Frankfort Gate

There used to be a plaque on the wall of the Globe Tavern that read “Near this place formerly stood Frankfort Gate, which, along with others, formed the principal entrance into the town then enclosed by a wall erected for the greater protection thereof by the Mayor and Commonalty under the authority of of the Charter of Henry VI. But in the course of years, this mode of defence ceasing to be of any effect, the gate was taken down in 1783 and the street and avenues adjoining were considerably widened and improved.

The gate itself, which was thought to have been in a low and feeble condition when it was pulled down, would have stood roughly at the SW corner of the junction of Armada Way and New George Street, opposite Dingles. A more modern plaque, the old one was erected in 1813, can now be seen just above canopy level on the first floor.

The name itself incidentally is thought to come from no more complicated a fact than that a fort originally positioned just inside the gate was once commanded by a man called Frank.

EH 12 July 1997