Description

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SK 5892
5/3

WESTGARE (south side)
The Friary and Friary Close

(Formerly listed as The Friary)

27.12.62

GV
II

Friary now divided into two separate dwellings. Founded as an Augustinian Friary circa 1260 by John Clarel, a canon of Southwell, and dissolved in 1530. Subsequently a house, held by the Slyman family in the C17 and the Hawkesworths in the C18. Its church housed the Fitzwilliam tomb (now in the Parish Church) until 1538. Present buildings, although problematical, are substantially Cl4, adapted for domestic use in the C17 (perhaps at the time of the lintel dated 1663), and enlarged in C19.

Coursed rubble. Stone slate roofs to pre-C19 parts, Welsh slate elsewhere. Two storeys and attics. The house consists of two mediaeval blocks, joined at their south-east, and, north-west corners respectively, the west block extended westwards in two parts, the first with a C19 added first storey and south wing, the second ground floor only. Also C19 is a wing filling the angle formed by the mediaeval blocks. An engraving of 1810 shows sash windows, so the present mullion and transom are therefore nearly all of C19 date. One possible exception is tile two-light stone mullioned window on the ground floor north wall of tile first nester part of the west block.

The only other pre-C19 features visible externally are as follows:-

1. Three stepped buttresses on the north side of the west block, with sections of a plain string. course above them.

2. A straight-headed door, probably C18, on south side of west block, shown on the 1810 plan.

3. A triangular chimney breast on very fine moulded corbelling at the west end of the east block, with a thinner shaft below the corbelling. Its stack, together with the others, which are all corniced, is probably C19, but looks C18.

4. Upper part of trefoil-headed lancet on first floor to north of the chimney breast. (The window below with Y-tracery is shown as a sash on the 1810 engraving)

5. Pair of blocked doorways at first floor level on south wall of east block (perhaps garderobes).

6. Blocked mediaeval window of two ogival arches in centre of ground floor of south front of east block.

7. Lintel and Artisan Mannerist rusticated door surround dated 1663, and presumably re-set in porch on north side of western part of west block.

The most spectacular feature, however, is largely internal, although its north end is partly visible from outside. This is a late C15 two-bay arcade with moulded two-centred arches springing from embattled capitals adorned with Tudor rose badges: sculpted figure of an angle in spandrels. It runs along east end of west block, and has to be seen from inside the C19 infill block. Below the southern arch is, presumably reset, a C14 ogee-headed doorway. Further west along a passage in the west block is a two-centre arch, perhaps of C13, at least of C14 date.

Listing NGR: SK5860492755

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17537814

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)