Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The Prior's New Lodging's, later called the Deanery, contains the remains of earlier buildings beneath it, relating to the Norman Bath House and Lanfranc's Hall. The Prior's New Lodging's was a long rambling edifice about 180 feet long N-S, by at least 30 feet wide E-W, consisting of a patchwork of several structures of varying dates, built of flint in places and red brick in others, pierced with modern windows and having modern roofs.

Monument Types

• LODGINGS (Medieval to Unknown - 1495 AD?)

Full description

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The Prior's New Lodging's, later called the Deanery, contains the remains of earlier buildings beneath it, relating to the Norman Bath House and Lanfranc's Hall. The Prior's New Lodging's was a long rambling edifice about 180 feet long N-S, by at least 30 feet wide E-W, consisting of a patchwork of several structures of varying dates, built of flint in places and red brick in others, pierced with modern windows and having modern roofs. The Obituary mentions this third set of buildings, the works of Prior Thomas Goldstone II (1495-1517), who is recorded to have 'built and completed a new, beautiful, excellent edifice, commonly called the New Lodgyng near the ancient house of the Prior called Le Gloriet. It contains chambers, dining-halls, solars or upper chambers and evety appendage requisite to complete such a mansion'. It is also provided with a handsome porch towards the court'. This was not a conversion of older buildings but a new complex altogether over older remains, built for hospitality alone. Beneath are the remains of a vaulted undercroft, with coach entrance, extending over most of the eastern and central area.

Originally there was a dining room at the southern end of the building, with the kitchen, buttery and pantry and servants offices at the southern extremity and projecting tower at the south-west which contained a stairway to the servants sleeping quarters. North of the dining room was the original entrance way and a great staircase to the upper chambers. Beyond to the north, was a large chamber and a smaller tower chamber, with a newel stair, which projected into the court to the west, being quarters assigned to the Archbishop's use.

Under the floor of the Hall on its eastern half, was a long and wide passage covered with a Norman waggon vault, the crown of which is nearly 4 feet below the dining room floor. The remaining space beneath the Hall to the west was the Dean's cellars. A small tower projected on the east side of the building.

The building was taken over by the first Dean Nicholas Wooton 1541-1567. Sometime c. 1568-9 the house had been seriously damaged by a fire and Prior Goodwyn was compelled to carry out extensive repairs in 1570. The whole building was altered to a great extent by Dean Percy in c. 1820.

The building was damaged during World War II and subsequently restored.

Willis, R., 1868, 'The Architectural History of the Conventual Buildings of the Monastery of Christchurch in Canterbury' (Article in serial). SKE30206.

John Newman, 1969, The Buildings of England: North East and East Kent (Monograph). SKE7874.

Blockley, K., Sparks, M. & Tatton-Brown, T., 1997, Canterbury Cathedral Nave, Archaeology, History and Architecture (Monograph). SKE29723.

Sources and further reading