# Sheep Gate

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Town gate in Trim, Ireland

Sheep Gate Geata an Chaora Location within Ireland General information Type town gate Location Trim, County Meath, Ireland Coordinates 53°33′19″N 6°47′16″W / 53.555281°N 6.787875°W / 53.555281; -6.787875 Completed 13th/14th century AD Technical details Material limestone, mortar Design and construction Designations Designations National monument of Ireland Official name Sheep Gate Reference no. 469

The **Sheep Gate** is a [town gate](/source/City_gate) in [Trim](/source/Trim%2C_County_Meath), [Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland). It is a [National Monument](/source/National_Monument_(Ireland)).[1]

## History

Illustration from *Wakeman's handbook of Irish antiquities* (1903), showing Sheep Gate and [Yellow Steeple](/source/Yellow_Steeple).

The Sheep Gate is the only surviving gate of five that once provided access to Trim. The [town wall](/source/Defensive_wall) and its gates were built in the 13th or 14th century. Sheep Gate may have been so named as a toll was charged here for [sheep](/source/Sheep) being brought in to be sold at market: in 1290, the [murage](/source/Murage) and [pavage](/source/Pavage) tax was [one penny](/source/Penny_(English_coin)) per ten sheep, reduced to a [farthing](/source/Farthing_(English_coin)) in 1308. The name could also derive from the archaic meaning of [cheap](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cheap), meaning "market" (cf. [Cheapside](/source/Cheapside)). This name is not recorded before the 19th century; it may have been known as the Porch Gate, possibly from French *porte* ("door"), which may also give its name to the [Porch Fields](/source/Porch_Fields) lying outside the city walls.[2] The gate was locked between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.[3]

## The gate

Sheep Gate with [Trim Castle](/source/Trim_Castle) behind.

Sheep Gate with Yellow Steeple behind.

View of Sheep Gate, with Boyne in foreground.

The gate was the southeastern entrance to the town, and is located just north of the [River Boyne](/source/River_Boyne). Sheep Gate survives as a stone archway.[4][5]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Geograph:: Trim Town Wall: Sheep Gate (C) Anthony Foster"](http://www.geograph.ie/photo/2696393). *Geograph.ie*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Michael Potterton. ["THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL TRIM, COUNTY MEATH"](http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/5121/2/Michael_Potterton_20140624130008.pdf) (PDF). *Eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie*. Retrieved 4 November 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Sheep Gate"](http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/county-meath/trim/sights/landmarks-monuments/sheep-gate). *Lonelyplanet.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Sheep Gate"](http://www.irishstones.org/place.aspx?p=403). *Irishstones.org*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Ireland"](http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Ireland/North/Meath/photo1393186.htm). *Trekearth.com*.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sheep Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep_Gate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep_Gate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.