Founded In the year 914 by Ethelfleda "Lady of the Mercians", Warwick was built on an outcrop of rock overhanging the River Avon. Eastgate is one of the three remaining original gates into the old town of Warwick. Eastgate was reconstructed during the 15th Century when the chapel of St. Peter was built above it. What remains today is the Gothic remodeling of Francis Horn, built around 1788. The roadway that now curves around the building was probably made at the same time with traffic passing through the central archway and pedestrians through a side tunnel.

Clustered around Eastgate and incorporated in the sculpture are some interesting features; namely, a drinking fountain given to the town in 1859 by a Wilmcote quarry owner and a Greek Doric pillar box dating from the reign of Queen Victoria.