The Gatehouse

The gatehouse at Thornton Abbey is the largest monastic gatehouse in England; an architectural symbol of the wealth and power of Thornton Abbey in the late Middle Ages.

Above the gateway are several figures of saints, the remains of a much larger display of sculpture. Some have been crudely repaired at an unknown date.© English Heritage The gatehouse was built in a combination of brick and stone and probably completed between 1377 and 1389. It was the main entrance to the abbey precinct, which was fortified on by walls, towers and a broad ditch. In front of the gatehouse is a walled approach that formed an outer defence to the building. The battlements of the gatehouse were once filled with stone sculptures of men hurling stones and firing weapons.

Many great abbey precincts were fortified in the 14th century, both for reasons of safety and prestige. How effective the defences of Thornton may have been remains a matter of debate.

It seems unlikely that the gatehouse served as a residence as it contains no kitchens or service rooms. The building may have housed the abbey courtroom and administration.

After the suppression of the monastery in 1539, the gatehouse was preserved as the entrance to a house on the abbey site. The gate-passage is still hung with its original 14th-century doors.