Church House Gloucester, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

GLOUCESTER

SO8318NW COLLEGE GREEN 844-1/8/83 (East side) 23/01/52 No.16 Church House (Formerly Listed as: COLLEGE GREEN The Old Deanery)

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Abbot's Lodging in the former Benedictine Abbey of St Peter, from c1325 the Prior's Lodging, from 1541 the Deanery of Gloucester Cathedral, and from 1941 diocesan offices, now offices, reception rooms and restaurant. Early and mid C12 with major additions and alterations in early C13, C14 and C15; refitted internally in late C16, extensively restored with some alterations, 1863 to 1870, by Fulljames and Waller for Dean Law; restoration c1962 by Waller and Ashwell. Ashlar and rubble, timber frame, lead and tile roofs. PLAN: three linked blocks. BLOCK 1: at south end adjoining the west end of the Cathedral Church (qv), built C12, comprises two parallel, front-gabled ranges; the narrow south range contains the slype, originally the monastic outer parlour, leading to the west alley of the monastic cloister, now the Cathedral Cloister (qv); above the slype the former chapel of the medieval lodging. In C15 the front of the south range set back to align with rebuilt west front of the Cathedral Church (qv). In the block's wider, northern range, on the ground floor an entrance lobby inserted c1200 and service rooms, originally on each of the upper floors a large chamber, later sub-divided. Linking the first block, at its north-west corner, to the second block is a large C14 polygonal stair turret. BLOCK 2: large and double-depth, originally a first-floor hall and chamber, aligned on a north-south axis and to the west of the first block; originally C13, but substantially rebuilt in C14, with courtyard at rear between the block and the west alley of the cloister. BLOCK 3: built against the northern end of the second block, is the eastern two bays of a C15, timber-framed, first-floor hall aligned east-west and reduced to present length in 1649, now known as the Parliament Room; the C15 timber-framed hall built above an undercroft incorporating C13 masonry walls from an earlier hall on the site. The northern side of the block faces Miller's Yard.

EXTERIOR: two and three storeys. BLOCK 1: to right with coped gables to both ranges; the steeply pitched, front gable-end wall of the south range probably rebuilt in C15 reusing C12 and early C13 features: on the ground floor a doorway to slype with nook shafts and moulded semicircular arch, with C15 window tracery inserted in recessed tympanum above a richly-carved, segmental-arched door lintel, the timber, panelled door dated 1614; on the first floor a large, C19, early Perpendicular-style window of three-lights, the upper part of tracery infilled. To left a short, canted wall, with pierced, arcaded parapet, partly infills the re-entrant angle between the fronts of the two ranges. The gabled front of the north range, extensively restored in C19, of two bays; on the ground floor a C13 two-bay arcade with shafts to the jambs and richly moulded arches, each former opening infilled in C19 with window to left and doorway flanked by windows to right in C13 style; on the first floor two windows with outer jambs and semicircular arches of c1200, each infilled in C19 with a window of four arched lights with shafts to mullions and early C13 style plate tracery; on the second floor two large two-light windows, with C13 outer jambs with nook-shafts and moulded arches, the windows renewed in mid C14 with Perpendicular tracery and central transom; each window arch within an applied gablet, between the window gablets the head of the steeply pitched roof gable is decorated with a C12 blind arcade of five stepped panels with chevron moulding in the arches. To left of the front of the block a C14 polygonal stair turret of three stages, with offset plinth, a string course defining each stage, and crenellated parapet, in the lower stages in each face of the turret a slit window placed to accord with the ascent of the stair, and