Description

BURY ST EDMUNDS

TL8564SE ABBEY PRECINCTS
639-1/8/104 Norman Tower
07/08/52

GV I

Monastic gate, now used as a belfry for the Cathedral Church
of St James (qv). Built under Abbot Anselm between 1120 and
1148; Romanesque. Restored by LN Cottingham in 1846/7. Barnack
stone. Rectangular, in 4 stages, with the base now well below
the present ground level. Richly ornamented. A large,
unvaulted gateway has heavy block capitals to the columns and
large roll-mouldings. The west face is the most ornate, with a
sculptured inner order and the arch projecting like a porch
with a gable and fishscale decoration. To each side of the
gateway are 2 tiers of niches with billet decoration; short
buttresses above have intersecting arches and pyramid roofs.
The 2nd stage has 2 tall blank arches with small 2-light
windows within them. The 3rd and 4th stages each have 3 deep
window openings, divided by colonnettes and hood-moulds with
billet decoration: below the 3rd stage openings are paired
blank arches; below the 4th stage blank roundels. The details
of the 3 upper stages on the west are repeated on each of the
other faces.
Scheduled Ancient Monument.
(BOE: Pevsner N: Radcliffe E: Suffolk: London: 1974-: 138).

Listing NGR: TL8557264078

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Norman Tower at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17526902

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

• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)