Rock Gate, (Or Chinese Gateway) With Retaining Wall

Rock Gate, also known as the Chinese Gateway, is a retaining wall with a gateway and gate dating from around 1750, with restorations carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The structure is made of limestone ashlar and rubble, with a softwood gate. The tall retaining wall provides an entrance to a driveway off Ralph Allen Drive, located to the west of a lower fish-pond and nearly opposite Rock Lodge. The wall features a return section at a higher level, which includes an opening with remnants of a gate. At the northern end, the retaining wall connects to the main boundary wall of the estate, displaying a rough straight joint in the masonry to the right of the gateway. This joint runs the full height of the wall, with higher quality masonry added, likely to stabilize earlier work.

Above the driveway, the wall continues at a high level, partly constructed from sponge stone, and includes stopped ends for the gate. The upper part of the wall retains only the remains of the overthrow from the gate, which features a 'Chinese' swept arch over plain vertical rails. The restoration was undertaken by the National Trust, returning the gate to its original design. The wall, which lacks coping, extends across to the main boundary wall.

Historically, this picturesque lesser entrance may have been created to allow access for stonework during the construction of the nearby Palladian Bridge. The gate is depicted in one of Thomas Robins' drawings of the area from around 1758. The gate, which was previously semi-collapsed, has been restored in recent years by the National Trust in collaboration with the Widcombe Association.