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The Black Gate


 

The "Black Gate" was added to Newcastle Castle between 1247 and 1250, forming an additional barbican in front of the earlier north gate of the castle. It consisted of two towers with a passage running between them. On either side of the passage was a vaulted guardroom. There was a drawbridge at the front (facing west) and another at the rear. There was also a portcullis which could be raised and lowered to seal the entrance passage.

The original building would probably have had a flat roof, but in 1618 James I leased the gatehouse to a courtier, Alexander Stephenson. Stephenson substantially altered the gatehouse, rebuilding the upper floors. Stephenson then let the Black Gate out to various tenants, one of whom was a merchant, named Patrick Black. It was he who gave his name to the Black Gate.

Eventually houses were built along both sides of the passageway, and one part of the building became a public house. By the early part of the nineteenth century, the Black Gate had become a slum tenement, housing up to sixty people.

Blackgate was leased to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1880s, which extensively restored it between 1883 and 1885. It was the Society that added the top floor and pitched roof. The Society has held regular meetings there ever since. The drawbridges to the front and rear have been replaced by wooden footbridges.

Text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (accessed: 28/03/2020).
Visit the page: The Castle, Newcastle for references and further details. You can contribute to this article on Wikipedia.

Newcastle Castle 1250 Historic Buildings and Monuments in Newcastle Grade I Listed
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
003445:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1890

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
21051b:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1931

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
003440:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1900

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
068258:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown Undated

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
040972:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1863

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
012018:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown pre 1883

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
003449:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1915

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
a090a:The Black Gate

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from TWAM (flickr)
The Black Gate

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from TWAM (flickr)
Black Gate 1886

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from Flickr (flickr)
Image taken from page 340 of 'Second series. Chiefly in the Counties of Durham and Northumberland'

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from TWAM (flickr)
The Black Gate, Newcastle upon Tyne

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Black Gate and Castle Keep, Newcastle upon Tyne

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from Flickr (flickr)
Image taken from page 34 of 'The City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne of to-day. ... With illustrations'

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Blackgate, Newcastle

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
The Black Gate

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Black Gate, Newcastle upon Tyne

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
027561:The Black Gate and the Castle Keep Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1901

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
004228:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1860

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from http://picturesofgateshead.co…
Black Gate and Old Castle, Newcastle-on-Tyne (1913)
- "Produced by W.H.S. & S.N. Posted from Newcastle to London on September 24th 1913". Postcard from 'Pictures of Gateshead and the Surrounding Area' by Andy Williamson. The images may be …

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from Flickr (flickr)
Blackgate and Castle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England-LCCN2002708006

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
060784:The Black Gate and the Castle Keep Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1910

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
063867:Black Gate and Castle Keep Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers c.1990s

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
054766:Black Gate and Castle Keep Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1985

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
052644:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1900

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Black Gate and Castle in Newcastle upon Tyne

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from Flickr (flickr)
The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas and the Black Gate

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from Geograph (geograph)
The Black Gate

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from Geograph (geograph)
Black Gate of Newcastle Castle

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from Geograph (geograph)
The Black Gate (2)

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from Geograph (geograph)
The Black Gate

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from Geograph (geograph)
Plaque on the Black Gate

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from Geograph (geograph)
Archway in the Black Gate

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from Flickr (flickr)
Black Gate, Newcastle

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from Flickr (flickr)
The Black Gate, Newcastle

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Black Gate, with fence overlooking Heron Pit

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from Flickr (flickr)
Black Gate, Newcastle

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from https://historicengland.org.u…
THE BLACK GATE - Newcastle - List Entry
- "Gatehouse of castle; now museum and private library. Mid C13; early C17 alterat- ions;restored 1883 for the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle. Coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings; roof of …

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from Flickr (flickr)
Blackgate - view from the roof of The Castle Keep - Newcastle

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
053546:Black Gate Newcastle upon Tyne J.P. Gibson Undated

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List grade: 1
List number: 1024936
Grid ref: NZ2501363924

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