The Black Gate

The Black Gate is a gatehouse of a castle, now serving as a museum and private library. It dates from the mid-13th century, with early 17th-century alterations, and was restored in 1883 for the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle. The building is constructed of coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings and has a roof made of pantiles.

The lower part of the structure has an oval plan, while the upper part is octagonal, featuring a square front projection. It stands four storeys tall with an attic and consists of three bays. The central archway is situated below a six-light Jacobean window, with cusped niches on either side. The upper floors have square-headed, stone-mullioned and transomed windows, with four lights on one floor and three on another, all adorned with label moulds. The side bays also feature similar two-light windows, and a wooden cross window has been inserted on the right side of the second floor.

Above many-chamfered base courses, there are slit windows. The steeply-pitched hipped roof includes a central dormer and two chimneys at the ends. The rear of the building has a stone stair with an open landing on the first floor and a Jacobean-style wooden balcony, which is part of the 19th-century adaptation. Inside, there is a pointed barrel vault in the passage through the gate, with side guard chambers that have ribbed vaults. The structure also includes slots for a drawbridge to receive counterweights. The Black Gate is recognized as a scheduled ancient monument.