Educate. Inspire. Preserve.
Medieval water gate which linked the town to the harbour which included a portcullis. A seaward defence for the town. The water came right up to the gate during high tide.
Also named Severus Gate as it was once believed to have originally been built by Severus.
A Customs House was located in the room above the gate. Merchants met in front of the gate to sell their products.
209 Believed to have been built by Severus.
1423-1424 Repaired.
1430 Tower repaired.
15th C Late: Holes from conflict repaired.
1520’s Last mention of the gate being repaired.
1590’s A platform added on the site of the old gate to hold artillery.
1762 Demolished.
1800 Remains removed when the site was handed over to the towns people.
20th C No remains.
References & Bibliography
A Guide to Dover, Ancient and Modern: Its Castle, Its Priory and the Adjacent Villages. 1861. The Chronicle Office.
Batcheller. W. 1828. A New History of Dover, And Of Dover Castle, During The Roman, Saxon, And Norman Governments, With A Short Account 0f The Cinque Ports … Continued To The Present Time … Embellished With Four Plates, & Illustrated By Four Plans. To Which Is Added, A New Dover Guide. William Batcheller.
Lyon. J. 1814. The History of the Town and Port of Dover and of Dover Castle: With a Short Account of the Cinque Ports, Volume 2. John Lyon.
Sweetinburgh, S. 2004. Wax, Stone and Iron: Dover’s Town Defences in the Later Middle Ages. Archaeologia Cantiana. 124, pp. 183-208.
Warren. Z. 1828. A Short Historical Sketch of The Town of Dover, And Its Neighbourhood Containing A Concise History of The Town And Castle From The Earliest Accounts To The Present Time. Z. Warren.