Exchequer Gate, Lincoln

Exchequer Gate from Castle Hill

Located at the cathedral end of Castle Hill, this is where tenants who rented property from the church came to pay their rents. A chequered cloth was used to aide the counting of the rent monies, and it is from the alternating black and white pattern of the cloth that we get the word 'Exchequer'. The gate was built in the 14th century and probably acted as the main, ceremonial access point to the Cathedral close.

To call this lovely building a 'gate' does not convey a sense of how grand the structure really is. There are actually three gates, or passages through Exchequer Gate to the cathedral precinct; two smaller postern gates flank a pointed central arch, vaulted with brick. Octagonal turrets flank the central arch, and the whole structure is topped with battlements.

Exchequer Gate from the cathedral precinct

Above the arches are two further floors of rooms, which were at one time let as dwellings. The origin of the building is uncertain, but tradition holds that it was constructed during the reign of Edward I.