Over the whole of this eastern range the
dormitory extended, communicating with the church and cloister by the
gallery and stair at its north end. Some remains of its western windows
may be seen over the chapter house and parlour. The space over the most
eastern severy of the chapter house was divided off, by a wall, from the
dormitory; and perhaps served as the muniment room and treasury.
At a distance of 47½ ft. from the east wall of the common
house, and parallel with it, are the remains of the infirmary hall,
which was a large apartment 47ft by 27ft. This hall forms one side of a
quadrangular court, of which the common house and necessarium
formed the west and north sides. The south side was bounded by a wall,
which perhaps had a pentice communicating with the common house. North
of the infirmary was the canon's cemetary. Other portions of the
infirmary, south of this hall, still await the spade and pick of the
excavator.
The cloister quadrangle, 72 ft 3 in. by 70 ft. 5 in., is
nearly complete; the south-west angle being the only portion quite
destroyed. The north wall has at present |
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four openings, of which the most western is the procession
door, and the most eastern the cloister door; the other two are recent
gaps in the masonry, which ought to be filled up. The east wall is quite
complete, and pierced by four doors; one into the transept; a second for
the quasi-daystairs; a third into the chapter house, having a window on
each side with marble jamb-shafts; and a fourth into the regular
parlour. On the south side is what looks like a modern farm-house, with
a very picturesque Elizabethan porch; but which, on examination, proves
to be the refectory or fratry. This very necessary apartment is, unlike
the other buildings, raised upon an undercroft of four severies, which
were vaulted with quadripartite groins, of which only the springers now
remain. The easternmost severy is walled off, apparently to form a slype,
but its entrances are now blocked. There is another curious feature
about the refectory. While the undercroft is only 20ft. wide, the
apartment above it, which was the fratry proper, was 24 ft. wide and
extended for about 42 ft. from the west wall of the common house. The
increased |