The Portgate was a

fortified gateway A fortified gateway is an element of a variety of fortified structures, such as a castle or city wall, walled town. Fortified gates or gateways appear in the Bronze Age and reach into the modern times. City gate Gatehouse ''Torburg'' In Ger ...

, constructed as part of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

where it crossed the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

now known as

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman roads, Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond int ...

, which preceded Hadrian's Wall by around 50 years. It was built to control traffic along Dere Street as it passed north through Hadrian's Wall. The gate's remains exist beneath the old

B6318 Military Road The Military Road is part of the B6318 road in Northumberland, England, which runs from Heddon-on-the-Wall in the east to Greenhead, Northumberland, Greenhead in the west. For much of its length, the Military Road is straight and resembles a ...

to the south-west of the Stagshaw Roundabout (the B6318 was diverted slightly for the construction of the Stagshaw Roundabout, leaving two short sections of the existing road unlinked – the remains of the Portgate are buried beneath the western section). The Errington Arms at Stagshaw - geograph

The Errington Arms at Stagshaw - geograph

Origins of the name

If any name was given to the structure by the Romans, it is no longer known. The name Portgate is thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Construction

The Portgate was constructed from very large masonry blocks. It projected between and north of the wall, sitting astride the wall. It was probably a square or rectangular structure.

Excavations and investigations

*1732 - John Horsley reported visible remains of a fortification at the location, stating *1955 -

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Field Investigation. It was noted that to the east of Dere Street there is a suggestion that the ditch turned north and followed the road for a short distance, however it is probable that this effect is due to contemporary drainage ditches. *1966 - Excavation directed by Miss D. Charlesworth exposed the west tower of the Portgate in the verge a few inches North of the kerb of the B6318.

Civil parish

Portgate was a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, in 1951 the parish had a population of 52. Portgate was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in St. John-Lee parish, from 1866 Portgate was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 1955 and merged with Corbridge.

Monument records

References

Bibliography

* {{Milecastles Hadrian's Wall Former civil parishes in Northumberland Corbridge