Priory Gateway and attached walls

The upstanding remains of the ruined C15 outer gatehouse of Dunstable Priory.

MATERIALS: the gateway is principally constructed of Totternhoe limestone. The adjoining walls reuse elements of Totternhoe alongside brick and flint rubble.

PLAN: the external face of the gateway looks north with the former monastic precinct to its rear on the south side.

DESCRIPTION: the north face of the principal gateway comprises a large four-centred archway with chamfered jambs and moulded archivolts. To the right-hand side is a smaller pedestrian entrance. On each side of this pair of gates there is a chamfered plinth and short surviving sections of faced Totternhoe stone. On the left-hand side is a blocked window comprising a small pointed arch beneath an eroded rectangular hoodmould.

The south side of the arches shows the thickness of the walls, and the rebates within which the original gates were hung. The large gates now in the principal gateway are made of oak and were installed in 2016. On the left-hand side of the pedestrian entrance is an engaged shaft, illustrating something of the interior form of the gateways. On the right-hand side the interior form of the blocked window can still be seen.

The attached walls on the west side of the gateway are built of brick with elements of stone rubble on the outer (north) face. They are arranged in a rough L-shape forming a boundary with the Priory Gardens.

The wall between the gateway and the church may include elements of the original precinct boundary wall but it is likely to have been largely reconstructed. The course of the wall kinks slightly to the south. It is thicker at its base with around 5-10 courses of brickwork and a coping course set back behind a weather detail at the top.