The Abbey continued to accumulate property, mainly through endowments and gifts from wealthy patrons, throughout most the mediaeval period. Ultimately it became one of the richest and most significant Augustinian houses in the country. Before long the Abbey comprised a substantial grouping of monastic buildings together with host of other buildings structures and features.
At its peak the establishment of the Abbey consisted of an abbot, a prior (the abbot’s deputy), as many as forty canons, perhaps even more lay brothers, who did most of the physical labour, and about twenty-five boys in the almonry. This very large establishment required not only a church and the buildings centred on the cloister, but also a whole variety of other buildings.
Description of the main abbey buildings
The abbey buildings included:
The Church:
A largely twelfth-century monastic church constructed on a slight artificial rise. Features included a tower at the west end; a crossing marked by transepts that extending beyond the north and south aisles and large side chapels at the eastern end. The church was richly decorated with painted ceiling. The side chapels were also endowed with rich fittings and pictures.
The Cloister:
In line with Augustinian tradition the cloister was positioned to the south of the church. This was where processions formed-up before entering the church, and we know that it had a tiled floor. To the west, east and south of the cloister lay the main abbey buildings.
The West Range:
To the southern end of the range of buildings that led off the western arm of the cloister lay the lavatorium, or wash room, where the canons washed before eating. Between the lavatorium and the church there was a vaulted undercroft, for storage purposes. Above both the lavatorium and the undercroft there was high-status accommodation, probably including the Abbot’s Lodgings.
The East Range:
A small room located between the chapter house and the south transept of the church may have served as the abbey library and possibly also the sacristy. To the south of this room was a much larger room that served as the chapter house, where the canons met every day for prayers, to read a chapter from the rule of their order and to discuss the day’s work. A short passageway, the slype, led between the chapter house and the church onto the graveyard. On the other side of the chapter house, to the south, there lay a second, larger, undercroft. This extended well to the south of the cloister. Above this undercroft lay the dormitory, a long room where the canons slept when they were in residence. The reredortor, or latrine, was probably located immediately to the south of the dormitory.
The South Range:
Most of the south range was occupied by another long room. This was the refectory where the canons ate. As with the dormitory, the refectory was probably located on the first floor, above an undercroft. To the east of this undercroft lay the warming house in which a large fire was kept, making it one of the warmest places in the abbey.
The South Courtyard:
A further range of buildings lay to the south of the south range, enclosing a cobbled yard. On the western side of this yard, and joining onto the refectory, lay a large kitchen, with various fireplaces and ovens, as well as a couple of wells. To the southeast of the courtyard lay a large rectangular building with an apse shaped projection facing north. This projection is believed to have been for an oriel window, and the large rectangular building is thought to have been a guest hall.
The abbey church and the other ranges around the cloister, ‘the claustral buildings’ were all located in a much larger abbey precinct. Other features of this precinct included:
Precinct Walls:
The Abbey’s precinct walls defined two principal enclosures:
The earlier enclosure lay to the north. The original precinct contained the claustral buildings, and was enclosed by dressed sandstone walls with polygonal projecting corner towers and interval towers of varying designs. This wall is believed to date from the thirteenth century, and ran to the east the claustral buildings, along the side of the river, to the north of the claustral buildings, along what is now the south side of Abbey Park Road, and to the west of the claustral buildings, along what is now the east side of St Margaret’s Way. The current walls stone walls were repaired and modified in the twentieth century, but do contain much mediaeval fabric.
A later enclosure to the south. In the late fifteenth or early sixteenth-century, probably in the time of Abbot Penny, the original stone wall that ran along the southern side of the precinct was partly demolished and the precinct extended to the south. The southern extension was enclosed by a brick wall. The majority of the bricks are red, but forty-four patterns or symbols, in black brick feature in the wall.
These include examples of heraldic, lozenges, chevron and chequer patterns, along with crosses and other recognizable symbols, including a portcullis and chalice, as well as Gothic black-letter initials. The surviving section of this brick wall is known as Abbot Penny’s Wall. This runs along St Margaret’s Way.
The Gatehouse:
The Abbey gatehouse was situated on the north side of the precinct, facing away from town. It lay 60 metres (65 yards) to the south of the north wall of the precinct. There was an outer gateway in the north wall of the precinct, which led into a halt-way, flanked by stone walls. The gatehouse itself stood at the southern end of this halt-way. Originally the gatehouse was a simple single storeyed structure consisting of the gate and two flanking rooms, possible porter’s lodges. This was subsequently enlarged. Round turrets at were added to each corner, at least one of which have contained stairs, and a couple of storeys were built above the gate. The enlarged structure was 21 metres (23 yards) long 8.5 metres (9.25 yards), and it is believed that the rooms above the gate provided high-standard lodgings with heated rooms, a belief encouraged by the discovery of a what appears to be a second kitchen just to the west of the gateway.
The Infirmary:
The infirmary was built up against the eastern wall of the precinct, near the river, and guest house. It was used for sick or aged canons, and consisted of two sizeable structures. One of these buildings would have served as a chapel, whilst the other would have been a hall, providing accommodation for the infirm canons, and would have had a latrine at one end.
In addition to the above we also know that the precinct contained an almonry, in which poor boys were educated for free, and provided with a bed, clothing and leftovers from the canons’ refectory, a watermill, where grain from the Abbey’s local holdings was ground to feed the community, a dovecote and a fishpond both of which helped to enrich the diet of the canons.
