Thetford Priory Gatehouse

I have visited the priory at Thetford once before back in September 2013 and have made an entry about it which you can read here. 

During my initial visit I noticed a small gate to one side of the site near to the nave of the priory buildings. The gate which was padlocked shut, was set into a low wire fence and had a little signed saying 'This way to the gatehouse' painted on it. I wanted to investigate on my first visit but as mentioned above it was unfortunately locked shut.

However during my second visit a couple of weeks ago I found the gate to be unlocked. This time I noticed a second sign informing me that the pathway was open to visitors to the gatehouse, but no exit from the site could be made this way. I noticed as I walked along the path that I was in fact walking through the front garden of 'Abbey House' which is a private residence. I was greeted by a dog and a gentleman who said hello and not to worry about the dog, she is very friendly really. I thanked him and said hello in return. He went on about his business in his garden. 

I approached the gatehouse and was pleased that I had plucked up the courage to walk through, even though I had permission to be there I felt as though I was being intrusive.

The gatehouse today is a grade 1 listed ruin and is still fairly intact yet is missing some of its features such as inner walls, floors and roof. It is clear to see from the flint work and stone dressings that this gatehouse was a grand building and would have provided a impressive entrance to visitors and impressive sight to those who lived in the town. The upper levels of which the gatehouse had two, were used to receive rents. These floors were accessible using the staircase located in one of the buttresses. Evidence of the stairs is visible even though the stairs have seen eroded away.

While most of the priory precinct wall has disappeared or been demolished some still remains and evidence of a barn can be seen on the outside of the gatehouse in the form of a V which formed the joint with the barn roof.

I would recommend a visit to the priory and to the gatehouse as even though the gatehouse is mainly a shell now it is still an impressive sight to behold and will have you in awe over how the medieval craftsman ship created a lasting building almost 800 years on.

Background information and reading credited to English Heritage available at www.english-heritage.org.uk

Thetford Priory

An impressiveset of remains of a Cluniac monastic house. It is a highly important monastary in East Anglia having been founded by Roger Bigod, the first Earl of Norfolk in 1103.

Thetford Priory is dedicated to the Virgin Mary or Our Lady as she is said to have appeared to local residents. The priory became a magnet to pilgrims due to a statue of Our Lady of Thetford having a hollow in the head to house saints' relics.

Like many other monasteries Thetford Priory seccumbed to the eventual closure caused by the dissolution of the Monasteries. Even though the Monastery housed many tombs from the early Tudor dynasty officials including several members of the Howard family including that of Henry FitzRoy (1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset) 

Having visited this site on a sunny day, it was lovely to leisurly walk around the ruins investigating. The overall size of the complex would suggest that it was a very rich and powerful monastic house at the height of its use. The lower walls of the church and cloister can be seen along with an extensive and impressive shell of the Prior's lodging. Unfortunately during my visit I was not able to get through to the reportedly almost complete 14th century gatehouse as the pathway appears to run through a private garden. However I plan to return to see if I can approach the gatehouse from the otherside during a visit to the Holy Sepulchre Church which is about 300 metres away to the south.

It is reported that the Priory at Thetford is haunted however I had no such feeling during my visit.

Today the site is open to the public and is under the care of English Heritage.