Newport Arch

Newport Arch is a 3rd-century Roman gate in the Newport district of the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. It is a Scheduled monument and Grade I listed building 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 the Roman town Lindum Colonia, 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), as well as numerous examples in Anatolia.

As the north gate of the city, it carried the major Roman road Ermine Street northward almost in a straight line to the Humber.

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, 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 above the Roman level. Its arch is of a single ring of large limestone voussoirs 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 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 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.

See also

* Jewry Wall

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
Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England
Gates in England
Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire
Grade I listed gates
Ruins in Lincolnshire
History of Lincoln, England
Arches and vaults in England
Roman sites in Lincolnshire