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A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town,
religious house A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
, castle,
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...
, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most heavily armed section of a fortification, to compensate for being structurally the weakest and the most probable attack point by an enemy. There are numerous surviving examples in France, Austria, Germany, England and Japan.


History

Gatehouses made their first appearance in the early antiquity when it became necessary to protect the main entrance to a castle or town. Over time, they evolved into very complicated structures with many lines of defence. Strongly fortified gatehouses would normally include a drawbridge, one or more portcullises, machicolations, arrow loops and possibly even murder-holes where stones would be dropped on attackers. In some castles, the gatehouse was so strongly fortified it took on the function of a keep, sometimes referred to as a "gate keep". In the late
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, some of these arrow loops might have been converted into gun loops (or gun ports). Urban defences would sometimes incorporate gatehouses such as Monnow Bridge in Monmouth.
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
has four important gatehouses, known as "Bars", in its city walls including the
Micklegate Micklegate is a street in the City of York, England. The name means "Great Street", "gate" coming from the Old Norse ''gata'', or street. Micklegate is described by York City Council as "one of the most handsome streets in Yorkshire", and was ...
Bar. The French term for gatehouse is ''logis-porche''. This could be a large, complex structure that served both as a gateway and lodging or it could have been composed of a gateway through an enclosing wall. A very large gatehouse might be called a ''châtelet'' (small castle). At the end of the Middle Ages, many gatehouses in England and France were converted into beautiful, grand entrance structures to manor houses or estates. Many of them became a separate feature free-standing or attached to the manor or mansion only by an enclosing wall. By this time the gatehouse had lost its defensive purpose and had become more of a monumental structure designed to harmonise with the manor or mansion. In the Dravidian architecture of South India, very tall
gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...
gatehouses, usually four, dominate large Hindu temple complexes.


England

* Bargate, in Hampshire is a medieval gatehouse in the city centre of Southampton, England. Constructed in 1180 as part of the Southampton town walls *
Ightham Mote Ightham Mote (), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. The architectural writer John Newman describes it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county". Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the National Trust ...
, in Kent has an imposing 13th and 14th century gatehouse. * Durham Castle, in Durham has an 11th-century gatehouse that is now used as accommodation for students attending University College, Durham. *
Layer Marney Tower Layer Marney Tower is a Tudor palace, composed of buildings, gardens and parkland, dating from 1520 situated in Layer Marney, Essex, England, between Colchester and Maldon. The building was designated Grade I listed in 1952. History Constructed ...
, the epitome of the Tudor gatehouse. *
Stokesay Castle Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, and situated at Stokesay in Shropshire. It was largely built in its present form in the late 13th century by Laurence de Ludlow, on the earlier castle (some of w ...
, a 13th-century fortified manor house in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
has a Jacobean half-timbered gatehouse. * Stanway House, Stanway,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...
, where the gatehouse measures 44 ft. by 22 ft. and has three storeys. *
Westwood House Westwood House is a stately home, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England. It has been subdivided into twelve self-contained apartments. The house has origins as an Elizabethan banqueting hall with Caroline additions and is a Grade I listed buil ...
, Worcestershire, which has a frontage of 54 ft. with two storeys. *
Burton Agnes Hall Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor house in the village of Burton Agnes, near Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was built by Sir Henry Griffith in 1601–10 to designs attributed to Robert Smythson. The older ...
,
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...
, which has three storeys and is flanked by great octagonal towers at the angles. * Hylton Castle, Hylton, Sunderland, although it is an actual castle, it is styled in the shape of a classical gatehouse (this is due to the castle being built for comfort as opposed to a castle for defence).


France

* Château de Châteaubriant, two gatehouses (13th and 14th century), one for the lower bailey, one for the upper ward. * Château de Suscinio, a large 15th-century gatehouse in the ''logis-porte'' style, Morbihan, Brittany. * Château de Trécesson, a simple 14th-century gatehouse on a moated manor house in Morbihan, Brittany (see French Wikipedia page, Château de Trécesson) *
Château de Vitré The Château de Vitré is a medieval castle in the town of Vitré, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département of France. The first castle in Vitré was built of wood on a feudal motte around the year 1000 on the Sainte-Croix hill. The castle was burn ...
, a large 15th-century ''châtelet'' or gatehouse in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (see French Wikipedia page,
Château de Vitré The Château de Vitré is a medieval castle in the town of Vitré, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département of France. The first castle in Vitré was built of wood on a feudal motte around the year 1000 on the Sainte-Croix hill. The castle was burn ...
)


United States

*
Latrobe Gate The Latrobe Gate (also known as Main Gate, Washington Navy Yard) is a historic gatehouse located at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, D.C. Built in 1806 and substantially altered in 1881, the ceremonial entrance to the U.S. Navy' ...
, a
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
and Italianate gatehouse built in 1806, Washington, D.C. *
Lorraine Park Cemetery Gate Lodge The Lorraine Park Cemetery Gate Lodge is a historic gatehouse located near Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a -story, Queen Anne–style stone-and-frame building designed by Baltimore architect Henry F. Brauns that wa ...
, a Queen Anne style stone and frame building constructed in 1884, Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland.


See also

* City gate * Gate tower * Guardhouse * Gatekeeper's lodge


References

{{Authority control Fortification (architectural elements) Types of gates Castle architecture