| Summary : The Main Guard is a guardhouse, sometimes referred to as the "Old Guardhouse" that used to stand in Marygate and was originally erected at that former location in the mid 18th Century. Before being moved to ease traffic congestion at Marygate it was latterly used as a warehouse for a woolcomber. It was saved from destruction by a campaign led by a local tradesman, James Graham. In 1815 a proposal was made to build a new guardhouse in Scotsgate, but this was rejected in favour of Palace Green. Although most sources point to it having been re-sited in 1815, a plaque on the building refers to it being re-erected in 1843. It is possible that the builders might have reused some of the materials from the earlier building but replaced the rustic arches with a more classical portico, so altering the frontage. The building itself is a simple one storey structure constructed from ashlar with a slate roof. It comprised a soldiers' room, a room for officers and a windowless vaulted cell for detaining defaulting soldiers and civilian petty criminals. In the late 1990s it was acquired for the Berwick Civic Society by English Heritage and now contains an exhibition of the history of the town and Royal Berwick. |
More information : (NT 99885254) Main Guard (NAT) (1)
1.
840 PALACE GREEN (South Side)
The Old Guardhouse
NT 9952 11/143
II*
2.
A simple and dignified small stone building of the C18, facing down Palace Street, with a portico of 4 Tuscan columns and pediment. There is a recess behind the columns, with a door and 2 windows at the back and a door at each end. The wings each contain 1 window. Over the door is a board inscribed "Formerly in Marygate, rebuilt on this site 1843". Disused and the windows boarded up at time of survey. Interior contains 2 rooms, with a vaulted windowless prison chamber between.
(2)
The Main Guard was re-erected in Palace Street in 1815. It was originally situated at Marygate- it was built at its former location in the mid 18th century. It is depicted in that form in Fuller's "History of Berwick" of 1799 . Hoerver the present building in Palace Street has been remodelled, for example the tripartite windows. The present structure is of 5 bays and a single stoey with a low tuscan portico and steep pediment. Pevsner thought the columns to be original from the older guardhouse. (3)
The Main Guard was moved to its present site from Marygate in 1815. It would have comprised a soldiers' room, a room for officers and a cell for detaining defaulting soldiers or petty criminals and vagrants. (4)
The Main Guard was dismantled from its Marygate site in 1815 to ease traffic congestion in that area. Latterly prior to being dismantled it had been used as the warehouse for a woolcomber. It was re-erected in a substantially altered form in Palace Street, after James Graham, a local tradesman, had led a campaign to save it from destruction. (5)
The English Heritage guide to Berwick Barracks and fortifications , published in 2011, includes brief description of the Main Guard and images of its locations both in Marygate and Palace Green. See also location on the inside cover fold-out plan. (6)
|