The Abbey, Ditcheat
| The Abbey | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Ditcheat |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 1473 |
| Client | John Gunthorpe |
The Abbey, Ditcheat (formerly known as The Priory) is a large house at Ditcheat in Somerset. Originally a rectory, now converted into a house, the Grade II* listed building dates from the 15th century. To the rear of the Abbey is a Grade II listed granary.
House
[edit]The Abbey was built as the rectory by John Gunthorpe who was rector of Ditcheat and Dean of Wells, in 1473. The house was altered in 1667 for Christopher Coward; and given a new facade and rearranged internally in 1864–68, probably by James Piers St Aubyn for Rev. William Leir.[1]
The building is constructed of rubble stone, dressed with freestones. The roof is tiled with stone tiles, there are stone finials and grouped ashlar chimneystacks. Originally set out as a hall house, but changed later to form an L-shaped floorplan. The building is two storeys high, with four gables on the frontage, two smaller triangular ones and two larger ogee headed ones.[1]
The exterior is now mostly his Victorian neo-Tudor; inside there are reused fragments and some original 15th- and 17th-century work – coffered ceilings and the arch-braced roof of the ‘chapel wing’, but most of the elaborate Gothic work dates from the 1860s. It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 2 June 1961.[1]
Granary
[edit]At the rear of the Abbey, there is a square 18th century granary, built round a timber-frame, with brick filled between the wood. The roof is pyramid shaped, tiled and ends in stone tiles. The granary was designated Grade II listed status on 25 February 1988.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Historic England. "The Priory (1275470)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "Granary in grounds at the rear of the priory (1058546)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
Further reading
[edit]Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The Buildings of England: South and West Somerset. p. 150.