Photographs of The Black Gate Museum, Newcastle Upon Tyne

The Black Gate with the castle keep in the background. The Black Gate, built 1247-50, was the final addition to the medieval castle defences. It was a barbican, an additional gate and walled entrance passage, projecting from the earlier North Gate and set at an angle to the main defences.

The narrowness of the passage and its angle to the rest of the castle wall restricted attackers and exposed them to fire from the defenders. The Black Gate stood in the castle ditch, which was excavated and landscaped in the 1970s. The modern footbridges outside and inside the gatehouse are on the site of original wooden turning bridges, which had heavy counter weights on on side of the pivot to bring the bridge rapidly into the closed position.