Historic sandstone arch from former Spanish hermitage on Gibraltar’s Main Street.
St. Jago’s Arch is a historic sandstone arch in Gibraltar, at the southern end of Main Street near Southport Gates. It is the original entrance and sole surviving part of the 16th‑century Spanish Hermitage of Our Lady of the Rosary, now preserved in the façade of St. Jago’s Barracks.
St. Jago’s Arch is a historic sandstone arch in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It stands at the southern end of Main Street, near Southport Gates, set into the western façade of St. Jago’s Barracks. The arch is the original entrance to a 16th‑century Spanish church, the Hermitage of Our Lady of the Rosary, and is all that remains of that building. The church was dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and lay at the southern limits of the old town, as depicted in a 1567 panoramic sketch of Gibraltar and its bay by Anton van den Wyngaerde. After the 1704 Capture of Gibraltar, the British converted the church into military stores, retaining the ornate entrance and incorporating it into the larger barracks. Earlier suggestions that the arch had been moved from another church in the old town were later disproven, and it is now accepted that the structure has always remained in its original position. St. Jago’s Arch is defined as a Category B Listed Structure under the Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act of 1989, and a conservation project on nearby defensive walls was extended to include its restoration, with plans for information and lighting of the monument.
