| |
|
|
|
| Discovering history in stone and timber
This brief guide takes you round the four sides, or ranges, of the Abbey, and then into the courtyard. As you look, you can see nearly 800 years of history.
|
|
| The oldest part of the building is the NORTH RANGE. This is thought to be the original stone building, dating from the early 13th century, probably on the site of the earlier Saxon priest's house mentioned in Domesday Book. The low stone doorway midway down the North Range and the tiny window above it are Norman, and mark the central crosspassage of the ground floor (the present kitchen). The first floor windows at the northwest corner still have the 14th century stonework of the original Solar or Great Hall, which was then two storeys high and open to the roof. |
|
|
 |
| The WEST RANGE is little changed since it was built in about 1290, except for the parapet and large glass doors which are 19th century. Until then, the roofline swept down unbroken to small low windows. Originally the Great Hall was entirely timber-framed, but fairly soon its massive roof timbers began to lean, so the walls were encased in stone to buttress the whole structure. |
|
 |
| Probably dating from the mid 16th century, the SOUTH RANGE is the newest part of the building, consisting of a fine central room (the present 'Hearth') and the large square kitchen block on the south-east corner (the present office). The hipped roof and Gothic windows are of 18th or early 19th century date. |
|
 |
The EAST RANGE was completed at about the time Thomas Courtenay, who was deeply involved in the Wars of the Roses, was convicted of treason, beheaded and his Sutton lands confiscated by Edward IV. In the centre there was at first a single storey stone wall which was later topped by a partially overhanging, timber-framed first-floor suite of rooms. Some of the late medieval timberwork is visible on the inner, courtyard side. |
|
| Looking at the brick paving of the COURTYARD you see the form of a timber corridor, probably Victorian, which gave access to the rooms surrounding the courtyard. It was pulled down in 1979. The garden has been recreated from the quagmire of surface drains and builders' rubble left by a developer who purchased the house in 1978. |
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
