Queens Gate
This “Gate” can still be found near the base of the start of the upper zigzag bit of Charles V Wall. (See LINK) Prince Ferdinand’s battery lies just alongside but perhaps most memorable of all is the fact that most of the tourists visiting Gibraltar will go through it to have a look at Gibraltar’s well known apes. (See LINK) The entire area is today known as the Apes’ Den.
An ape on the windscreen of a dangerously exposed convertible - the semi-hidden plaque suggests 1787 as the date of its construction
One of the many red information plaques which may or may not still be found in situ - The date given is slightly different to that shown on the previous photo
There are several other anomalies on the above plaque. Philip II may have commissioned improvements and additions to the Wall but the person who originally ordered its construction was his father Charles V. Nor is the implication that it was just Philip himself who called himself King of England - He was and was acknowledged as jure uxoris King of England and Ireland by the English Parliament of the day - and by everybody else ever since.
A possible justification for the discrepancy in dates can be found in E. R. Kenyon’s Gibraltar under Moor, Spaniard and Briton:
A possible justification for the discrepancy in dates can be found in E. R. Kenyon’s Gibraltar under Moor, Spaniard and Briton:
From 1787 to 1791, Major-General O’Hara was commandant, during which time the Lines were strengthened, and Queen’s Gate and Road were made under the supervision of Captain Haynes, who was the Garrison Quartermaster and after whom “Haynes Cave” was probably named.
On a copy of a photograph from which the above crop is taken, the grilled doorway though Charles the V wall is captioned Puerta de la Reina - Queen’s Gate. I am not entirely sure whether the photograph was taken from Prince Ferdinand’s Battery .
The Apes Den (1954 - Bryan de Guineau)
Queen Elizabeth visited the Barbary apes - as did her children - during her 1954 visit. (See LINK) The apes’ headquarters are known as “The Ritz” - are visible in the sketch. Queen’s Gate is framed by two ancient cannons which are also shown. They are still there but I don’t know when they were installed. The windscreen wiper of the artist’s car was ripped off during his visit and its rubber chewed off by one of the apes. Hopefully the animals were a bit more respectful during the main event.
The gate can still be found above Queen’s Gate and more or less in the middle of the upper zigzag bit of Charles V Wall - hence the descriptive name. It is included - as is Queen’s Gate - as a “Listed Structure” in a schedule produced by the Gibraltar Government dated 1989.
Charles V Wall showing Queen’s Gate, Middle Gate and St Michael’s Gate (see LINK) (1908 Ordnance Map)
Modern town plan showing the names of the various roads that traverse the three “gates” along the upper section of Charles V Wall - Queen’s Road, Charles V Road and St Michael’s Road
Finally I am forced to leave it to the reader to guess which queen the gate is referring to. Queen Ann? Unlikely.