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Summary

Friary Gate or Friars’ Gate is situated towards the south end of the eastern town wall and forms part of the medieval town defences. In 1373 the Friary was given permission to build a defended postern gate through the town wall to give access from the Friary to its garden outside (east of) the wall in the suburb of Newtown; the access had probably recently been cut off by the construction of the town wall in this area. The gate house or tower was therefore probably built in 1373 or soon after. In 1454 it was referred to as the square tower and had four defensive loops. Archaeological excavations took place at Friars’ Gate in 1975 (SOU 114), 1986 (SOU 252) and 1989 (SOU 395). Further archaeological work took place in 2006/7 (SOU 1395).
Friary Gate is a small, rectangular gate house/gate tower which projects either side of the town wall. It was originally at least two stories high. It is built of limestone. It has a doorway in its east (outer) and west walls. Surviving iron pintles show how both doors were hung. The east door was originally secured by two internal sliding bars. It was not possible to say whether the west door had been secured in this way. Single openings on each side of the outer doorway are thought to be gunports. Architectural and archaeological evidence support a late 14th century date for the construction. The gatehouse was inserted into the line of the existing town wall; to the south the gate house was butted by a short length of rebuilt town wall, whereas to the north the rebuilt town wall was about 9m long and appeared to be keyed in with the north wall of the gate.
The gate went out of use in the post-medieval period, probably at the Dissolution in 1538. The outer door was blocked. The tower was partially demolished, and the west wall was demolished above-ground, probably when the Back of the Walls thoroughfare was widened. The west wall was revealed during the 1970s/1980s archaeological work. The 2006/7 work included the unblocking of the outer doorway to re-establish the thoroughfare through the gate. The gunport openings were also unblocked at this time. This was followed by repair work on the gate and adjacent town walls and the raising of the ground level east of the walls associated with a housing redevelopment there.

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1179291: TOWN WALLS: SECTION OF WALL RUNNING ALONG BACK OF THE WALLS JUST NORTH OF THE WALLS FROM JUST NORTH OF NO 39 TO BRITON STREET
• Scheduled Monument 1001931: Town wall: remains of East side of town wall South of East Street and North of God’s House Tower

Other References/Statuses

• HER backup file (new series): SOU 114  (paper & digital), etc - not yet Library Linked
• HER backup file (new series): SOU413  (paper & digital) etc - not yet Library Linked
• Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4211 SW 69  and SU 4211 SW 13

Monument Type(s):

• FLANKING TOWER (Built 1373 or soon after, Medieval - 1373 AD to 1380 AD)
• GATE TOWER (Built 1373 or soon after, Medieval - 1373 AD to 1380 AD)
• TOWN GATE (Built 1373 or soon after, Medieval - 1373 AD to 1380 AD)

Full description

Records for the town defences are currently being enhanced and it is intended that further details will be added to this description at a later date. (SCC HER 4/12/09)
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[12]: Listed Building Description. TOWN WALLS. Section of wall running along back of the Walls from just north of No 39 to Briton Street (formerly listed as section of Town Wall in back of the Walls running south from Raleigh House until it joins the south Gate or God's House). Grade II.
(No specific mention of Friary Gate. SCC HER)
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[1]: The Friar's Gate is a small, rectangular gatehouse inserted into the town wall soon after 1373. Its west wall was demolished later in the medieval period.
[8]: Documentary research shows that the gate was built in 1373 and gave access to a bridge across the town ditch to a suburb called Newtown.
[2]: The gate had two doorways and two gunports. The west wall was demolished in the post-medieval period.

SOU 114:
[8]: In 1975, conservation work revealed the remains of Friary Gate.
[7]: The work involved "excavations".
IP 12/6/95: No further details are known.

SOU 252 (Excavation at Friar's Gate, Back of the Walls in 1986) and SOU 395 (Excavation on Back of the Walls in 1989):
[1]: (This is the main report for several sites in this area, but it covers only the medieval archaeology.)
Deposits and features associated with the construction of Friar's Gate were found. The gatehouse had been built in a large pit dug through the earlier rampart, and a portion of the town wall was demolished to make way for the gate. Make-up layers inside the gatehouse and ?earthen floor, also cobble path between two doors (metalled thoroughfare). (See pages 22 - 26 for full details and documentary sources.)
(See also [2] for SOU 252 and [9][10][11] for SOU 395.)

IP 22/9/04: SOU 413, a watching brief on Back of the Walls in 1989, does not appear to have yielded further evidence for Friar's Gate, although may have included the area of the gate.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESH114 - Excavations at Friary Gate on Back of the Walls in 1975 (Ref: SOU 114)
• ESH1743 - Archaeological Investigations and Building Record at Friary Gate, Back of the Walls/Lower Canal Walk in 2006/2007 (Ref: SOU 1395)
• ESH252 - Excavation at Friar's Gate, Back of the Walls in 1986 (Ref: SOU 252)
• ESH395 - Excavation on Back of the Walls in 1989 (Ref: SOU 395)

Related records

Associated Links: None recorded

Images

Town wall north of Dovecote Tower, Back of the Walls, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham	Friary Gate and town walls, Back of the Walls, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham
Friary Gate and town walls, Back of the Walls, 30.8.09 (camera date not set), © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Town wall near Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate and town wall, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate and town wall, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate and town wall, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate and town wall, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate and town wall, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate and town wall, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Town wall and Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Town wall and Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham	Town wall and Friary Gate, Lower Canal Walk, 6/9/09, © I Peckham
Town wall, Friary Gate and Dovecote Tower, Back of the Walls, 6/9/09, © I Peckham

If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).

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