WATERGATES

See Also: DISTRICT CHANGE Strand; STREET FURNITURE Gates; THE THAMES; WALLS & GATEWAYS; WATERMEN; MENU

The Thames's old breadth and its importance as a highway can still be traced both by the names of a number of streets and by the survival of a few of the old watergates. Often the latter are set twenty or thirty yards inland of the present embankment. Most of them are located on the stretch of river to the south of the West End. They tend to have served either royal palaces or the palatial London residences of the aristocracy and the princes of the church. This reflects how the court led London's early westward development.

Bridewell Palace

Bridewell Palace was a royal property within the City. In the mid-16^thC King Edward VI granted the complex to the City authorities. Its watergate is commemorated by Watergate, a road that leads into New Bridge Street from the west.

Location: Watergate, c.EC4V 6AG (purple, turquoise)

See Also: PALACES, DISAPPEARED & FORMER Bridewell Palace

Essex House

At the southern end of Essex Street are a brick arch and a set of steps that occupy the site of what was the watergate of Essex House.

Location: Essex Street, WC2R 3AT (purple, grey)

Somerset House

Somerset House was rebuilt in the late 18^thC so that it could furnish accommodation for various government offices and learned societies. The new building was equipped with a large watergate that now looms over Victoria Embankment.

Location: Victoria Embankment, WC2N 6PA (orange, turquoise)

Website: www.somersethouse.org.uk

Traitors; Gate

Traitors' Gate projects from the Tower of London's St Thomas's Tower. The portal enabled political prisoners to be transported on the Thames, which, with its relative openness, provided a more secure environment that the crowded streets of the City.

Location: The Tower of London, EC3N 4AB

See Also: BEARS The Tower Polar Bear; THE TOWER OF LONDON Prisoners

Website: www.rct.uk/collection/2102206/traitors-gate-at-the-tower-of-london

Whitehall Palace

A late 17^thC watergate that used to lead to Whitehall Palace is to be found in the riverside garden of the Ministry of Defence Building.

Location: Whitehall, SW1A 2ER (purple, orange)

York House

The York House watergate was remodelled during the early 17^thC for the royal favourite the 1^st Duke of Buckingham.

Location: Watergate Walk, WC2N 6NE (turquoise, yellow)

See Also: DEVELOPMENTS Dr Nicholas Barbon, Of Alley

David Backhouse 2024