| Summary : A roofless ruin at Keswell Priory which is presumed to be the refectory. It has late 15th - early 16th century origins, although the walls were mostly rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. The building is of stone rubble construction and is a rectangular plan building running parallel with the main range of the house. The 5-bay structure was divided into three rooms, the three central bays occupied by what was probably the refectory which, like the small room to the east, was heated by an open hearth. It was probably converted to a farmhouse after the Dissolution in 1538 and used as a farm building by the 19th century. It retained a high quality medieval wind-braced roof until 1984, when the roof was removed to Buckfast Abbey and the building was partially demolished. The walls have been capped with concrete, survive to a height of about three metres, rising to about five metres at the east end. |