Battlefields›Closing of the Gates of Derry
Jacobite Risings

Closing of the Gates of Derry

1688
Londonderry, northern_ireland
Era
Jacobite Risings
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Londonderry, northern_ireland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Jacobite regiment of the Earl of Antrim ('Redshanks')
VS
Victor
Protestant apprentices and city garrison (Williamite-aligned defenders of Derry)
Outcome
On 7 December 1688 thirteen apprentice boys seized the keys of the city and shut the Ferryquay Gate against the Earl of Antrim's regiment (about 1,200 Catholic Scottish 'Redshanks'), sent by Lord Deputy Tyrconnell to garrison Derry for King James II in place of the withdrawn Protestant garrison of Viscount Mountjoy. The regiment withdrew, and the act of defiance precipitated the Siege of Derry, which began in April 1689.
The Battle

History & Significance

Closing of the Gates of Derry was a Jacobite siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1688. Protestant apprentices and city garrison (Williamite-aligned defenders of Derry) prevailed over Jacobite regiment of the Earl of Antrim ('Redshanks'). On 7 December 1688 thirteen apprentice boys seized the keys of the city and shut the Ferryquay Gate against the Earl of Antrim's regiment (about 1,200 Catholic Scottish 'Redshanks'), sent by Lord Deputy Tyrconnell to garrison Derry for King James II in place of the withdrawn Protestant garrison of Viscount Mountjoy. The regiment withdrew, and the act of defiance precipitated the Siege of Derry, which began in April 1689.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Closing of the Gates of Derry lies on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.

Casualties & Losses
  • None recorded; the gate-closing was a bloodless act of defiance, not combat.
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman World
Ireland was never conquered by Rome, so this traces the island's Iron Age kingdoms and its contact with the Roman world.
Historic Records
The 19th-century records of this place: valuations, Ordnance Survey memoirs and topographical accounts.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Closing of the Gates of Derry

Domnach dola. church & graveyard
Domnach dola. church & graveyard
Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~2.3 mi

Domnach dola is a post-medieval ecclesiastical site consisting of a church and graveyard located in County Derry, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Southern Highland Group, a sequence of psammite and pelite formed during the Middle Cambrian period, which gives the underlying…

Standing stone
Standing stone
Scheduled monument · PREHISTORIC · ~3.1 mi

Standing Stone, Derry is a prehistoric standing stone located in County Derry, Northern Ireland. The monument is recorded by the Historic Environment Division under reference 11848. Standing stones of this type are typically monolithic pillars of stone raised upright in the landscape, belonging t…

Doherty tower, castle aileach. castle & earthwork enclosure
Doherty tower, castle aileach. castle & earthwork enclosure
Scheduled monument · MED/L.MED · ~3.5 mi

Doherty Tower, Castle Aileach is a medieval and late medieval fortification comprising a stone tower and earthwork enclosure situated in County Derry, Northern Ireland. The structure occupies a commanding position on bedrock of the Southern Highland Group, formed during the Middle Cambrian period…

Eglinton, grocers' buildings. plantation village site
Eglinton, grocers' buildings. plantation village site
Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~5.8 mi

Eglinton grocers' buildings plantation village site is a post-medieval settlement located in Derry, Northern Ireland. The site preserves evidence of the grocery trade buildings that formed part of the planned village settlement established during the plantation period in Ulster. Archaeological in…

Church gable
Church gable
Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~5.8 mi

Church gable is a post-medieval ecclesiastical site located in Derry, Northern Ireland, protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference HB26:011925. The monument lies upon bedrock of the Roe Valley Group, a geological formation dating to the Tournaisian period, composed of sandston…

Ebrington barracks. fortification
Scheduled monument · C18TH · ~0.2 miles
St brecan's chapel, st columb's chapel, domnach min-cluane. chapel & graveyard on earlier site
Scheduled monument · E.CHRIST. · ~0.4 miles
Linear, connected cellars
Scheduled monument · POST-MED · ~0.4 miles
More from this era

Other Jacobite Risings Battles

Battle of Landguard Fort
1667
England
Battle of Dungeness (1666)
1666
England
Battle of Rullion Green, 1666
1666
Midlothian, Scotland
Stand-off at the Fords of Arkaig
1665
Scotland
In the same landscape

Battles near Closing of the Gates of Derry

Siege of Derry
1689
~0.7 miles away
Battle of the Bogside
1969
~0.7 miles away
Battle site (CAW)
1200
~1.4 miles away
Docwra and Niall Garbh: Raids through Londonderry and Tyrone
1602
~8.3 miles away
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