Alwyne House And Alwyne Cottage

Alwyne House and Alwyne Cottage are a house and cottage built against the remains of the former Abbot's Palace, now used as offices and a restaurant by the Local Authority. The main structure dates to the early 14th century, with substantial alterations and additions in the early 19th century, and a further extension built slightly later on the south side. The building is constructed of random flint with red brick and stone dressings. The roof is hipped and covered in plain tiles, with a wide eaves overhang.

The front of the building has two storeys, a cellar, and attics, with a five-window front. It features 12-pane sash windows in shallow reveals, with segmental arches over the frames and projecting stone sills. Two windows, the second from the south end on each storey, are blank. A stone string course runs between the storeys. The main entrance door has a six-panel design with panelled reveals and a rectangular fanlight with intersecting glazing bars. An early 19th-century doorcase in Gothic style has been added, featuring clustered columns and a heavy castellated cornice.

The two-storey extension on the south side is constructed of stone rubble with freestone quoins and dressings, and features a crenellated parapet. It has three 12-pane sash windows to each storey, with hood moulds above, all set within shallow reveals.

At the rear, the original wall is flint, with roughly formed later castellations. An early 14th-century doorway has a moulded pointed arch and a hood-mould, with a 19th-century boarded door with applied pilaster strips and three small pointed windows. A single light window, also with a 19th-century stone surround, sits to the right of the door. North of the house is a separate two-storey cottage with a kidney flint walling, red brick dressings and a slate roof; its windows are small-paned casements with segmental arches over the frames.

Inside, most features date from the early 19th century, including the staircase with stick balusters and a wreathed handrail. The rear wall, however, is approximately a metre thick with deep recesses to the doorway and window openings. The cellar, beneath the older part of the house, reveals rubble flint walls butted against the rear wall, which is part of the original early 14th-century monastery wall. The building’s listing reflects the significance of the remaining monastic remains that form part of its structure.