Gate House Of Devizes Castle

The Gate House of Devizes Castle dates from around 1860 and is part of the later expansion of the castle. It features a rock-faced design with a large round tower and a lower square tower flanking the gateway, both topped with machicolated crenellated parapets. The double-gird pattern timber gates are set within a large Norman archway, which is flanked by heavy shafts with cushion capitals. Above the arch that connects the towers, there is a deeply machicolated parapet with a zigzag pattern, and the central merlon is stepped up to display a coat of arms.

On the town side, the gate house has only slit windows, while the side facing the castle includes the round tower with small deeply recessed Norman windows and three larger windows with leaded casements. The ground floor window features a double gabled dripmould, while the others have arched dripmoulds. There is also a round-headed doorway with a dripmould decorated with a lion head at the crown. The square tower has one similar small window on the first floor and a matching doorway on the ground floor, with the door featuring diamond battens and diamond lights. The overall appearance is picturesque.