Westgate, Winchester

Westgate, Winchester
Location	High Street, Winchester, Hampshire
Coordinates	51°03′49″N 1°19′09″W
OS grid reference	SU 47812 29576
Governing body	Hampshire Cultural Trust
Owner	Winchester City Council
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	The Westgate, Winchester
Designated	24 March 1950
Reference no.	1350695
Location of Westgate, Winchester in Central Winchester

The Westgate is one of two surviving fortified gateways in Winchester, England (the other is Kingsgate). The earliest surviving fabric is of Anglo-Saxon character. The gate was rebuilt in the 12th century and modified in the 13th and late 14th centuries, the latter including a portcullis in the western façade and two inverted-keyhole gunports (for use with hand-held cannon), the earliest in the country. The gate was in use until 1959 when the High Street was routed around it.

In the 19th century the City Corporation (now Winchester City Council) acquired the Westgate and began to use it as a museum and repository for the City archives. In 2014, ownership of the museum space was transferred to Hampshire Cultural Trust. Today, the Westgate Museum's displays include a famous collection of pre-Imperial weights and measures, and a fine painted ceiling made for Winchester College in anticipation of a visit by Mary Tudor and Philip of Spain on the occasion of their marriage in Winchester in 1554.

References

• Pevsner, N. Hampshire: Winchester & the North (2010) ISBN 978-0-300-12084-4 (with Michael Bullen, John Crook and Rodney Hubbuck) (Buildings of England series)