The Friars, Main Block

Details

TQ 7258
12/21

AYLESFORD CP
BULL LANE (east side)
The Friars, main block

25.8.59

GV
I
Carmelite Priory, later house, now returned to use as Carmelite Priory. Founded 1241 with C13 church rebuilt from 1348 (demolished after reformation); C15 and C16 conventual buildings altered in late C17, rebuilt after fire in 1930, and substantial additions after Carmelite return in 1949.

Refectory Cloister block: later C15, rebuilt on first floor and above in mid C20. Coursed dressed stone with plain tiled roofs. South and west walks of cloister alone survive. Two storeys with attic only in north wing. Gable parapet on south range to east. Five hipped dormers facing east on north wing. Six bays to south and five bays to west, with stepped buttresses between bays, the cloister extending five bays to either side of the angle of the blocks, the sixth bay of the south range with a narrower arch opening out into further projecting cloister of mid C20 date. Two-light mullion and traceried windows on first floor. Hollow chamfered arches to cloister below with central cloister entrance in west arm with two moulded round-arched entrances to block behind at right end of west arm and entrances to block behind south arm in central recess, which has floor-joist of refectory above supported on tall, moulded octagonal wooden post. Triple stone hollow-chamfered mullioned window with moulded lintel behind, and similar one at right with pointed arch. Wide arched recess with high cill to left.

Domestic block: Dated 1677 and 1678, on rainwater heads. Added by Sir Joseph Banks during remodelling of that date. Random rubble stone with tiled roofs. East side gable end of block. Two storeys and attics; two bays, two-light stone mullioned windows in attic, large C20 wooden casements on first floor, and three-light hollow-chamfered stone mullioned windows on ground floor. North side: roof hipped at right, gabled to left with gable parapets and kneelers, and stepped down from left in centre. Left-hand block: end stacks and four gabled and bargeboarded later C19 dormers.Two storeys and attic; regular four bay front. Large C20 casement windows with upper-hung top-lights and gauged stone heads. Right-hand block: two C17 dormers, that to left segment-headed, that to right pedimented. Two storeys and attics; irregular fenestration of four lights on first floor, that to right of centre a six-light transom and mullion window. Large hollow-chamfered depressed arch on ground floor to left, now blocked, with inset C20 round-arched entrance and boarded door, flanked by two small leaded windows. One storey hipped projecting C20 extension to right with round-arched entrance and boarded door flanked by leaded casements. The end wall of this block is not square but at an oblique angle in line with the outer wall of the north-eastern block of the Curia Courtyard behind. Two storeys; irregular fenestration of two windows on first floor and one on ground floor.

Curia: interior of Courtyard: This stands to the west of the cloister ranges, and apart from the guest-house in the south-range of C15 date, dates from the C16, restored in the mid C20. Square in plan for north, west and south sides, with splayed eastern wing attached to rear of cloister and domestic blocks at north end.

North-east wing: random rubble stone with some brick and some ashlar window dressings. Plain tiled roof. Two storeys and attics with central side stack corbelled out from first floor, brick above and stone below. Three gabled bargeboarded dormers. Irregular fenestration of three windows on first floor and four on ground floor, the three to left on the ground floor stone-mullioned and restored; one unrestored stone-mullioned window on first floor to right. Round-arched doorways to left and right, that to right flanked by pair of smaller windows and set in blocked hollow-chamfered depressed arch matching that to the north of the block.

East wing: random rubble stone with some red brick dressings and some ashlar dressings. Plain tiled roof. Two storeys and attics only to left. Six hipped dormers and parapeted gable cross-wing to right, at end of refectory block behind. The rendered south-west corner of the taller C17 domestic block can be seen projecting behind the roof at the angle of north-east and east wings. Projecting two storey extension at angle of blocks. Five buttresses, two flanking gable to right, with one lower buttress in centre and two to left. Irregular fenestration of six windows on first floor, that to extreme right a tall triple-mullioned traceried window lighting the west end of the refectory.Two mullioned windows second and third from right. Six window ground floor, with two extra very small windows. Two large later C17 cross windows to left of centre with carved bracket keystones in stone. At right end of block C20 additions extending to angle with hall (not listed).

South (hall) wing: random rubble stone with rendered first floor to right. Right-hand block projects, flanked by gabled projecting stair towers, to left and right of water-gate, that to right actually a part of the west wing.

Hall (to left): recessed with plain tiled roof. Three dormers and end stack to right in gable parapet, partly masked behind stair-turret. Two storeys and attic; irregular fenestration of four windows on both floors, mostly mullioned with casements. Those second from left on both floors pointed with trefoil heads. Two pointed-arched door-surrounds, both heavily-moulded, to entrances to left and right of centre.

Block to right: entrance to stair-tower in angle of recess. Stair-tower with one window on both floors at different levels reflecting stair behind. Two storeys and attic with two gabled and barge-boarded dormers to right. Two windows on first floor and one to left on ground floor, all with lattice casements. Arch with moulded arched bressummer through block to right.

West wing: random rubble with ashlar dressings on ground floor, rendered above. Plain tiled roof. Two storeys and attics; five gabled dormers, all with C20 moulded barge-boards. Rendered and gabled two storey projecting and battered stair-tower at extreme left. Irregular fenestration of six windows on the first floor and seven windows on the ground floor, all lattice casements. Four boarded and ribbed doors in depressed pointed-arched and moulded surrounds, to right of centre and to right, to left and at extreme left.

North-west wing: random rubble with ashlar quoins and window dressings. Plain tiled roof. Two storeys and attic. Six timbered and gabled dormers with C20 moulded barge-boards. Irregular fenestration of six windows on first floor and seven windows on ground floor; lattice casements, on ground and first floors, in ovolo-moulded mullioned surrounds. Large arch at extreme left. Four boarded and ribbed doors, to left of centre and to left, to right and almost at right-hand end.

Exterior of Courtyard: south (river) front: Hall projecting to right, random rubble stone with plain tiled roof. Three modern mullioned windows, one on each floor in west end. Recessed wing to left, random rubble with ashlar dressings on ground floor, rendered and jettied above. Plain tiled roof. Two storeys and attics. Two gabled dormers. Irregular fenestration of six windows on first floor, five windows on ground floor. Wide central chamfered and pointed archway, originally the watergate.

West front: random rubble on ground floor, rendered above. Plain tiled hipped roof with lower C20 extension to left. Two storeys and attic, one and a half storeys to left. Seven gabled dormers with three semi-dormers on lower left extension. Irregular fenestration of twelve windows on first floor, and 16 windows on ground floor, all lattice casements, some C20 mullioned windows, with pointed arched window with cusped head at right-hand end. Shallow chamfered-arched doorway at right end leading to river.

North-west front: random rubble with ashlar dressings. Plain tiled roof.Two storeys and attic; six stepped buttresses regularly deployed between windows except one missing at right-hand end. Four gabled dormers. Irregular fenestration of six windows on first floor and six windows on ground floor, lattice casements some in chamfered mullioned surrounds, and that to extreme right on ground floor in round-arched surround set deep within straight-pointed arched frame. Projecting C20 one and a half storey wing to right (not listed).

Listing NGR: TQ7235358828

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

179202

Legacy System:

LBS

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