Indicated — Abbeylands

At Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). This 18th-century house, oriented roughly NW–SE, is appended to the E domestic range of the 15th-century friary. The house dates to the secular occupation of the friary following the Dissolution, when the property had been confiscated by the English Crown, and was no longer in the ownership of the friars. Parts of the friary appear to have been converted to secular use at that time, such as the refectory, where an oven was inserted into the S end of the W wall, and the friary kitchen in the N range. O’Hara (1898, 262) states that the house was built by James Knox, but the exact date of construction is unknown. It is said to have been built using stones taken from ruined friary buildings. The house is a two storey building (14. 05m E–W; 5.30m N–S) of mortared stone, now roofless. The main entrance from the exterior was through a large doorway, centrally placed in the N wall; there is a tall cupboard recess immediately to E of it. In the W wall there is another doorway, flanked by two cupboard recesses, which opens into a corridor, connecting the house to the friary. The corridor is integrated on the N side to a narrow building, which was probably the friary garderobe, beneath which a stream flows; an opening, furnished with stone steps, in the N wall of the corridor allows access to the stream. The house was well lit by large windows. At ground floor level, two large, slightly arched windows flank the doorway in the N wall. In the S wall there are three rectangular windows, each with a stone mullion, and at the E end of that wall, a rectangular single light. The two central windows have interesting features on the internal face of the central mullions, which may have been part of a system of internal timber shutters: One mullion features a sort of stone hook that may have held the rod keeping the shutter closed, the other a stone ridge along the length of the mullion, with a hole in the centre, which again may have been for a rod to hold shutters in place. In the E gable, a central rectangular window with a mullion is flanked by two small cupboard recesses. The upper storey had timber flooring; the rebate and sockets for floor beams are visible in the S and N wall. Two fireplaces, one in the E and one in the W gable, suggest that the upper floor was divided into two rooms. The fireplace in the W room is more elaborate, with a projecting hood, carved with shallow wavy lines, resting on two corbels on either side. It is flanked by two cupboard recesses. To right of the fireplace, at the N end of the W wall, is a doorway that gives access to the upper floor of the garderobe/corridor building, leading to the friary. The upper storey rooms were also well lit: In the N wall there are three large windows, the frames and upper sections now missing, and in the S wall there are two large, slightly arched windows, without surviving mullions. Attached images: MA022-024002-_01 House –N façade, with main doorway. MA022-024002-_02 House –viewed from SE MA022-024002-_03 Interior –W gable, showing doorways at ground and first floor leading to the friary MA022-024002-_04 Corridor connecting house to friary, viewed from W MA022-024002-_05 Interior –E gable MA022-024002-_06 Detail of ground floor window, with shutter feature, in S wall Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye Date of upload: 15 June 2020