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Dundee, Panmure Street, The Lion's Round
Tower (16th Century), Town Wall (16th Century)
Site Name Dundee, Panmure Street, The Lion's Round
Classification Tower (16th Century), Town Wall (16th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Wellgate
Canmore ID 33489
Site Number NO43SW 31
NGR NO 4032 3052
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/33489
- Council Dundee, City Of
- Parish Dundee (Dundee, City Of)
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District City Of Dundee
- Former County Angus
NO43SW 31 4032 3052.
(NO 4032 3052) Where the 16th century town wall changed course at Panmure Street for Wellgate (NO43SW 12), there was a fortififed position. In 1621 this was termed "the town's blockhouse at the meadow". This defensive work, which appears to have stood forward from the angle of the wall, was afterwards called the "Lion's Round" and is shown as such on Crawford's map (information from Crawford' map, 1776).
A Maxwell 1891.
Publication Account (1988)
At the point at which the 16th-century town wall changed direction at the junction of the present Panmure Street and Meadowside, there reputedly stood a fortified position, assumed by Maxwell to be contemporary with the 16th-century security arrangements. The block house is said to have stood forward from the angle of the wall, and was subsequently known as the Lion's Round (Crawford, 1776). There is no information relating to the appearance of this structure. The use of the word 'round' has obvious implications, and strategically, a circular tower at the junction of two walls at right angles to each other has greater appeal. The introduction of Panmure Street (1839) and Meadowside, led inevitably to the development of the foot of the Murraygate and Wellgate backlands, which, by 1858, (OS 25", 1858, LIV, 5) were replete and the site of the Lion's Round built over. These buildings were removed after 1952 and the site is now occupied by a car park. Excavation of service trenches adjacent to the site in 1984 indicated only shall (1ft 9in (0.55m) modern deposits above geological levels. Neither circumstance encourages optimism regarding the survival of what must have been a relatively substantial structure.
Information from ‘Historic Dundee: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1988).
