Religious house - Augustinian canons

The National Monuments Service's description

The arrangement of monastic buildings does not conform to the standard layout with the claustral buildings located to the N of the church. The Abbey church consists of an undifferentiated nave and chancel (int. dims. 22.4m x 5.2m) with a screen wall added c. 9m from the E gable (max. H 1.6m; T 0.9m). The W two-thirds of the nave represent the remains of an earlier, possibly 10th-century, church with antae. In the W gable is a lintelled, partially restored, doorway with inclining jambs (H 2m; Wth at top 0.95m; Wth at base 1.06m). Door-moulding on the interior at the base of the S jamb (stone: dims. 0.63m x 0.32m; rectangular hole: dims. 0.21m x 0.14m; D 0.05m) possibly for a pintle. The E window comprises a round-headed, twin-light with an internal splay, chamfered and rebated externally (ext. H 2.8m; ext. Wth 0.2m) set within a wide embrasure; the arch is missing (int. H 4m; int. Wth 2.9m). Re-use of incised cut-stone is evident in places. A pillow-stone (SL066-072012-) is built into the splay of the S light. There are three windows in the S wall, two in the chancel and one in the nave. The nave window is contemporary with the early church (heavily restored), is rectangular with a wide internal splay and three inserted steps up to the sill (ext. dims. 0.75m x 0.72m; int. dims. 1.6m x 0.88m). The most westerly window in the chancel is mainly destroyed and comprises a twin-light (ext. dims. 0.5m x 0.93m) with a portion of a chamfered and rebated jamb and sill remaining. The most easterly window comprises a single-light (ext. dims. c. 0.8m x 0.2m) with a chamfered and rebated sill. A portion of window-moulding with a large nib-hole has been incorporated into the E jamb. An area of collapse in the N wall of the church, at the junction of the nave and chancel, may mark the location of an entrance to the cloister (Wth 2m). A piscina (dims. 0.42m x 0.48m; D 0.3m) in the S chancel wall, beneath the window, is mainly of sandstone with a concrete lintel. The E sidestone has damaged external roll-moulding terminating in a spiral motif on the N face and was possibly removed from the base of the chancel arch in the Abbot's Church (KE066-072008-) (Weaver 1995). A reconstructed altar in the chancel on a plinth possibly marks the location of the original altar. There are cross-slabs (KE066-072009-, KE066-072010-, KE066-072011-) and grave-slabs (KE066-072004-) in the nave and chancel and a box-recess in the N wall (dims. 0.65m x 0.75m; D 0.4m). Three levels of putlogs in the W, N and S walls (min. H above ground level 2m) may indicate that there was once a gallery at the W end of the nave. Also in the nave, just SE of the W gable, is a bullaun stone (KE066-072005-). The cloister (dims. c. 15.5m x 12.5m) is to the N of the church with the garth slightly off-centre. The N and S garth walls are skew. The garth walls were rebuilt in the early 20th century (av. dims. 11.4m x 9.2m; H 1m; T 0.6-0.9m). The S garth wall shows evidence of fenestration with a modern entrance into the garth in the N wall. The E and N ranges survive off the cloister walk. There is no W range. The E range comprises a narrow rectangular building (int. dims. c. 18.23m x 5.2m) of roughly cut limestone. It is currently divided into two rooms by a low dividing wall (L 4.4m; max Wth 1.1m; H 0.6m), though originally it was divided into three rooms. Evidence for an upper floor survives. The N quarter of this range is a later extension. An annexe at the N end (int. dims. 1.6m x 2.2m), abutting the extension, is a later addition and probably functioned as a cupboard or storeroom. The present arrangement comprises a small room to the S (int. dims. 3.7m x 5.2m) lit by a slit window with a wide internal splay in the E wall (ext. H 0.6m; ext. Wth 0.35m; int. H 1.5m; int. Wth 1.37m). A segmental-arch door in the W wall (H 2.2m; Wth 1.1m) leads to the cloister. The access to the larger room at the N is via an opening (Wth 0.8m) in the internal wall. This large room to the N (int. dims. 14.53m x 5.2m) is lit by two slit windows in the E wall (av. ext. dims. H 0.9m; Wth 0.3m; av. int. dims. H 1.3m; Wth 1.38m). The northern-most window is at a slightly higher level and was probably constructed when the range was extended. A segmental-arch doorway (H 2.1m; Wth 1.3m) with a rebate and drawbar-socket in the E wall leads to the outside and may have originally been a window. Two segmental-arch doors in the W wall lead to the cloister. The most northern door is lintelled internally with an arch overhead (H 2m; Wth 1.4m), some re-use of fillet-mouldings is visible in the jamb. The most southern door (H 2.25m; Wth 1.3m) has a segmental arch. A window at first-floor level in the S gable and putlog holes in the W and the E walls, indicate an upper floor. A small window in the E gable wall of the adjoining N range is an external window. There is an inserted first-floor window in the N wall of the extension to the E range. The E range probably functioned as a standard E range with administrative rooms (e.g. Prior's Room and Sacristy) on the ground floor and the dormitory above.

