Abbey Guest House, Remains

The Abbey Guest House, now in ruins, was originally a guest house or gate house for Shrewsbury Abbey, dating from the late 13th century. It is built from coursed and squared red sandstone, with later brick extensions and a plain tiled roof. The structure stands two storeys high and has a three-bay plan, with two gable walls and parts of the side walls of the original building still visible. Each gable wall features remnants of a chamfered arched window. The north elevation has been largely rebuilt for use as a timber yard, now featuring inserted double doors and workshop windows on both floors, along with a loading door at the upper level. There is a lower added wing that projects from this elevation, built against the single surviving wall of another abbey structure. This wall is a continuation of the main building's west wall, which is buttressed and shows traces of the springing for a vaulted ceiling towards the west. This west wall may also include an earlier precinct wall and could represent an original watergate.