Description

BURLESCOMBE
ST 01 NE
5/2 Canonsleigh Priory Gatehouse
24.10.51
5.4.66
GV I

Former Priory Gatehouse. C15. Local stone rubble with mostly Beerstone ashlar
detail but also some Hamstone and some red sandstone ashlar.
Plan: large double gateway with chamber over. The original outside front faced
west-south-west, say west. A newel stair turret projects from the left (north) end
and the chamber probably had a right gable-end stack.
Exterior: on the front both gateways are blocked. Nevertheless the right one shows
as a flattened Tudor arch. Only the right half of the left arch shows. It was
apparently smaller than the other even though the vaulted roofs of the carriageways
are of equal height. The chamber above has a Hamstone square-headed 2-light window
with moulded mullion, ogee heads and carved spandrels. A collapsed gap at the right
end may have contained another window. Between this and the window is a large
Hamstone image-niche with an ogee-head, and towards the right end an quatrefoil-
shaped ventilator. Along the top at the left end is the remains of a moulded
Beerstone cornice with the remains of an embattled parapet. The roof is missing but
each end there are low pitch gables, the right one containing an C18 brick-lined
oculus. The original cornice this end is better-preserved. The rear elevation
(originally inside the Priory enclosure) contains a pair of similar large plain
segmental-headed carriageway arches, the left (south) one partly blocked with C20
concrete blocks.
Interior: the southern carriageway has an inner front arch of high quality
craftsmanship; a Tudor arch with a broad moulded surround enriched with a regular
series of carvings featuring fourleaf motifs, masks, birds etc. This carriageway
appears to have been walled off in the late C16 - early C17 since the inserted floor
is carried on moulded oak beams. The inside of the northern vault is plain. A red
sandstone 2-centred arch leads off from the carriageway to the newel stair. The
chamber is now open to the sky. There is a collapsed alcove in the southern end
which might have been a fireplace and an alcove alongside it was probably a
garderobe.
This is an interesting relic of monasticism although its poor state of preservation
creates concern over its future.

Listing NGR: ST0669917381

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Canonsleigh Abbey at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5033411

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback