Newcastle town wall, West Gate

After New Gate, the West Gate was the largest gateway into the town, providing access on the main route from the west. Two published views, both from the outside, hint at a great tower behind a barbican which terminated in square turrets. The vaulted passage appears to be open in the centre, perhaps the site of the turning bridge referred to in 1574, and the whole is quite similar to Tynemouth gatehouse. It was presumably built in the 13th century, with the barbican probably a later addition, perhaps by Roger Thornton? Used as a prison in the 16th and 17th centuries, and as a magazine. In the 18th century it was a meeting hall for the House Carpenters Company. Temporarily blocked up in 1745; a footway was opened on the north side of the gateway in 1782; the whole gate was demolished in 1811/12.