Abbey Precinct Wall is a Grade I listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 February 1958. A Early medieval with c.1374 medieval additions and later alterations (explicit) Wall. 1 related planning application.
Abbey Precinct Wall
- WRENN ID
- deep-cobble-sedge
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Westminster
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 24 February 1958
- Type
- Wall
- Period
- Early medieval with c.1374 medieval additions and later alterations (explicit)
- Address
- Abbey Precinct Wall, Great College Street, City of Westminster, SW1P 3SE
- OS grid reference
- TQ 301 793
- Coordinates
- 51.498, -0.12644
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Abbey Precinct Wall is an important historical structure dating from the early medieval period, with significant sections built around 1374, along with later additions and alterations. This impressive 20-foot high wall is constructed from Kentish Ragstone rubble, featuring ashlar stone below the high tide level along the former riverfront, and is topped with weathered brick coping.
The wall extends eastward from the left side of the ground floor of No. 30 Great College Street, standing free along the south and east sides of the Abbey or Canons' Garden. A notable re-entrant opposite the Jewel Tower was built around 1374-76 and is integrated into No. 4 and the otherwise post-war rebuilt No. 3 Little Cloisters. The original wall continues westward to the south of the Chapter House, where it is incorporated into the back north elevation of Nos. 2, 2A, 2B, and No. 3 Little Cloisters, alongside a rebuilt octagonal stone tower at the rear of No. 1.
On Great College Street, the wall features late medieval five-centred arched doorways, as well as later 18th and 19th-century square-headed doorways that have been inserted.
Local climate
Abbey Precinct Wall sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Close Wall and Tower in the Garden of Number 10 Close Wall and Tower in the Garden of Number 2 Close Wall and Tower in the Garden of Number 25
- 2 Wall around grounds of Glastonbury Abbey and Abbey House, including the gate way on Chilkwell Street, Chilkwell Street and Wall around grounds of Glastonbury Abbey and Abbey House, Silver Street
- 3 Boundary Wall to Rear of Numbers 5, 7 and 9
- 4 Remains of Outer Wall Around Cloister and Foundations of Abbey Church
- 5 Abbey Gate House Wall
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Nearby listed buildings
- Knife Edge Two Piece Sculpture
- Abbey (Canons') Garden
- The Jewel House (Or Tower) of the Palace of Westminster
- Lamp post on corner of 3 Great College Street and 5 Little College Street
- Former Dock Retaining Walls to Moat Around Jewel House
- Abbey (Canons') Garden 4 Statues
- Victoria Tower Lodge and Gates to Black Rod Garden
- Number 7 (Including Former Number 6)
- Lamp post outside 16 Great College Street
- Memorial to Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst