Gunner Tower

The buried remains of Gunner Tower on the south side of Pink Lane are known from partial excavation to survive reasonably well. The preservation of the remains of the tower will provide a valuable insight into the construction techniques employed in the medieval period. Gunner Tower is a rare survival, one of a small number remaining from an original 17 towers; taken together with the surviving sections of the defences it will add greatly to our understanding of how the defences of Newcastle upon Tyne developed.

The monument is situated on the south side of Pink Lane within a recess formed by the adjacent buildings and includes the upstanding remains of a tower, part of the town defences of Newcastle upon Tyne. The tower, known as Gunner Tower, is situated on the north western side of the circuit and was constructed towards the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century. The tower is also a Listed Building Grade I. Further sections of the town defences to the north west and south east are the subject of separate schedulings.

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences were constructed from the mid-13th century to the middle or late 14th century enclosing an area of more than 60ha; the riverside lengths of curtain wall were added during the 15th century. The masonry defences were strengthened by a berm and ditch, except on the south side where they were bounded by the River Tyne. Gateways were built at the principle points of entry to the town. Internally, a cobbled inter-mural lane followed the line of the defences. The defences were refurbished during the medieval period and were reinforced and repaired several times during the post-medieval period.

The semicircular stone structure visible at the site today is not an original feature; upon excavation in 1964 it was revealed to be a 19th century reconstruction built on the line of the outer face of the tower's west wall encasing the remains of Gunner Tower within.

The western half of Gunner Tower was partially excavated in 1964 when its foundations were uncovered standing two courses high. The bottom course was composed of large stones set on their sides with a second course of stones, laid flat and bonded with mortar. A single block of dressed ashlar was found at the north west corner of the tower. The rear wall of the tower, formed by the curtain wall, was a maximum of 2m thick and the side walls of the tower were about 0.8m thick; it was considered that the narrow side walls represented only the inner face of the tower and that the reconstructed 19th century wall was built over the site of the original outer face of the tower.

The partial excavation in 1964 also revealed the existence of Roman activity prior to the construction of the medieval tower; this included areas of burning, a pottery vessel containing a cremation and several pieces of Roman pottery. Overlying these remains were medieval deposits containing several pieces of late 13th or early 14th century pottery.

The tower was leased to the Company of Slaters and Tylers in 1821 when it was converted into a meeting hall. The tower stood to its full height until 1885 when its upper courses including the parapet were dismantled.