| Summary : Country house built on the claustral range, and incorporating some of the Mediaeval fabric, of the preceding Augustinian Abbey. Built from 1574, remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1806-14 for John Ayton in Regency Gothic Style. It has a courtyard plan, is two-storeyed with castellated parapets, corner turrets with arrow slits and conical caps. The North wing probably incorporates the chapter house, the South range has the frater, and the East range has the monk's dormitory. Until a disastrous fire of 1985, the 15th or 16th century roof of the East range was a rare survival of a monastic roof, but is now destroyed. |