Description

DURHAM AND FRAMWELLGATE THE COLLEGE
NZ 2742 SW (North side)

14/99 The Deanery
6.5.52
GV I

Prior's lodgings, incorporating undercroft of first dorter and part or reredorter,
and with Prior's chapel attached. Now Dean's house and 'Northumbrian Christian
Heritage' drawing office. Pre-1093 dorter undercroft add possibly Norman
reredorter; C13 chapel; C14 Prior's lodgings. C15, C18 and later alterations.
1974 external stair by G. Pace. Coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings;
some brick patching. Roofs not visible; ashlar and rendered brick chimneys.
One-storey, one-bay entrance projects at left; Prior's hall and undercroft (now
drawing office) one storey and basement, 2 windows. Main chamber, set back
slightly, one high storey and basement, 4 windows, with stair turret between third
and fourth windows; chapel projecting at right 2 storeys and basement, 5 windows.
Prior's hall has C19 entrance at left; casement window inserted in low 2-centred
arch at right; 2 first-floor sashes with glazing bars under thin stone lintels;
gabled buttress at right. Main chamber, now drawing room above and storage rooms
below, has tall 21-pane sashes with flat stone lintels and projecting stone sills;
floor-level band; relieving arches over basement windows to left of turret, and
low 2-centred-arched window to right. Octagonal turret has slit windows, bands
and pointed roof. Chapel at right has clasping buttresses; coped buttresses
define basement bays with restored windows under 2-centred arches; upper floors
have sashes with glazing bars in raised surrounds; floor bands. All buildings
have roll-moulded parapets and tall round chimneys conjoined in threes. Left
return has raised voussoirs and alternate-block jambs to square-headed door in
entrance block; undercroft wall in passage to cloister has low round relieving
arches on chamfered plinth, and renewed doorway in round arch. Left return of
chapel has 2-centred-arched door under 2 tall lancets; right return has blocked
lancets with nookshafts.

Interior: Prior's hall undercroft has 2 tunnel vaults on short round piers; hall
on 2 floors. 1690 closed-string narrow open-well stair with skittle balusters
and square panelled newels with fat melon finials and pendants; high grip handrail.
2-panel doors on top floor, which has tracery-panelled roof, with carved braces
and embattled frieze; stop-chamfered beams. Prior's chamber range: lower hall has
C17 wood Tuscan columns supporting panelled ceiling; hollow-chamfered beams on
stone corbels with shields; reredorter drain and latrine walls form passages on
this and upper floor. Drawing room has chimney piece with arms of James I, and
high coved ceiling by Bernasconi in C16 style. Right end bay, now a stair well,
reveals C15 roof truss. To right the Prior's bedroom and study: much richly-
carved woodwork, including C18 chimney pieces with caryatids and foliage, and
panelled ceilings. Bedroom at rear, known as James I room, has C15 panelled oak
ceiling with carved foliage on crested frieze; medieval jamb of east window
revealed. Study also has panelled ceiling. Chapel now subdivided, the undercroft
used as chapel, the upper floor as vestibule and offices. Undercroft has short
round columns with moulded capitals supporting quadripartite vaults; chamfered
2-centred-arched doorway. Former chapel above has roll-moulded west door;
shouldered-arched north door with contemporary scrolled leaf painting on east jamb.
Circa 1430 wall painting along entire north wall of vestibule shows polychrome
scenes from life of Virgin, with lines of a hymn in scroll beneath; and traces
of previous paintings. The lower part is densely covered with medieval graffiti,
discovered during 1974 restoration by D. Insall and restored by Canterbury studio.
C18 6-panel doors, deep panelled window shutters and modillioned stucco cornice.
Secretary's room to right has C18 decoration including chimney piece with Atlantes.

Listing NGR: NZ2731142149

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17529700

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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