Wincheap Gate was not properly speaking one of the medieval City
gates. It came into existence perhaps in the 16th century when the
highway through the Castle Yard was blocked up, and a diversion
was made round what is now Worthgate Place and through a gap in
the City Walls, which was formed into a Gate though without any
elaborate defences.
The name of the gate is taken from the nearby Wincheap Street,
a subject of much disagreement as to derivation. Perhaps it means
Wine Market; at any rate the name was in use by A.D. 1200.
By 1582 the gate was sufficiently old to require repairs, when
a turnstile was fitted into it. In 1670 William Jacob, the local
doctor, rebuilt it, and was rewarded with a dinner at the expense
of the Corporation.
The gate now consisted of two brick pillars, surmounted by stone
balls, with a simple arch. The pillars were based on a plinth of
stone apparently of Norman workmanship, undoubtedly plundered from
the ruins of some decayed religious house such as St. Augustine's
Abbey. Above the arch on the outside was the inscription Welcome
and on the inside Farewell. The gate was partly pulled down in 1770,
but one of the brick pillars still survives. [Does it? I'll have
to check..!]
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