Gatehouse And Gateway Tower To Vicars' Court

The gatehouse and gateway tower to Vicars' Court, located within Minster Yard, Lincoln, was constructed between 1363 and 1397 during the time of Bishop Buckingham. It served as accommodation for the College of Vicars Choral. The building was re-roofed in the 17th century and restored in the late 19th century. It is constructed primarily of dressed stone with ashlar dressings and a plain tile roof. A crenellated octagonal side wall stack and a single rendered gable stack are present.

The exterior features a chamfered and moulded plinth, a chamfered string course, and a moulded coped parapet to the tower at the west end. The north front has a four-centred arched gateway with multiple roll moulding, a hoodmould, and mask stops. To the left of the gateway is a blocked doorway and a late 19th-century casement. Above, two restored segmental pointed windows with hoodmoulds and traces of tracery are situated between a small ogee-headed light, and to the right, three shields and a larger ogee-headed light.

The south elevation features a string course. A moulded segmental pointed arched gateway is located to the left, above which is a Tudor arched casement, both with hoodmoulds. A cusped lierne vault is above the entrance archway. To the west are a 19th-century lancet and a doorway with a chamfered ogee head. To the east, a 19th-century pointed window and a 17th-century pointed arched doorway with a plank door are present.

The south-west corner incorporates a square tower of three stages with small loops. The west end displays two blocked pointed arched openings and the remains of a former gable.

The interior includes a late 18th-century stone-walled cellar with a brick segmental vault. On the ground floor, to the south-east, is a garderobe with an ogee arched door. On the south side is a two-bay blind arcade with chamfered arches and a central corbel. The west end contains a former porter's lodge featuring a small fireplace in the north wall and remains of an aumbry in the east wall. A stone newel stair is located at the south end. On the first floor, a small original fireplace is found at the north-west corner and another fireplace with a later surround at the east end. A cusped ogee arched drain recess is on the south-west side, to the west. The roof has been renewed, likely in the late 17th century, and consists of five main beams.