daily Press]].
  23. (1 January 1923). "Southampton Bargate Proposal". [[Portsmouth Evening News]].
  24. (9 June 1900). "The traffic at Southampton Bargate. An important scheme". Hampshire Advertiser.
  25. Peberdy, Philip. (1967). "Bargate Guildhall Museum Southampton". Southampton Museums.
  26. (11 February 2016). "Restoration of Southampton's iconic Bargate to begin next month". Southampton City Council.
  27. "bargate exhibition – ArtVaults in Context".
  28. (1964). "A Survey of Southampton and its Region". British Association for the Advancement of Science.
  29. (19 November 2020). "Southampton Bargate lions removed for repairs after 275 years". BBC News.
  30. (30 November 2022). "Conservation prize for Southampton's Pride of Lions". Southampton City Council.
  31. (2021-03-31). "Southampton Bargate lions restored after 278 years". BBC News.
  32. Peberdy, Philip. (1967). "Bargate Guildhall Museum Southampton". Southampton Museums.
  33. Peberdy, Philip. (1971). "Historic Buildings of Southampton". The Libraries and Arts Committee of the City of Southampton.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

buildings-and-structures-in-southamptongrade-i-listed-buildings-in-hampshiregrade-i-listed-gatesscheduled-monuments-in-hampshiretown-gates-in-england