Winchcombe Abbey

Probably built as a malthouse for St Mary's Abbey, this building now serves as a large dwelling. Its origins likely date to the 15th century or earlier, with substantial modifications made in the 19th and 20th centuries. The construction utilizes cut and squared limestone rubble, along with concrete replacement stone slate roofing, coped at the south gable. A large central brick stack is also present. The structure consists of a long, primarily north-south block. An early 19th-century parallel range was added to the southwest, and 20th-century elements have created a courtyard at the north end. A deep porch with a "Palladian" entry is situated slightly off-centre to the left, and a lean-to porch with a stone slate roof is on the right. The building is two storeys high with an attic. The fenestration is complex; the main west-facing front includes, to the left of the main porch, three glazing bar sashes over a small, deep-set single light and a 20th-century 2-light mullioned casement. To the right of the porch are a single three-light sash with bars and a single sash with bars, incorporating Gothic interlaced bars, over a 16-pane sash. The parallel range has a glazing bar sash over a three-light casement. The south gabled front features, at ground level, a larger sash with Gothic interlaced bars, over which is a smaller sash of the same style, but protected by a deep stepped drip. The gable itself contains a single pointed casement with leading and a stepped drip. The east front has a diagonal buttress at the south end, and an offset buttress off-centre to the right. The windows incorporate an oriel with a gable above, with fragments of windows from the 16th and 17th centuries, and various casements with Gothic bars. On the ground floor, far right, is a 16th-century four-light mullioned window with cusped heads, alongside a similar two-light window lacking cusps. The main entrance is a 20th-century glazed door on the west side, and there are further 20th-century doors at the extreme north end of both elevations. The interior has been extensively modified in the late 20th century. The ground floor features a series of large, roughly chamfered transverse beams and some exposed early joists. Some roof principals are exposed, including at the south end a deep (450mm) cambered tie with a collar above and a single wind-brace; at the north end, an A-frame is visible. A ground floor room at the south end retains a 19th-century cornice. Cusped 19th-century windows on the east side have hollow-mould chamfers within. Historically, the property is significant as a rare survival from the major abbey, with Abbey House being the only other remaining element. The building has group value in this context.