Thornton Abbey and Gatehouse

The enormous and ornate fortified gatehouse of Thornton Abbey is the largest and among the finest of all English monastic gatehouses. An early example of brick building in England, it proclaimed the wool trade-based prosperity of one of the wealthiest English Augustinian monasteries, for centuries a focus of spiritual and economic influence. Begun in the 1360s, the gatehouse was enlarged and fortified with battlements after the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, presumably as insurance against further trouble. Standing some 21 metres (69 feet) high and resembling a castle keep-gatehouse, it may have protected the abbey's treasures, as well as providing spacious lodgings for the abbot and his guests.

Within the grounds stand the ruins of the monastic buildings, notably the elegantly decorated octagonal chapter house of 1282-1308. These buildings were plundered for stone to build a 'most stately' Jacobean manor house which,mysteriously, 'fell quite down to the bare ground without any visible cause' (Abraham de la Pryme). The remains of its formal gardens have recently been rediscovered.

The magnificent gatehouse astonishingly survived, and has now been restored to its former glory in an ambitious conservation project. Extensive repairs to the crumbling masonry have been carried out, and a spectacular new exterior oak staircase gives visitors access to the building's atmospheric interior. The gatehouse is open daily, and includes new features revealed following restoration work. A new exhibition offers greater insight into the abbey's history from its foundation to the present day, including its career as the focus of huge Victorian Temperance rallies.

St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber is nearby.