Description

WEST MALLING

TQ6857 SWAN STREET
1156-0/3/157 St Mary's Abbey: Tower to original
25/08/59 Abbey
(Formerly Listed as:
SWAN STREET
St Mary'Abbey)

GV I

Ruins of tower of Abbey church. c1090 built by Archbishop
Gundulf of Rochester who removed an order of Benedictine monks
installed since AD944 and installed Benedictine nuns with an
abbess Aricia brought over from Normandy and rededicated the
Abbey from St Andrew to the Virgin Mary. The base of the tower
is of the early Norman period with late Norman arcading above
C14 octagonal corner turrets and with lean-to erected on the
east side during the C18 by Honeywood. Built of stone rubble
with 2 lowest tiers of arcading of tufa and some Caen stone
dressings. West front has projecting corners, the 1st stage
having c1090 round-headed arches, the 2nd stage having similar
round-headed arches with impost blocks, the 3rd stage with
late Norman blank arcading, the 4th stage with late Noman
blank arcading which continues across the front and the 5th
stage with C14 tall octagonal turrets. Arched doorway with
wooden door surround and 6-plank door with iron handle. Above
is a paired trefoliated window with quatrefoil above. Tall
round-headed blocked arch on either side of doorcase. North
front has blocked-in arch to 1st stage and above window with
double cinquefoil-headed arch. East front has C18 lean-to
built on with 2 double cinquefoil-headed lights resited from
other parts of the Abbey and 2-storey central door, the upper
probably a hayloft. South front obscured by C20 building built
over west side of cloister.

Listing NGR: TQ6829257677

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17530289

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

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)