The Pipewell Gate. Winchelsea, East Sussex, UK, rebuilt in 1404, photo 5/1/2020
Words below, embossed on the blue metal plaque (L) fixed on the gateway:
“The Pipewell Gate, also called Ferry Gate, gave access to the ferry and later the road to Rye. Destoyed in the French attack in 1380, it was rebuilt in 1404 by John Helde the Mayor. The remaims of his Coat of Arms can still be seen.
It was here that King Edward I had a miraculous escape. He had come in 1297 to view the fleet and approached the top of the cliff. His horse shied and disappeared with its rider down the precipice. Crowding horror-struck to the edge, the townsfolk were in time to see the horse land a full thirty feet below on the road where it slid twelve paces, stumbling and staggering, before the King, still in his saddle “turned him round with the rein and rode him straight to the gate. When he passed through the gate the people standing round were filled with great joy and wonder in contemplation of the divene miracle by which the King was preserved.” The Pipewell Gate is owned by the Corporation of Winchelsea and maintained with the support of the local community”
Date: 05/01/2020
Location: Winchelsea, East Sussex, UK
Photographer: Richard Keith Wolff
