Complete View of the Manners,
Customs, Arms, Habits & Co of the Inhabitants of England, 1774, by Joseph
Strutt.
Essex references
12. St Johns, Colchester
Page 103
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| St John's Abbey Gateway, Colchester |
“Plate 30, fig 4, exhibits a
remarkable gateway, which formed the entrance into the abbey (1), dedicated to
St John, a Colchester; which abbey was built by Eudo Dappifer, sewer to king
Henry the first, and was finished during the reign of that Prince. But I by no means think that this present
gateway is of that early date, not only on account of the vast acuteness of the
gothic arches, but because the stile of architecture seems to bear the evident
marks of a more modern invention: and if the view given by Morant (2), of the
abbey church (engraved from an antient M.S.) is authentic, I shall not in the
least doubt the truth of my present supposition, because the arches of the
windows therein are round, and the whole building is in the fashion as
different from this gateway, as the gateway itself is from the ruin of St
Botolph’s just described: but without any doubt this gateway is very old, and
may justly be deemed a great curiosity.
Its form is not quite four square, because the inside front is
considerably narrower than the outside, which makes the two sides incline each
way from the front backwards. See the
plan marked A: it consisted of a broad entrance, and a small postern on the
right hand; on the left hand of the gate is an additional building, which seems
also very old. The gate itself is
ornamented at the corners with four bastions, which rising higher than the rest
of the building form four handsome turrets, whose effect is very picturesque
and elegant. The main walls (which are
about 2 feet and a half thick) are built of pebbles, hewn flints and bricks,
mixed with a strong cement, which is curiously faced with hewn flint and
free-stone. The light gothic ornaments
are the free-stone, carved, and the space between each ornament is filled up
with the dark flint, cut like small tessala, about 3 or 4 inches square, and 2
inches and a half thick: and the cornishes and arches are of free-stone as is
also the foundation, rising full 2 feet above the present surface. One thing here is remarkable, which is in the
arches of the gateway that are faced with stone; these arches are first turned
with bricks, and the stone set thereon with the cement, a method diametrically
opposite to what has been observed of St Botolph’s Priory, where the arches are
turned with stone and faced with brick.”
References: (1) Speed’s
Chron. (2) Hist. of Colchester by
Morant.
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