Abbot'S Kitchen, Glastonbury Abbey

Abbot's Kitchen, located in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, is one of the best-preserved medieval kitchens in Europe and the only significant monastic building remaining at Glastonbury. Dating from the 14th century, it is a square structure featuring large curved buttresses on each side, along with a stringcourse and cornice adorned with grotesque gargoyles. The building has 2-light traceried windows and an octagonal superstructure topped with a pyramidal roof, which is crowned by a double louvred stack and bands of crenellation, along with a weathervane at the apex. Inside, there are four vast arched fireplaces, each with round smoke outlets positioned above, set in the corners. The ribs of the octagonal vaulted roof lead up to a circular outlet inside the snook. The kitchen also contains some architectural fragments and furnishings from the Abbey buildings, although many objects have been removed to the gatehouse lodge. Abbot's Kitchen lies within the Ancient Monument scheduled area, and all the listed buildings in the Abbey grounds form an extremely important group.