[1] The gate from the west, from inside the city. The etching by Walter Hagreen was taken from a drawing by John Ninham and published in 1861 in The Gates of Norwich by Robert Fitch.

Introduction

Pockthorpe or Barre Gate [1] was at the north-east corner of the city in the parish of St James. The gateway was just below Mousehold Heath, close to the river, and the gate closed the road that entered Norwich through the extra mural settlement of Pockthorpe.  Documentary references suggest that the flint gateway shown in 18th-century drawings was not built until 1338.  The delay may have been caused by a dispute over both ownership of land and over who was responsible for building the wall at the north-east corner of the city.  The gateway was extensively rebuilt following damage sustained during the Kett Rebellion of 1549 and was demolished in 1792.