The Black Gate, which originally sported a portcullis and drawbridge, was created on the orders of Henry III and constructed from 1247 to 1250 CE, to supplement the adjacent Castle (see previous photos), essentially a large barbican for the castle. You'll notice it isn't actually black - the name derives from the 1600s, when it was no longer being used as a defensive structure and had been let out to tenants, the most prominent of whom was a merchant called Patrick Black. In the years between then and the 1800s it was allowed to fall into serious decline, before the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle leased it and set about restoring it, thankfully, or we may not have had this today. As I mentioned in the previous set of pictures of the castle keep, the two structures were divided by a Victorian railway viaduct in the 1800s (when the area around them was a bit of a slum), and since that carries the main Edinburgh to London rail line to this day, they are still divided by it. There's a small but lovely museum in the Black Gate - shout out to the staff there, who were very nice and friendly