Rectory Gate and St. Michael's Hall

There is a drawing by Swiss artist Samuel Hieronymous Grimm of circa 1780 which shows a substantial gatehouse. From 1719 this housed George Wheeler's Charity School, a Blue Coat School for Girls. This was replaced in the Victorian period by a smaller castellated gateway with metal gates in its archway (HER 7011). This was flanked on the south by a small house (labelled as an inn on second edition OS) and on the north by St. Michael's Church Hall. The church hall was formally opened by Bishop Lightfoot on 10th January 1882. It was known at first as the 'New Room at Rectory Gate' but was renamed St. Michael's Hall in 1884. The Broadway was widened in the 1950s. This meant demolishing the gate and flanking buildings. The castellated gateway was rebuilt across the road at the entranceway to the church, minus its metal gates.