The Abbot'S Hall And Kitchen, Milton Abbey

The Abbot’s Hall and Kitchen form part of Milton Abbey, dating back to approximately 1498 for the Hall, with a later Dining Room from the 17th century. Sir William Chambers incorporated these elements into a new house around 1771, and Sir Gilbert Scott restored them in the mid-19th century. The north wall, facing the courtyard, is of ashlar stone, while the south wall features stone and flint banding. Both walls are topped with a slate roof and have irregularly spaced ashlar stacks.

The north wall features a central two-story porch with diagonal buttresses. A reticulated traceried parapet runs along the top, with shields at each end. Below this is a three-light window with a straight-sided arched traceried design. A pointed moulded arched doorway is set within a square frame, with shields in the spandrels. Above the door is a band of shields and traceried panels, set above a moulded plinth. High-level, three three-light mullioned and transomed windows are situated on the east side of the porch. 19th-century single-story corridor extensions flank the porch, each featuring square-headed mullioned windows with arched lights. The south front has projecting flat-roofed blocks at each end, each containing a six-light mullioned and transomed window with reticulated tracery; the left block is the Hall oriel, and the right block is a copy from the 18th century. A central four-centred arched door leads to a screens passage. Above this is a two-light mullioned and transomed window with arched lights. To the left of the door, in the Hall, are two similar three-light windows, separated by buttresses. To the right of the door, in the kitchen, is one similar window and another that extends down to the plinth. The building is finished with a plain parapet and moulded coping.

Inside the Hall, a six-bay ornate hammer-beam roof is a prominent feature, incorporating four ties with cusped wind-bracing. The trusses rest on stone corbels and shafts, with carved angels at sill level. A four-centred arch leads to the oriel, which has a panelled soffit. The oriel's flat, coffered ceiling features pendants in the panels. The 18th-century fireplace has a broken curved pediment, acanthus carving on the frieze, and console brackets. A three-section oak screen, dating back to the 15th century, contains 17th-century heraldic glass. The Kitchen, formerly the Dining Room, was heavily damaged by a fire in 1956, and no original internal features remain.