St Jago's Arch Restored

This article first appeared in a Gibraltar Heritage Trust Supplement

 in the Gibraltar Chronicle on 31st August 2010,

by Manolo Galliano.

SAVING 'NUESTRA SENORA DEL ROSARIO'

Few Gibraltarians passing by the building fronting the Main Street side of the Income Tax building at the southern end of town bother to even glance at the blocked-up doorway, located therein. This is a far cry from the hundreds of curious tourists from all nationalities who invariably stop to take photographs of it and also read the descriptive plaque inserted on the wall. The latter, which was set up in the mid 1960's, has completely incorrect information, as the said gateway was never transported from any other defunct church in any other district, but has been in situ since it was built as part of the original building in the early 16th century. This seems to be a sad state of affairs, especially taking into account that it is one of the very few relics of Gibraltar's past encompassing the Spanish occupation of the fortress and bearing in mind its obvious deteriorated state.

 

General view of the arch

Crumbling stonework on the pillars 

Stonework eroding away

This doorway is all that remains of a small chapel called the Hermitage of Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary), built circa 1530/40. It is constructed of sandstone in the Renaissance style architecture, encompassing elegant fluted columns, an archway with roundels and an architrave decorated with rosette symbols. It is almost identical to the existing blocked-up archway which formed the main entrance to the church of the Franciscan monastery, remodelled and enlarged circa 1533, now the Governor's residence and situated inside the garages at the back of the Convent.

The hermitage appears in a series of preparatory sketches and drawings of Gibraltar undertaken by the Flemish artist Anton Van de Wyngaerde in 1567 as a commission for King Philip II of Spain. He had previously travelled to London in order to draw views of the capital for the said king on the occasion of his marriage to Queen Mary Tudor in 1554. These drawings, which are now in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, include a small rectangular building at the southern end of the city, designated as Nuestra Senora del Rosario, which is shown as having a very ornate doorway, under a triangular pediment (the latter no longer in existence).

Alonso Hernandez del Portillo in his 'Historia de la Muy Noble y Mas Leal Ciudad de Gibraltar' written between 1610 and 1622, states that the Baluarte de Nuestra Senora del Rosario (now South Bastion) was so called due to the proximity of the hermitage to the said fortification.

Luis Bravo in his 'Gibraltar Fortificada' (Mss.Add.15.152 in the British Museum), dated 30 January 1627 and dedicated to Don Gaspar de Guzman, Conde Duque de Olivares, prepared various detailed plans of the fortifications of Gibraltar. In a bird's eye view drawing of the layout of houses and streets, the hermitage can be clearly seen in its present location, being shown as a rectangular building, topped by a cross, with its entrance to the main street.

The Revd. Geronimo de la Concepcion in his 'Emporio de el Orbe; Cadiz Ilustrada' of 1690, writing about Gibraltar, lists a total of 16 religious establishments including the Hermitage of Nuestra Senora del Rosario.

  

1627 plan showing the hermitage of Nuestra Senora del Rosario just to the left of the Southport Gates.

1753 plan showing the hermitage as a store house.

With the capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch forces on 24 July 1704, all the churches, chapels and convents, with the exception of the Franciscan monastery (now the Convent) and the Church of St. Mary the Crowned (now the Roman Catholic Cathedral), were either looted or taken over by the occupying forces for other tactical purposes, including as stores. This was indeed the case with the Hermitage of Nuestra Senora del Rosario which is shown as being utilised as a storeroom in the 'Particular Survey of the City of Gibraltar' undertaken in 1753. The said plan shows a small rectangular building with access to the main street, having a series of pillars, dividing it into two aisles and at the eastern end having four narrow steps going up to a platformed area, which would originally have been the sanctuary for the altar.

Doorway circa turn of the 20th century, doorway reads 'Ordnance Store Department'.

Main Street early 1900s after conversion of the barrack block.

During the Great Siege of 1779/1783, the southern side of the city escaped the worst of the damage inflicted by the heavy bombardment of the Spanish and French besieging forces and it is very possible that the hermitage survived this onslaught. Nevertheless, in 1883, most of the building was demolished in order to construct the Royal Engineers Barracks, later known as the St. Jago's Barracks. Fortunately, the western facade which contained the original ornate gateway was kept and incorporated into the fabric of the new building. The latter would, over the years house the St. Jago's School (1958-1972) and shortly after the offices of the Income Tax Department.

Who could have surmised in the early 16th century, that the use of the place would change so drastically from ecclesiastical to the military and then to the educational, finalising in the financial! 

22nd January 2014: The restoration of the arch has been undertaken by the Gibraltar Museum and was officially unveiled last night by the Minister for Heritage. A superb restoration to a feature of our urban heritage. http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=32557