Balkerne Gate
{{Short description|1st-century Roman gateway in Colchester, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
File:The Balkerne Gate, Colchester, with man in for scale.jpg
Balkerne Gate is a Roman gateway in Colchester (the former Camulodunum). It is the largest surviving gateway in Roman Britain{{National Heritage List for England| num=1123668 |desc=The Balkerne Gate |grade=I |accessdate=24 October 2016}} and was built where the Roman road from Londinium intersected the town wall of Camulodunum.{{cite book |first=M. R. |last=Hull |title=Short Guide to Roman Colchester |date=1947 |publisher=Borough of Colchester}} It is a scheduled monument{{NHLE|desc=Balkerne Gate |num=1002187 |access-date=18 May 2022}} and a Grade I listed building.
History
According to Historic England, the gate probably dates to the 2nd century AD. It appears to have incorporated an existing monumental arch from the 1st century.{{Cite web |title=The Balkerne Gate |date=25 September 2020 |url=https://colchesterheritage.co.uk/blog/the-balkerne-gate |work=Colchester Heritage Explorer |publisher=Colchester Borough Council |access-date=19 May 2022}}
Sir Mortimer Wheeler excavated at the site in 1917.{{Cite web |title=Mortimer Wheeler's First Excavation |url=https://colchesterheritage.co.uk/blog/sir-mortimer-wheeler%e2%80%99s-first-excavation |date=12 December 2017 |work=Colchester Heritage Explorer |publisher=Colchester Borough Council |access-date=19 May 2022}} According to a paper he published subsequently:
The gate consisted of two broad carriageways, each {{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide, flanked by two footways, each about {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide. The whole gate projects {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} in front of the town wall, and the total extent of the frontage is {{convert|107|ft|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite journal |title=The Balkerne Gate, Colchester |last=Wheeler |first=R. E. M. |journal=Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society |date=1920}}
Although it is the best-preserved Roman gateway in the country, it only survives in part. The remaining gateway is the south-side arched footway; however, the remains of a guard tower are also visible. The rest of the gateway has been overbuilt by the 18th-century Hole in the Wall public house, which is also a listed building.{{NHLE|desc=Hole in The Wall Public House |num=1337683 |grade=II |access-date=18 May 2022}}
Structure
Roman town gates sometimes had as many as three entrances but were usually limited to one or two. The Balkerne Gate, however, had four gates, and unusually wide carriageways.
There are no other quadruple gates in Britain but there are a few elsewhere in Europe; for example, the Porte d'Auguste at Nîmes, the Porte Ste. André and the Porte d'Arroux at Autun, and the Palatine Towers at Turin.
References
{{Commons category|Balkerne Gate}}
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|51.88966|0.89371|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title|name=Balkerne Gate}}
Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century
Category:Buildings and structures in Colchester (town)
Category:Buildings and structures in Roman Britain
Category:Roman sites in England
Category:Arches and vaults in England