Monument record MDO47510 - North Gate, Dorchester

Stukeley, visiting in 1723, said there were four gates, one in the middle of each side. <1>

[Area centred SY69079085]. In the Middle Ages the North Gate was in Glyde Path near the cottage at Colliton House. It apeared to Mr Moule that this was the successor to , if not the identical, Roman Gate. <2>

There is nothing to show where the North gate was situated, although it is mentioned at the time of the Commonwealth. One would expect it to have been at the foot of Friary Lane. <3>

The Porta Borealis mentioned in the Dorchester Domesday of 1440 can clearly be localised to the vicinity of the top of the garden of Glen View. <4>

[SY69079093]. My mother, whose memory would have gone back to about 1890, used to say that the gate was situated here. We would call this spot the top of the garden <5.1>.

SY69079078. There have been considerable alterations in the vicinity of Colliton House, but enquiries confirmed the previous existence of the cottage here. The site is now largely cleared and no trace of antiquity was found.

SY69079093. The area here is flanked by modern gardens and street walls, and no trace of antiquity was found. Situated at the top of a hill which slopes steeply down to the north, ie away from the town. The conjectural line of the wal however lies to the north. <5>

North Gate. The only evidence for a route directly Northwards from Durnovaria has no bearing on the location of a North gate, and it is probable that any gates on this side were simple exits giving access to the River Frome, which cannot have been more than locally navigable for small craft. <6>

<1> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset, 210 (Monograph). SDO10094.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1891, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, xxxii (Serial). SDO7.

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1891, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 143 (Serial). SDO7.

<4> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1893, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 52-3 (Serial). SDO8.

<5> 1954, Field Investigators Comments, F1 19-Aug-1954 (Unpublished document). SWX3839.

<5.1> Leith Fudge, J, Oral: Mr J Leith Fudge, Dorchester, 9-Aug-1954 (Verbal communication). SDO20339.

<6> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 551 (Monograph). SDO150.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1430717 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:41PM