The N range (int. dims. 16m x 5.3m), possibly the refectory, is lit by three windows in the N wall and by one window in the E wall. The window (H 0.87m; ext. Wth 0.35m; int. Wth 0.73m) in the E wall functioned as an external window but now faces into the E range. The eastern-most window (H 1.9m; ext. Wth 0.26m; int. Wth 1m) in the N wall is largely destroyed and is adjacent to the wall recess which may represent a mural stair to a reader's pulpit. Both the central window (ext. H 0.9m; ext. Wth 0.2m; int. H 1m; int. Wth 1m) and the most westerly window (ext. H 1.5m; ext. Wth 0.2m; int. H 1.7m; int. Wth 0.9m) are narrow slits. Two doorways in the S wall lead to the cloister: the one at the SW (H 1.6m; ext. Wth 1.5m; int. Wth 1.15m) is partially destroyed but the rebate survives, the one at the SE is plain (H 1.8m; Wth 0.87m) with a wooden lintel possibly inserted. The partially destroyed, rebated doorway (H 1.35m; Wth 1.45m) in the N wall has been widened but it is likely to be original and leads to the exterior. There is a box-recess in the W gable. The internal ground level is lower than that externally to N. The W wall of the cloister abuts the N antae of the early church. The segmental-arch doorway (H 2.45m; Wth 1.56m) at the SW is lintelled internally and leads outside to the Abbot's Church. Three putlogs on the W and the E walls of the cloister (H above ground level 2.5m) may indicate a lean-to roof over the cloister walk.

To the N of the abbey ranges are outlying kitchen buildings connected to the external NE corner of the annexe by a low wall (H 0.5m; L 7.7m) contemporary with the annexe. A rectangular kitchen building (ext. dims. 12.9m x 7m; int. dims. 10.5m x 5m; wall H 0.6-1m) with an oven and flue is lit by a single slit splayed window in the S wall (ext. H 0.6m; ext. Wth 0.15m; int. H 1.8m; int. Wth 0.8m). There are two entrances, one in the S wall (H 1m; Wth 1m; rebated) and one in the N wall (H 1m; ext. Wth 1.2m; int. Wth 0.7m) overlooking the shoreline. Externally, a low wall projects from either side of the N entrance and may represent an antae-room for water collection. The oven and flue in the SW quarter of the building comprise an area of c. 5m x 5m. The semicircular oven is corbelled and partially collapsed (int. dims. 2.1m E-W; 1m N-S; D 0.9m), with some fire-cracked stones. Roughly 1m S of the oven opening is a narrow, dog-legged flue (Wth c. 0.25m) extending E-W/NE-SW, though not connected to the oven. A quernstone is cemented into the oven.

Domestic buildings: Connected to the external NW corner of the Abbot's Church by an inserted arch (H 1.1m; Wth 1m). The arch creates an open walkway between the two buildings (L 7m; Wth 1m) and appears to be contemporary with the schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is a limestone building, rectangular in plan (ext. dims. 15.6m x 7m; int. dims. 14m x 5.2m; Wall H 2-3m; Wall T 1m), similar in constr