St Peters Convent, The Main Ranges Around The Courtyard

SE2918 HORBURY DOVECOTE LANE (south side)

9/8 St. Peter's Convent, the main ranges around the courtyard.

GV II

Convent buildings. 1862-4 and 1869-71 by Henry Woodyer; 1883 east range. Red brick with yellow sandstone ashlar dressings, east range of stone. Welsh slate roofs. A rectangular arrangement around a courtyard with a tower at the internal south-west corner. Two storeys and attics. The main south range is of 1864 to the left end and 1871 to the right end (dated rainwater heads), and is of 14 bays in an ordered but asymmetrical arrangement. Two gabled bays to the right end, the rest of the facade is divided by 3 large reducing buttresses. Arched doorway to bay 5. All windows have pointed arches those to ground floor and the 2 staircase windows are mullioned and transomed and of 2 and 3 lights. Bay 5 has a projecting bay window with 5 over 5 lights. 1st-floor windows are of 2 lights except two 3-light windows to the 2 gabled right bays. Brick band between floors is rendered to resemble stone. Wooden dormer windows with arched lights and steeply-pitched hipped roofs. Broad lateral stacks some with a relief brick crucifix and ornamental cornices. Ornamental ridge stacks. The chapel (q.v.) is attached to the right. The left return (west range) is gabled to the right and has a stone plaque with the date 1864 in relief letters. The range is of similar treatment to the front though more simple and the dormers are of an inverted V shape. The east range is of 7 bays with a recessed porch to bay 5 flanked by short buttresses. A plaque above bears the date 1883 in raised letters. Ground-floor windows of 3 and 4 lights, those to left transomed. Small single round-arched windows to 1st floor. Four small gabled dormers. Gable copings. Stone stacks set in the roof pitch. The north range is single- storey, in-keeping but not of special interest. Within the courtyard is the tower which has a frieze of small slender lancets at high level set between ashlar bands. Above this, corbels support small corner buttresses. The corbel table, pierced by small lights, supports a large, copper, splay-footed spire. Apart from the west range the courtyard has peripheral lean-to corridors. An interesting and unaltered series of buildings, prominent in the town. N. Pevsner. The Buildings of England. 1967 .

Listing NGR: SE2934818587