Abbey Gateway, Chester

The Abbey Gateway is in Chester, Cheshire, England and leads from Northgate Street into Abbey Square. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.[1]

Abbey Gateway, Chester
Gateway from Abbey Square (east face)
Location	Chester, Cheshire, England
Coordinates	53.1921°N 2.8920°W / 53.1921; -2.8920
OS grid reference	SJ 405 664
Built	c. 1300
Rebuilt	c. 1800 (upper storey)
Architect	Richard Lenginour (?)
Architectural style(s)	Gothic
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated	28 July 1955
Location in Cheshire

History

The gateway was built as a gatehouse around 1300 and its upper storey was rebuilt around 1800. It was formerly the main access to the precinct of St Werburgh's Abbey.[1] It is thought that the architect was Richard Lenginour (Richard the Engineer).[2][3]

Architecture

The gateway is built in red sandstone with gables to the front and rear. The west face has a central arch for vehicles and a smaller arch to the south for pedestrians. On each side of the central arch is a blind niche. In the upper storey is a 16-pane window in a Gothic arch. On the east face is one arch, larger than that on the west face. In the upper storey is a central window in a Gothic arch with a rectangular window on each side. In the gable end is another Gothic-shaped window. To the south of the arch is a diminishing turret containing an arched doorway with a small window above it.[1]

See also

• Grade I listed buildings in Chester

References

1. Historic England. "Abbey Gateway, Chester (1376366)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
2. Ward, Simon (2009), Chester: A History, Chichester: Phillimore, p. 47, ISBN 978-1-86077-499-7
3. Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 236, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6