Monument record MDO46298 - Gate, Princes Street, Dorchester

It has been conjectured that the end of Princes Street was the site of a gate on the west side of the town, as an apparent gate is shown in this location on a small scale map made by John Speed in 1610.

[SY68959060] The town wall is shown on Speed's map of 1610 as unbroken on the west side except for breaks at end of High West Street (the Roman or Mediaeval West Gate), and a second at Prince's Street. Two gates on the west side are also documented in 1610. <1-2>

The area is covered by a modern road and flanked by modern buildings. No main road issues from Prince's Street, which at its junction with the Roman wall is approximately 80m from the generally accepted est Gate. The two sites appear too close for both to have been either the sites of Roman or Mediaeval gates and it seems most likely that the Prince's Street gate was no more that a temporary Civil War (sic) gate or barricade. <3>

<1> Speed, John, 1610, Small scale plan of Dorchester (Map). SDO19854.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1893, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 50-4 (Serial). SDO8.

<3> Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, Field Investigators Comments, F1 20-Aug-1954 (Unpublished document). SDO16261.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1430764 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:40PM