Laurence's Gate
St. Laurence's Gate
St. Laurence's Gate, which led to the Friary of St Laurence, is widely regarded as one of the finest of its kind in Europe. The Gate is a barbican which was built in the 13th century as
part of the walled fortifications of the town. Barbicans were generally placed on the outer edge of the fosses which encircled town walls and acted, along with the gate behind it, as an extra line of defence. Both the gate and the barbican would have possessed stout gates with a drawbridge between the two, which could be raised in case of attack. It was originally one of ten gates which gave ingress and egress to the medieval town of Drogheda which was founded in the last years of the 12th century by the powerful Anglo-Norman de Lacy family.
It consists of two lofty circular towers, connected together by a wall, in which there is an archway. The original names for Laurence St and Laurence's Gate were East St and East Gate, respectively. In the 14th century, the street and Gate were renamed because they led to the hospital of St. Laurence, which stood close to the Cord church.
Each tower has four floors, joined by a bridge at the top and an entrance arch at street level. Entry is gained up a flight of stairs in the south tower. There is a slot underneath the arch from where a portcullis could be raised and lowered.
Historians have wondered why such an enormous barbican was built here in the east of the town, when the main artery through the town has always been north/south. For example, a similar barbican in Canterbury is less than half the height of Laurence's Gate. However, from the top of the Gate, the estuary of the Boyne and the four mile stretch of river from there to Drogheda can be clearly observed. This is the only point in the town with a clear view of any potential sea invasion. This is proposed as a reason why Laurance's Gate was built to such a height.
A portion of the town wall remains to the south of Laurence's Gate. North of Laurence's Gate, the wall ran up Palace St/King St where the footpath is today. The depth of the basements of the houses and school suggest the presence of a steep trench outside the wall. Over the centuries, as the walls and gates fell into disrepair, the rubble stones were reused in later buildings. For example, the house and walls at the corner of Laurence and Palace St and stone walls in Constitution Hill.
