St Osyth's Priory boundary walls

St Osyth's Priory Boundary Walls

This is a series of boundary walls enclosing the west, south and east sides of St Osyth's Priory, including the wall that runs south from the Gatehouse. The walls are possibly of 12th-century origin, with early fabric mainly dating from the 14th to 17th centuries, though they have undergone later repairs and rebuilding. They are constructed of limestone, septaria, flint and brick, with some flint galletted mortar.

Plan

The western wall begins in the north at TM1201115766 and travels south to the road, where it turns east and continues for approximately 127 metres before turning north towards the gatehouse. East of the gatehouse, the wall travels east, turning north-east when it reaches the east end of The Bury, then continuing north-east to follow the road to the crossroads where it turns north. It continues to the turning to Garden Cottage, opposite No.28 Colchester Road. There is no wall marking the northern limits of the precinct.

Description

The east face of the western wall in the north shows fabric similar to the large late 16th-century barn, with a slightly random chequered pattern of limestone blocks set against a matrix of limestone and septaria, topped with brick capping. An arched entrance has been cut through this section in the area of some large modern sheds. About 160 metres to the south, the face of the wall has been removed to reveal the rubble core, followed by a short section of brick. The south and east walls to the south-west of the priory buildings are similarly much patched and repaired, alternating between brick and limestone rubble, with the upper courses in brick.

To the south of the gatehouse, the wall was formerly part of a 15th-century building. It features four two-light windows with cinquefoil heads under labels, two on either side of an arched doorway with moulded jambs, now with an inserted window over the blocked lower part of the door. A string course runs over the windows for this length, above which are crenellations. Below this section is an inserted 14th-century wide entrance with a round arch of three moulded orders, moulded label and head stops. Double gates dating to the 20th century occupy this opening. To either side of the gate the wall is buttressed on its east side.

East of the gatehouse, the precinct wall continues in septaria with some limestone, roughly coursed, buttressed at regular intervals and standing about two metres high, with stone coping. A gateway aligned with the Darcy Tower, constructed of limestone and filled with brick, has a round arch with a raised parapet above. To the east is a smaller stone doorway with an arched opening under a square label.

As the wall turns north-east beside The Bury, it becomes slightly taller, with the upper part showing a pattern of flintwork panels. Turning the corner onto Colchester Road, this pattern reverses: the upper part of the wall displays fine flintwork with stone panels, divided from the lower half by a stone band. The lower half is constructed of stone rubble with some ashlar, patched with brickwork. The stone band continues up to a point opposite No.8 Colchester Road. Beyond this point is a short stretch (up to the Kings Arms, opposite) constructed of flint above brick, becoming later wholly brick or brick-faced with brick coping. Between the Kings Arms and No.28 Colchester Road the wall is constructed of early brick with later brick coping. The wall ends at the turning to the entrance of Garden Cottage.