Abbey House, Cathedral School

Abbey House, part of the Cathedral School in Bristol, serves as the porter's lodge and gateway to the former Augustinian monastery. The building features a mid-12th century archway incorporated into a 17th century house, which was rebuilt in the mid-20th century. It is constructed from limestone ashlar, red sandstone rubble, and render, topped with a tiled cross-gabled roof. The structure has a double-depth plan and stands three storeys tall with a two-gable range.

The west front showcases a pair of gables, with a left-hand semicircular archway consisting of three orders adorned with scallop capitals. The outer arch displays a woven pattern moulding, while the inner two arches feature a zigzag design leading to an inner four-centre arch, which has two small relief shields positioned above. On the east side, a similar arch has a rounded surround. Above these arches are mid-20th century metal casements. The right-hand return is gabled and made of red Pennant rubble.

Internally, the building was rebuilt in the mid-20th century, and the passage between the archways has a concrete roof. Historically, this archway was part of the Augustinian abbey of St Augustine, leading into a courtyard. The 17th century house built over it was gutted by fire during the Second World War and subsequently rebuilt internally. The archway is closely related to another arch in the north elevation of the Cathedral School and to the Great Gateway.