The Southampton Bargate is the medieval gatehouse that once guarded the main northern entrance to the walled town, and its Historic England listing dates the oldest part, the central round-headed arch, to about 1180. Today it stands on its own in the middle of the High Street, free to see at any time, with the Southampton town walls running west from it and the old town’s medieval wine vaults beneath the streets to the south. The vaults can only be visited on guided walks, which leave from beside the Bargate’s stone lions on Saturdays and Sundays.

History of the Southampton Bargate

The Bargate dates from about 1180, according to its Historic England list entry, which calls it one of the finest town gateways in England. It was built as a town gateway with a guildhall, the meeting room of the town’s government, on the first floor. The listing records that large drum towers with arrow slits were added to the north side around 1280–90, and the battlemented north front around 1400. On the south face, a niche holds a statue of George III in Roman costume, which replaced a wooden statue of Queen Anne. The listing also notes a bell of 1605, once the town’s curfew and alarm bell, and a sundial of 1705.

The Bargate is Grade I listed, the highest grade of protection for a historic building in England, and is also a scheduled monument, protected by law as a site of national importance. When breaches were cut through the adjoining town walls in the 1930s, the gate was left standing on its own, as it is today. Southampton City Council, which owns the building, keeps inside it the large paintings of Bevois and Ascupart, figures from local legend that once hung on the outside to welcome visitors, and the wooden Queen Anne statue, still missing an arm, according to its Heritage Open Days listing. It is one of many castles and historic attractions worth seeking out in England.

Southampton Town Walls

Southampton’s town walls were strengthened after French and Genoese forces attacked the town in 1338, according to Southampton City Council. The council records that the doors and windows of wealthy merchants’ houses on the western side of the town were blocked up by order of the King, and that the new wall was built over them, using stone mostly quarried on the Isle of Wight. The council’s Tudor House and Garden museum explains that Edward III ordered the walls after the raid, that they were finished by the early 1420s, and that the western stretch still stands alongside the Bargate and the West Gate. Historic England lists the section running west from the Bargate to Arundel Tower, then south past Catchcold Tower, at Grade I. The city’s heritage guides, See Southampton, describe them as the third-longest medieval walls in England.

Southampton Vaults

Southampton’s medieval vaults are stone cellars where the port’s merchants stored imported French wine, while the town grew rich exporting wool, according to the Tudor House and Garden museum. Numerous medieval vaults and cellars are among the city’s 60 scheduled monuments, alongside the town walls and Tudor House itself, the museum notes. See Southampton says the city has more medieval wine vaults than any other town or city, and its guided walks visit vaults that were later used as air-raid shelters during the Second World War.

Southampton Plot

The Southampton Plot was a conspiracy to replace Henry V with Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, uncovered in the summer of 1415 while the king was at Southampton preparing to invade France. Mortimer himself revealed the plot to the king on 31 July 1415. The ringleaders were Richard, Earl of Cambridge, Henry, Lord Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey, whom the contemporary chronicler Thomas Walsingham named as the plotters. All three were executed in Southampton in early August 1415, before Henry sailed on the campaign that led to the Battle of Agincourt. Local tradition places the trial at the site of the Red Lion Inn on Below Bar, but this is folklore, with no contemporary record to support it.

Visiting the Southampton Bargate: Practical Information

• What you can see: The outside of the Bargate is free to see at any time from the High Street. The town walls are open access, with a free, signposted self-guided trail and information panels. The vaults can only be visited on guided walks.
• Inside the Bargate: The interior hasn’t opened regularly since 2012. Southampton City Council most recently opened the main hall on 12–13 and 19–20 September 2026 for Heritage Open Days, an annual festival when historic buildings open their doors for free. It was open 10am–3pm, with last entry at 2.30pm and a maximum of 50 visitors at a time. There was no access to the roof.
• Guided walls and vaults walks: 90-minute walks run on Saturdays and Sundays, visiting the medieval walls and a selection of vaults. See Southampton’s walks start at 10.30am in May, July and September, and at 1.30pm in February, April, June, August, October and December. The Southampton Tourist Guides Association (STGA) runs walks at 1.30pm in November, January and March. There are no walks on 26 or 27 December 2026.
• Meeting point: Beside the lion statues at the Bargate, High Street, Southampton SO14 2DJ.
• Tickets: See Southampton walks cost £12.50, booked online or paid on the day by cash or card. STGA walks cost £11.30 plus a £1.20 booking fee. A walk ticket also gets you 20% off entry to SeaCity Museum and Tudor House.
• Booking: Not required for the walls or the outside of the Bargate. For guided walks, you can book in advance or pay on the day with See Southampton. No pre-booking was needed for the September 2026 Bargate openings.
• Suggested visit length: About 90 minutes for a guided walk.
• Best time to visit: A weekend, when the guided walks run. The Bargate’s interior has so far opened only in September, during Heritage Open Days.
• Accessibility: Inside the Bargate is reached only by steep steps with handrails, and there are no facilities. The guided walks include uneven paving, heights and spiral stone staircases down into the vaults. See Southampton offers bespoke accessible tours and an accessible walk map.
• Nearest station: Southampton Central, about a mile from the city centre.
• Getting there from London: Direct South Western Railway trains run from London Waterloo to Southampton Central in about 1 hour 20 minutes. Southern trains from London Victoria take about 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Managed by: Southampton City Council (the Bargate). Guided walks are run by See Southampton and the STGA.
• Nearby attractions: The West Gate (open Sundays 10am–12pm and 1pm–3pm, free), Tudor House and Garden, and the Medieval Merchant’s House, run by English Heritage.

Prices last checked: October 2026.

Opening hours last checked: October 2026.

Sources: See Southampton, Heritage Open Days: The Bargate, Heritage Open Days: The Bargate access information, STGA walking tour tickets, Visit Southampton: getting here, Visit Southampton: getting here (city centre distance), Southampton Old Town Walk (PDF).

Where to book: The Bargate’s exterior and the town walls are free and need no booking. For walls and vaults walks, book through See Southampton’s tours and events page or the Southampton Tourist Guides Association.

Frequently Asked Questions