Priory Gateway and attached walls

The Priory Gateway and attached walls are the remains of the 15th-century outer gatehouse of Dunstable Priory. The gateway is mainly made of Totternhoe limestone, while the adjoining walls incorporate Totternhoe stone along with brick and flint rubble.

The gateway faces north, with the former monastic precinct located to the south. The north side features a large four-centred archway with chamfered jambs and moulded archivolts, accompanied by a smaller pedestrian entrance on the right. Each side of the gates has a chamfered plinth and short sections of faced Totternhoe stone. To the left of the main entrance is a blocked window with a small pointed arch beneath an eroded rectangular hoodmould.

On the south side, the thickness of the walls is visible, along with the rebates where the original gates were hung. The large oak gates currently in place were installed in 2016. An engaged shaft on the left side of the pedestrian entrance reveals part of the interior structure of the gateways, while the right side shows the interior form of the blocked window.

The walls attached to the west of the gateway are constructed of brick with stone rubble elements on the outer face, forming a rough L-shape that serves as a boundary with the Priory Gardens. The wall between the gateway and the church may contain parts of the original precinct boundary wall, although it has likely been largely reconstructed. The wall has a slight kink to the south, is thicker at the base with about 5-10 courses of brickwork, and features a coping course set back behind a weather detail at the top.