#medieval gate

Abbey Gate and The Pillar of Salt, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK

The Ethelbert Gate - Norwich, England

This medieval structure is one of the entrances to the Norwich Cathedral Close.  It was completed in the early 14th century to replace an earlier gate that was destroyed during riots in 1272 that erupted from conflicts between the monks of Norwich Priory and the townsfolk. The monks were reportedly the aggressors who killed several citizens. The people of the town retaliated by burning part of the cathedral and the nearby church of St. Ethelbert. Things got so bad that King Henry III intervened, sided with the monks (naturally), executed thirty of the citizen ringleaders, and ordered the town to build this gate.  

It took them 50 years to finish the job, but it’s a very nice gate with a chapel dedicated to St. Ethelbert above the entrance. This is one of the best examples of early medieval flint flushwork in England, with decorative panels of knapped flint separated by dressed freestone. The carvings in the spandrels over the arch show a man with a sword on the left and a dragon on the right surrounded by grape vines. These are 20th-century restorations.  The vaulted ceiling within the gate has a central boss in the form of a ‘Green Man.’