Westgate Museum

Opening times

April - October
Monday - Saturday 10-5
Sunday 12-5

Closed from 1st November - 31st January

February & March
Tuesday - Saturday 10-4
Sunday 12-4

Tel. 01962 869 864

Admission

Admission Free

Disabled Access

Access to the Museum and its roof is up steep staircases with handrails; unfortunately there is no wheelchair access.

About the Westgate Museum

Dominating the upper end of the High Street and located close to the Great Hall, the Westgate is one of two surviving fortified gateways in Winchester. The structure shows evidence of 12th century construction, with modifications in the 13th and late 14th centuries. The portcullis and two early gunports, for use with hand-held cannon, in the western façade were part of the later remodelling.

During the 16th to 18th centuries, the Westgate was used as both a lockup prison, for the drunken and disorderly, and as a debtors' gaol. Much of the graffiti carved in the softer stone in the upper chamber of the gate, derives from this use.

In 1898, the City Corporation acquired the Westgate and began to use it as a museum and respository for the City archives. Today, displays include the famous collection of pre-Imperial weights and measures, and a fine painted ceiling from Winchester College which was made on the occasion of Queen Mary I's marriage to Philip of Spain in Winchester in 1554.

There is access to the roof for extensive views along the High Street and towards the Great Hall of the castle.