"Firing into the Brown" #78 - King James Gate, flags and stuff...

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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Second of the gates in the occasional series of local history posts on the gates of Old Portsmouth [clicky]

This time we have the King James gate - built in 1687, and with the design and building works supervised by de Gomme himself (who we've also met already), this is the original gate, but not in it's original magnificence (though it's not too shabby!) and not in it's original position..  in fact it's been moved twice from it's original position since the 1860's/70's when the rest of the fortified walls of Portsmouth were removed..

It's current location is just across the way from the Landport Gate [clicky], where it currently provides access to the United Services Grounds (and where back in the day I saw Hampshire play cricket once).. the two side arches are much later additions, not original, and involve a lot of wishful thinking 😏

Still magnificent, but not as magnificent as it once was..

...and this is where it would have stood - following - between the corner of battlement/steps you can see on the left, and the other side of the road - the Camber (the inner harbour you can see on the map above) is just behind that first big white house on the right. 

The picture is taken from what would have been inside the gate looking out (as it's purpose was to protect Portsmouth, not the small bight of land north, known round here as The Point) and there would have been a bridge and moat between the gate and where that same big white house is...

...those steps - left - are mostly original and would have lead up to the top of the gate (they are slightly longer than originally as they now lead to a more modern promenade on top of the wall that is slightly higher than the original gate)..

...this is excellent and from the Portsmouth History page...  it dates from 1861... note the gate and arches centre... you can also see the building labelled "Master Gunners" which I guess were his quarters as there is also a kitchen labelled - it has a courtyard in front and the steps are those in my photo... I would have been standing in what would have been that courtyard to take my photo... isn't history amazing..😀

...and here is its position on the de Gomme map..

This picture - following - was taken probably 1850's, before the gate was removed from it's original location, and shows how grand it would have been originally* - all that huge decorative pediment is now gone.. the picture is taken from the opposite perspective to mine - so this is outer side, and the photo was taken from the Point, looking through the gate into the town - 

Note/comments 

• the moat/drawbridge with side rails. 
• When de Gomme was building the gate and new walls, he also utilised earlier Elizabethan walls - that's them, the rougher ones, to the left and right of the gate. 
• The Master Gunners building with those steps I mentioned would have come on to the battlements on the far right..

(* Sources indicate that a lot of the ornate elements of the gate would have been errr.. "mislaid" (ie. stolen and or sold) during its two moves - huge shame, but them's the breaks.. 😏)

"The Lower or King James Gate is a structure in the Venetian stile with double Corinthian pilasters on each side the archway, an entablature supporting a circular tower and ball and ornamental spires on each side. The inscription is IACOBVS SECVNDVS A R III AN DOM 1687. On the key stone are the initials IR surmounted by an imperial crown with the date 1687 and below the Ordnance arms three cannon on a shield. A heavy drawbridge is in front. The ancient batteries near this gate have been for some time under repair. About forty five years since during a tempest the marble ball fell from the summit of the tower of the gate and split into fragments at the feet of two ladies who were passing at the time (😁). The gateway remained in a very dilapidated state till 1826 when being under repair in March we addressed a letter to the commandant relative to the inscription which was nearly obliterated and on May the 3d it was restored. On June 29th the repairs were completed and the present immense marble ball placed on the summit." (from "The Chronicles of Portsmouth" written by Henry and Julian Slight and published in 1828.)

Other sources:

• Memorials and Monuments in Old Portsmouth (King James Gate)
• King James Gate - History, Travel, and accommodation information
• The Historic Gates of Portsmouth - King James' Gate | Strong Island
• History In Portsmouth

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 Works in progress

Never a pretty sight half way though.. 😏

Nice new flag.. !

80% done..

Needed to wait for the glue to dry and then I flocked them to match the rest of the project..

Done!

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Laters, as the young people are want to say...