The gate is of fourteenth-century date, the two panels with armorial
bearings seen on the western side of the archway being later insertions.
Through the gateway a delightful view is obtained of the picturesque
High Street, with many a high-pitched gable rising above the masses of
irregular architecture; while an ancient clock on a wooden bracket juts
out from the old Queen Anne Guildhall, which has a statue of Her Majesty
over the entrance, the Curfew Tower rising on one side of the building.
A new Guildhall of greater architectural pretensions has been erected in
the Broadway, the original one being now used as a shop.
[Illustration: THE BUTTER CROSS]
From the West Gate the High Street slopes down to the Itchen. On the
right stands the old Butter Cross, in rather a cramped position. Two
reasons have been given for its name: one, that during Lent, those
wishing to eat butter could do so by consuming it by the cross; the
other, and more probable, explanation is that here came farmers wishing
to dispose of their butter, which they exposed for sale on the steps
of the cross.
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