City gates 1The gates in 1836
City gates
Original title: Portas da Cidade
Describes the gates in Funchal's old city walls, listing those still standing in 1836 and when each was demolished, together with older references from 1597, King Sebastião's fortification regulations and Frutuoso.
1The gates in 1836
Like all old cities, Funchal had its gates, which were closed at hours fixed in advance by the authorities and opened only when reveille sounded. In some cities these gates were defended by fortifications intended to keep out any enemy attackers. We do not know whether the gates of this city, apart from those next to the forts, had any elements of military defence.
At the beginning of the 19th century our city had sixteen gates, and in 1836 only eleven remained. Some were demolished in the period from 1836 to 1839, and none of them survives today apart from the Alfândega gate and perhaps an opening that still exists in the city’s curtain wall (cortina, the defensive wall of the city), near the Fort of São Tiago (St James the Greater). The gates still standing in 1836 are given in the following list, which is more complete than the one we published on p. 322 of volume I of this work:
- The two gates between the Fort of São Tiago and the so-called New Fort (Forte Novo) and the Pelourinho (‘pillory’), the eastern one being the gate we have already mentioned
- the Our Lady of Calhau (Nossa Senhora do Calhau) gate, between the New Fort and the Pelourinho at the mouth of Rua da Boa Viagem, which was demolished in 1836 when work began on the Praça Académica
- the Varadouros (‘slipways’) gate, demolished in 1911, which replaced the one taken down when the arch and chapel of the same name were built there (see p. 467 of volume II), and which continued to be one of the city gates
- the gate at the southern end of Rua do Sabão, demolished in 1836
- the gate of the Customs House fort (Forte da Alfândega)
- the Saúde gate, between the nursing home (Casa da Saúde) (see City Entrance) and the Fort of St Lawrence, pulled down in 1839 when the Entrada da Cidade (‘entrance to the city’), today Avenida João Gonçalves Zarco, was built
- the São Lázaro gate, at the top of Rua dos Aranhas, which also bore this name, demolished in 1904
- the St Paul gate, next to the chapel of the same name, demolished in 1839
- the Carreira (‘track’) gate, below the British cemetery, which was built in 1865
The Pico (‘peak’) gate, which stood between the chapel of St Paul and Rua da Bela Vista, likewise demolished in 1865.
Of the other five gates that existed at the beginning of the 19th century, there is no reliable information about where they stood.
2Earlier records of the gates
A book in the archive of the Municipal Council shows that in 1597 there were the following gates on the seaward side: that of Rua do Peixe, that of the Varadouros, that of Rua do Sabão and that of the Fortress. We cannot establish exactly where the first of these gates stood, but there are strong reasons to believe that it lay near the present Praça de São Pedro and was the same gate that Frutuoso places near the butchers’ stalls.
The regulations (regimento) for the fortification works issued by King Sebastian refer to the opening of two gates on the seaward side, between the fortress and the church of Our Lady of Calhau. In ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), Frutuoso mentions three gates in the wall along the Ribeira de João Gomes, and also three others on the south side: one beside the said church of Our Lady of Calhau, another further towards the middle of the city, near the butchers’ stalls, and the third, ‘the most important, at the Varadouros’.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 06-
A municipal book recorded four seaward gates in Funchal.
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Of the eleven city gates remaining in Funchal in 1836, several were demolished between 1836 and 1839.
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The Funchal council put the Entrada da Cidade works out to tender on 8 February 1839 and awarded the contract on 22 February; the Porto da Saúde gate was demolished to build the street.
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In Funchal the Carreira gate was built and the Pico gate demolished.
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The São Lázaro gate of Funchal was demolished.
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The Varadouros chapel and gate in Funchal, together with the adjoining stretch of city wall, were demolished.
Place
Places mentioned · 21- Portas da Cidade · Subject
Funchal
The Portas da Cidade were the gates in Funchal's old city walls. The Elucidário lists those still standing in 1836 and when each was demolished, and gives older references from 1597, King Sebastião's fortification regulations and Frutuoso.
- Avenida Zarco
Funchal. Former Entrada da Cidade, built 1839 when the Saúde gate was pulled down.
Avenida Zarco is an avenue in Funchal that replaced the former Entrada da Cidade, built in 1839 when the Saúde gate was pulled down. Buildings on or overlooking it included the old Commercial Association building, which housed the Escola Elementar do Comércio, the house of the Clube Republicano da Madeira and the Club Restauração. A triumphal arch was erected on it for the quincentenary of the discovery of Madeira, and a procession of visitors from Tenerife was greeted there with the Spanish anthem.
- British Cemetery
Funchal. The Carreira gate lay below it.
The British (Protestant) cemetery in Funchal dates from a licence of 1761. The first burial ground stood where the Largo do Conde do Ribeiro Real is now, and the present cemetery was built in 1808 and enlarged in 1852 and 1889. It lies on Rua da Carreira, next to the new bishop's palace, and holds a memorial stone to the Reverend R. T. Lowe.
- Chapel of St Paul
Funchal. The São Paulo gate stood beside it.
A chapel in Funchal built by Zargo near his stone house, from which the parish of São Pedro originated and which was its first seat. The first hospital was built beside it, about 1469. It gives its name to the square, lane and locality of São Paulo.
- Church of Our Lady of Calhau
Funchal. Gates were opened between it and the fortress.
The Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Calhau was Funchal's first parish church, begun around 1438 on the shore by the left bank of the Ribeira de João Gomes. It was repeatedly damaged by floods and destroyed by the great flood of 1803; its chancel was kept as a memorial until the ruins were demolished in 1835 for a market.
- Fortress of São Lourenço
Funchal. The Saúde gate stood near it.
The São Lourenço fortress in Funchal was begun as a simple bastion under the fourth and fifth captains-donatary and completed by the reign of D. Sebastião; its main entrance faces the Largo da Restauração. It later served as a palace and housed the Funchal meteorological station, and the republican flag was raised there on 6 and 7 October 1910. The Elucidário also records its heraldic emblems, a 1635 inscription, an old chapel of São Lourenço and the loss of its statue of the saint in 1911.
- Fortress of São Tiago
Funchal. An opening in the wall near it may survive from an old gate.
A fortress on the Funchal waterfront at the eastern end of the landing shore, dated 1614 during Spanish rule and rebuilt in 1767; it later housed a mountain artillery battery. Prisoners were held there in 1823 and 1828, the Republican flag was raised there on 7 October, and it fired during the 1916 bombardment of Funchal.
- Funchal
The city whose gates are described.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- New Fort
Funchal. Gates stood between it and São Tiago and the Pelourinho.
Gates stood between it and São Tiago and the Pelourinho.
- Nursing home
Funchal. The Saúde gate stood beside it.
The Casa da Saúde is a building at the Entrada da Cidade in Funchal, beside which stood the Saúde gate. It housed the Commercial Association, the health station and the harbour office. The municipal council met there from 1784 and again at several later dates.
- Pelourinho
Funchal. Landmark bounding several seaward gates.
The Pelourinho was the pillory of Funchal, ordered by D. Manuel in 1486, built of jasper and demolished by council decision in 1835. The fort of São Filipe lay south of it, and it served as a landmark bounding several seaward city gates.
People
People mentioned · 02- Gaspar Frutuoso1522–1591
Author of Saudades da Terra, which describes the gates in Funchal's wall.
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King of Portugal whose regulations for Funchal's fortification works provided for two seaward gates.