A Leicester landmark that has had many uses
THE Magazine, or more correctly, the Newarke Gateway, dominates the western end of Newarke Street, where it joins Vaughan Way and Oxford Street. Today, the gateway, which was built about 1400, is one of Leicester’s finest surviving medieval buildings.
It was originally built as a monumental entrance from the town’s south suburb into the religious precinct of the College of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, popularly known as the Newarke (New Work). It was built to impress visitors and house the porter’s lodge and guest rooms.
The gateway is built of local sandstone and has three floors. The large and small arches would have allowed separate vehicular and pedestrian access into the Newarke, while the ground floor room would have been the lodge for the porter and his family.
Access to the first and second floors was by a spiral staircase in a turret on the western side of the building. The first floor was “en suite”, with a doorway leading to a garderobe (medieval toilet). The second floor spans the main archway and is twice the size of the other floors. It is divided in two, with both rooms containing fireplaces, and may have accommodated guests of the Newarke.
After the Newarke was demolished in 1548, the gateway had many other uses. In the late 16th century it was used to hold Catholics, imprisoned for their religious beliefs during the reign of Elizabeth I. Two, John Lowdham and Edmund Smith, both left messages on the walls: “Her was
John Lowdham in prysone for other mennys trespass & not his owne wherefor god help...” and: “Her was Edmond Smiht somnned in pson 1564 ES.”
In the 17th century the gateway was used to store arms and munitions during the English Civil War. Later, it was part of a militia barracks and was also used as a First World War recruiting station.
In 1967-8 it was saved from demolition during construction of the Newarke Underpass but left as an island in the middle of the road. In 2007, the underpass was filled in, returning the gateway to its original street-side position. Today, it sits on the edge of De Montfort University’s city-centre campus.
The original name of the building was the Newarke Gateway but during the English Civil War (1642-51) it was used as a store for gunpowder and weaponry (a magazine). Since then it is often referred to as the Magazine or Magazine Gateway.
■Words and pictures courtesy of Leicester City Council’s The Story of Leicester.