Llanthony Priory, Remains Of Outer Gatehouse

The remains of the outer gatehouse of the former Augustinian Priory of Llanthony Secunda date from 1494 to 1500 and were commissioned by Henry Dene, Prior and Bishop of Bangor. This structure is part of an Ancient Monument cared for by Gloucester City Council, with some demolished portions excavated in 1975. The gatehouse features Cotswold stone ashlar facing on red brick and was originally a rectangular building. It had a carriageway on the north side and a pedestrian entry on the south side. The southern half of the front wall remains standing at full height, while the other walls have been excavated and marked at ground level.

The exterior facing the road originally comprised two bays defined by three buttresses. It features a moulded crowning cornice and a crenellated parapet with weathered copings. The surviving central and southern buttresses have weathered offsets, with the central buttress rising to the underside of the cornice and the right-hand buttress capped by a cusped gablet. To the left of the central buttress, the right-hand jamb and the haunch of the carriage entrance archway are visible, featuring a double chamfer and an eared hoodmould. In the right-hand bay, there is a smaller pedestrian doorway with a four-centred, double chamfered arch and an eared hoodmould. Above the pedestrian entry, at first-floor level, is a single-light arched window, formerly cinquefoiled, with a rectangular, eared hoodmould that lit a former chamber for the gatekeeper. Set into the upper part of the wall face are three coats of arms carved in relief: to the right of the window is the shield of Prior Henry Dene, to the left is the shield of the Bohuns, who were patrons of the priory from 1175 to 1373, and immediately above is a now-defaced shield with the arms of France and England, representing King Henry VII.