Derry City Walls

The Derry City Walls are about 1 mile in circumference with the entire length accessible on foot. The wall has seven gates, four of which were built at the same time as the walls themselves and three were added in later years. The fact that the city’s walls have never been breached gave rise to one of its nicknames; the Maiden City.

Original gates:

1. Ferryquay Gate gave access to the ferryquay on the River Foyle and was the first gate to be closed by the Apprentice Boys during the siege of Derry.
2. Shipquay Gate originally gave near-direct access to the River Foyle, before the land that became the Guildhall was reclaimed from the River.
3. Bishop’s Gate was replaced with a triumphal arch in 1789.
4. Butcher’s Gate was named for the street immediately inside the walls where many of the city’s butchers were based.

Added gates:

1. New Gate was built in the 1790s and reinforced during the tensions that lead to the 1798 United Irish rebellion.
2. Castle Gate was built between 1805 and 1808.
3. Magazine Gate is the most recent gate to be added, being built in 1888 and gave access directly to the riverfront.