Constructed in Norman times as part of the Southampton town walls, it was the main gateway to the city.

The building is a scheduled monument, which has served as a temporary exhibition and event space for Southampton Solent University since 2012.

Alterations were made to the building around 1290, when large drum towers were added to the north side, with arrow slit windows.

[3][4] A two-storey extension was made to the south side towards the end of the 13th century, with four windows lighting the upstairs room.

[10] The accounts also mention a pair of paintings featuring Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart on wooden panels.

[10] The room above the gate itself was probably added shortly after 1400 and the town steward books mention a banquet held there in 1434.

[4][15] The statue was a gift to the town from John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne and is made from Coade stone.

[15][16] Following the establishment of Southampton's police force in February 1836, the upper room was used as a prison[17] The current guildhall within the Bargate was constructed in 1852 and was designed to be used as a criminal court.

[27] In 1951 a museum of local history was opened in the Bargate as part of celebrations to mark the Festival of Britain.

Between 2006 and 2012, following refurbishment funded by the South East England Development Agency, the upper room served as The Bargate Monument Gallery, during which time 42 exhibitions featuring the work of over 250 artists were staged here.

[32] Aside from the crosses of Saints George and Andrew, they are the coats of arms of leading families of the town from the end of the 17th century and early 18th.

[34] These shields were in turn damaged by damp and were heavily decayed by the start of the 20th century, at which point they were patched with mortar held together by iron.