A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



the Norman gateway here we have only the 

 reference by Laurence that it was ' stately and 

 threatening,' with a tower and barbican. It 

 was strengthened by Bishop Skirlaw (i 388-1406), 

 and greatly reconstructed and enlarged by 

 Bishop Langley (1406-37), who formed a portion 

 of it into a prison for ' criminals ' and ' cap- 

 tives.' There were three gates, the outer, 

 the main and the inner gate. The outer defen- 

 sive portion as shown by existing prints con- 

 sisted of a short barbican with walls of great 

 thickness and defensive passages, with outer 

 turret towers square at the base and octagonal 

 above the gate. Apparently the drawbridge 

 was within the barbican. The main gate had 

 two large turrets, square at base and octagonal 

 above, and is described as possessing ' salli- 

 poris and upper galleries for the annoyance of 

 assailants.' Its portcullis (which was supposed 

 to have been raised for a century) unexpectedly 

 fell down in 1773 and stopped the communica- 

 tion between the Bailey and Saddler Street, until 

 ' the workmen with saws and axes cut it to 

 pieces.' On the south side, the south-east 

 and south-west angles of the gate were covered 

 with smaller octagonal turrets, doubtless stair- 

 cases for the use of the residential or prison 

 quarters, rising considerably higher than the 

 general level of the tower and possibly pro- 

 viding access to the roof. Towards the end of 

 the 15th century a small square central pro- 

 jecting wing was built out between the main 

 turrets over a large portion of the barbican, the 

 parapets of which bore three shields ; two of 

 these are supposed to have been preserved, and 

 were fixed some fifteen years ago on the west 

 wall of the Bishop's garden. The chamber 

 described by James Nield in 1805 1'' as intended 

 for an oubliette exists, much filled up, under 

 the building formerly called the library on the 

 west side of the street. Where the ' great hole,' 

 also mentioned by him, was situated cannot be 

 identified, but part of the basement under the 

 Advertiser office on the east side of the 

 street doubtless formed some of the * holes ' he 

 described. This Gateway, one of the most 

 picturesque buildings in the North, was de- 

 stroyed in 1820, shortly after the new prison 

 was built at the top of Old Elvet, because it 

 was supposed to be an obstruction to traffic.^ 

 From the almoners' rentals of 1424 and 1432 



1" G<?n/. ;l/a^. (Nov. 1805). 



2 Fortunately, excellent prints and pictures exist — 

 notably that of the North Front by T. M. Richard- 

 son, in the Castle Common Room ; a drawing of a 

 portion of the North Front (unsigned) in the Chapter 

 Library ; and a print from the North-West by 

 W. Bryne in the same Library. There is also a 

 painting of the south side of the gate hanging in the 

 Castle, and two charming sketches by Bouet, in the 

 possession of Mr. J. G. Wilson. 



we obtain some particulars of the castle area at 

 these dates. The Earl of Westmorland had his 

 town house in Owengate or Ovengate, and a 

 house in North Bailey called ' Sheriffhouse ' 

 belonged to the Archdeacon of Durham. Bow 

 Lane was known as ' Le Chare,' and its houses 

 on the east side arc said to have been bounded 

 by the castle wall. Nearly opposite but north 

 of the present gateway to the college was the 

 infirmary, then let out in tenements, one of 

 which was occupied as a school. Opposite the 

 infirmary were some houses called ' Halfseters.'^* 

 Among the buildings on the east side of the 

 North Bailey which now form Hatfield Hall is 

 part of an old inn. The dining room, which is 

 in this portion, is a large mid-i8th century 

 apartment with a coved and flat ceiling and a 

 * Venetian ' window with internal finishings of 

 the Doric order. The house known as the 

 Rectory is decorated internally in the late 18th- 

 century Gothic manner with good effect. To 

 the south of Hatfield Hall, at the corner of Bow 

 Lane, stands the church of St. Mary-le-Bow. 

 Number 24 in the North Bailey, to the south of 

 Bow Lane, like many other houses in the North 

 and South Baileys, appears to bean early 17th- 

 century house remodelled in the last half of 

 the i8th century. The entrance hall is a charm- 

 ing example of the period. The principal stairs 

 are of the geometrical type and the first floor 

 landing is open to the hall, across which it is 

 carried, like a gallery, upon Doric columns and 

 pilasters, the front having a handrail supported 

 hy turned balusters. St. John's Hall, also in 

 the North Bailey, occupies a good stone 18th- 

 century house of three stories with a basement. 

 The central portion is slightly broken forward, 

 and the entrance doorway has a pediment sup- 

 ported by carved consoles. To the south of 

 the 15th-century gateway to the 'College,' on 

 the west side of the South Bailey, stands the 

 church of St. Mary-the-Less. Beyond this point 

 the road turns to the westward and descends 

 sharply to Prebend's Bridge, passing beneath a 

 semicircular archway, which incorporates some 

 mediaeval fragments and stands near the site of 

 the former ' Water Gate.' Viewed from the 

 river, the houses in the Bailey, with their 

 gardens terraced upon the steeply sloping bank, 

 present an extremely picturesque appearance. 

 The foot of the peninsula is skirted from Elvet 

 Bridge to FramweUgate Bridge by the path 

 known as ' the Banks.' On the west side, 

 where the slope is steeper, and in parts almost 

 precipitous, the path divides, one branch climb- 

 ing the wooded face of the rock and passing 

 directly under the west front of the Galilee, 



2i> Rolls in the Durham Treasury. The house 

 called ' SherifThouse ' was earher known as Lithfot- 

 house. See Durham Treasury 2, 2. Elemos. 16 and 17. 



