Watergate, St Ann's Fort, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
The two bricked up arches in this wall were originally an entrance to a fort. It was known as Watergate and led to St Ann's Fort. It was built in c1570. In 1570-1 the Chamberlains' Accounts record payment for the building of St Ann's Fort. It is shown clearly on a manuscript map of 1589. It was the major fortification in Lynn until replaced by defences outside the town in 1839. It was originally just an earthwork platform for canons, some buildings, a section of wall and gate (here) giving access to the Fisher Fleet. In 1625, privateer (pirate) raids on Lynn led to petitioning the King for 12 guns for the battery. These were delivered. Even as late as 1778, when the ten guns in the fort were replaced by ten 18-pounders, the battery had no protective parapet. Until its decommissioning in 1839, it was never more than a coastal battery.
