Newport Arch is a 3rd-century Roman gate in the city of

Lincoln, Lincolnshire Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including North H ...

. It is a

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and Grade I

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and is reputedly the oldest arch in the United Kingdom still used by traffic.

History

The arch was remodelled and enlarged when the city, then Lindum Colonia a Roman town, became capital of the province Flavia Caesariensis in the 4th century. Though unique in the United Kingdom, it is nevertheless one of many original Roman arches still open to traffic, other examples being two gates through the city walls of the Roman town of Diocletianopolis (now

Hisarya, Bulgaria Hisarya ( bg, Хисаря , also known as ''Hisar'', ''Hissar'' or ''Hissarya'', formerly: Toplitsa) is a small resort town in Bulgaria, in Plovdiv Province. Hisar means 'fort, castle' in Arabic. The word was adopted in Persian and Ottoman Turk ...

), as well as numerous examples in

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. As the north gate of the city, it carried the major Roman road

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...

northward almost in a straight line to the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

From ''Romano-British Buildings and Earthworks'' by John Ward (1911):

:A considerable portion of the north gate of Lincoln — the Newport Arch — is standing, but is buried to the extent of about . in the soil and débris accumulated since Roman times. The structure is about deep and has a single passage for the road, 17½ ft. wide. The inner or back portal of this passage is still intact, and is nearly in the clear and rises to a height of about 22½ ft. above the Roman level. Its arch is of a single ring of large limestone
voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. T ...
s rising from imposts which appear to have been moulded. The outer or front arch has long since disappeared. On the east side is a
postern A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern ...
for pedestrians, . wide and contracting to about . at the north end, and . high from the Roman level. On the west side there was a similar postern about a century ago. The whole structure is of good masonry, and it appears to have projected considerably beyond the north face of the town wall.

Accidents

In May 1964 a goods

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...

belonging to the Humber Warehousing Company struck the arch while attempting to pass under it. Forty years later, in May 2004, another lorry struck the arch, causing minor damage. 13 years later, in May 2017, a RASE logistics lorry got stuck underneath the arch; after letting down the tyres, it was able to reverse out with no apparent damage to the structure.

References

External links

{{commons category, Newport Arch
Lindum
General information on Roman Lincoln and inscriptions
Not resting on their laurels
A survey of Lincoln's Roman heritage Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century Buildings and structures in Roman Britain Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England Gates in England Roman sites in England Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire Grade I listed gates Ruins in Lincolnshire History of Lincoln, England Arches and vaults in England