Bushmead Priory

TL 16SW STAPLOE AND DULOE BUSHMEAD

1/161 Bushmead Priory 7.5.52

GV I

Former refectory belonging to Augustinian priory. Late C13 origins through to C16 or C17. Cobblestone and rubble walls with ashlar dressings. Roof restored 1983. 5-bay plan, 2 storeys, the first floor inserted later, probably in C16. Crown post roof, posts octagonal with carved bases and caps. W gable end : large window with 2-centred arched head, hood mould with grotesque mask stops; C16 floor beams were carried on its sill, and it was reduced in size and given perpendicular tracery; single stage buttresses. S elevation, L to R : 2-centred arched blocked doorway. Perpendicular doorway with detached shafts and cinquefoiled tympanum. Stone mullion and transom ground floor window. Central doorway with 2-centred head, surmounted by 4- light window with stone mullions and 2-centred heads, both C15. 2 2-light ground floor windows, one 3-light and one 4-light window to first floor, all C16 or C17, with stone mullions and 4-centred heads, one with hood mould and nead stop, some retaining early glass. (NW Alcock, "Bushmead Priory, Bedfordshire", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1970, pp 50- 57.) In D.O.E. Guardianship.

Listing NGR: TL1157660730