Gateway

The National Monuments Service's description

Medieval ‘Gate of Close’ on Patrick Street which was a gateway into the medieval close of St Patrick's Cathedral (DU018-020269-). A 1793 watercolour of the west end of St Patrick’s Cathedral (DU018-020269-) by James Malton  shows a terrace of Dutch Billy houses (Dutch Gable-Fronted Houses) (DU018-020058-) on the E side of Patrick Street to the north of the Cathedral (NGI 2620; NLI, PD). The ruins of a gateway which gave access to the north close of St. Patrick’s Cathedral is depicted on this watercolour where it is shown standing between the cathedral and the Dutch Billy houses on the east side of Patrick Street.   On the 1793 watercolour the springing of an arch on the eastern side is visible with remains of a stone building running eastwards from the archway.  The structure shown in the watercolour appears to the remains of a gatehouse and gateway which provided access into the northern close of the cathedral. Today there no surface remains visible of this gateway which suggests that the northern close of St Patrick’s Cathedral was enclosed by a stone wall.  This gateway was annotated ‘Gate of Close’ on Kendrick’s map of 1750 (Drew 1891).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

References

NGI 2620, National Gallery of Ireland, The West Front of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Ink and watercolour on paper, J. Malton 1793. 

NLI, PD 3181 TX 69 National Library of Ireland, View of the West Front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. To the right on the aquatint is a street sign that reads "Cross Poddle" which is now called Dean Street.   James Malton 1793. 

RCB 2207 Representative Church Body Library, A Map of St Patrick's Cathedral and surroundings in the 18th Century compiled chiefly from Kendrick's Maps in Marsh's Library and Rocques Map of 1750 and the Ordnance Survey. Thomas Drew c. 1900. Dublin.

Drew, T. 1891 Surroundings of the cathedral church of St. Patrick De Insula, Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 21, 426-32.