GLOUCESTER BLACKFRIARS

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BLACKFRIARS

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Gloucester Blackfriars is a Dominican Priory that was founded in 1239 by Sir Stephen de Hermshall and consecrated in 1284. It is thought to be the most complete survival of a medieval Dominican priory in Britain. The buildings were constructed of stone rubble with dressed stone features. It was built under the patronage of King Henry III using royal funds and materials. The oak of the church roof came from royal forests including those at Dean and Gillingham. The buildings were arranged around a cloister and included a church, library (or 'Scriptorium' as it was known), buttery and infirmary. The Scriptorium is thought to be England's oldest surviving library building. The church was originally cruciform in plan comprising a long chancel, crossing with north and south transepts, and an aisled nave. It had an impressive open timber roof (still extant) with close-set scissor trusses.

The priory was dissolved as part of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539 and the buildings were purchased by Sir Thomas Bell, a merchant cloth maker and draper. Between 1540 and 1545, Bell remodelled the church for conversion into a Tudor mansion. The north side of the church became the main front of the house; the chancel and nave were truncated and closed by gable-end walls with central projecting chimney stacks. The north nave aisle was completely demolished and the south aisle partly demolished. A large canted bay window was added in the north wall, the chancel remodelled to form the great hall, and floors and partitions added to the transepts to form chambers. The other claustral buildings became a cloth manufactory. In the 19th century the west range became a row of terrace houses. There were various alterations to the buildings from the 18th century for a range of commercial uses. The site underwent restoration from around 1960, first by the Ministry of Works and later by English Heritage.

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(SO 82961844) Friar's Lodge (NAT) (1)

BLACKFRIARS

Bell's Place, Friar's Lodge, Mr Washbourn's House (formerly listed as Nos 7, 9, 11)

SO 8218 SE 5/285 23.1.52.

C13 to C18. Of first rate importance incorporating remains of church, conventual buildings and precinct wall of Black Friars Dominican friary. (See also under Commercial Road (North Side) and Ladybellegate Street). AM. (2)

The Friary was founded before 1241 and surrendered in 1538. Houses were converted from the church and East cloister range of the Friary in 1540-5, and later into a textile factory, itself altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the 1960's the interior has been restored to display the Mediaeval fabric of the church. The church is cruciform with an aisled nave. Both the nave and chancel were truncated when converted in the 1540's. The South and east ranges of the friary have been purchased since the 1950's and the friary has been gradually restored. (1-6)

There is evidence of painted decoration throughout the priory, including traces of paint within the carrels in the library, remains of an inscription on the lavabo, and paint which may relate to the later conversion of the church building. The most important survival is the painting within the window splays in the east range, once the Abbot's Lodgings. The decoration was once remarkably complex, consisting of foliage, birds and rosettes against a reddish-brown background, with traces of a patron figure and scrolls bearing inscriptions. The scheme is likely to have been used throughout the ground floor of the east range and clearly originally extended beyond the existing wall. Painted imitation tapestry was popular throughout the Middle Ages. The paintings have deteriorated rapidly and are now in a damaged, but stable condition. (7)

Black Friars, Gloucester is a Dominican Priory that was founded in 1239 by Sir Stephen de Hermshall and consecrated in 1284. It is thought to be the most complete survival of a medieval Dominican priory in Britain. The buildings were constructed of stone rubble with dressed stone features. It was built under the patronage of King Henry III using royal funds and materials. The oak of the church roof came from royal forests including those at Dean and Gillingham. The buildings were arranged around a cloister and included a church, library (or 'Scriptorium' as it was known), buttery and infirmary. The Scriptorium is thought to be England's oldest surviving library building. The church was originally cruciform in plan comprising a long chancel, crossing with north and south transepts, and an aisled nave. It had an impressive open timber roof (still extant) with close-set scissor trusses.

The Priory was dissolved as part of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539 and the buildings were purchased by Sir Thomas Bell, a merchant cloth maker and draper. Between 1540 and 1545, Bell remodelled the church for conversion into a Tudor mansion. The north side of the church became the main front of the house; the chancel and nave were truncated and closed by gable-end walls with central projecting chimney stacks. The north nave aisle was completely demolished and the south aisle partly demolished. A large canted bay window was added in the north wall, the chancel remodelled to form the great hall, and floors and partitions added to the transepts to form chambers. The other claustral buildings became a cloth manufactory. In the 19th century the west range became a row of terrace houses. There were various alterations to the buildings from the 18th century for a range of commercial uses. The site underwent restoration from around 1960, first by the Ministry of Works and later by English Heritage. (2-3,8-9)

One of the most complete friaries of the Dominican "black friars" in England. It was later converted into a Tudor house and cloth factory. The standout features are the church and the scissor-braced dormitory roof. (10)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:1250, 1970

( 2) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

City of Gloucester, MAR-1973 844 Page(s)10

(3) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

City of Gloucester, 15-DEC-1998 844-1

(4) English Heritage List of Scheduled Monuments, South West Region: Gloucestershire, Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire

Page(s)23

(5) by David Verey 1976 Gloucestershire : the Vale and the Forest of Dean

The buildings of England Page(s)226-7

(6) B M Morley 1979 Blackfriars, Gloucester

(7) Caroline Babington, Tracy Manning and Sophie Stewart 1999 Our painted past : wall paintings of English Heritage

(8) World Wide Web page

Living Gloucester. http://www.livinggloucester.co.uk/histories/monasteries/blackfriars/ [Accessed 12-MAY-2008]

(9) World Wide Web page

2008. English Heritage. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/blackfriars.pdf [Accessed 12-MAY-2008]

(10) 2009 English Heritage Visitor Handbook 2009/10

Page(s)101

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MONUMENT NO. 115345
GLOUCESTER

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Houses converted from the West range of the Dominican Friary (SO81NW46) in 1540-45, with late 18th and late19th century alterations. This part of the ...

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