The Abbey

Entrance gates and boundary railings to Saint Joseph's Monastery, erected c.1830. Complex of monastery and older church and graveyard approached through gateway at south-west having decorative double-leaf vehicular gate and similar flanking pedestrian gates, with tooled limestone ashlar square-plan piers with chamfered corners, moulded plinths and cornices and globe finials with decorative banding. Gateway flanked by cast-iron railings on tooled limestone plinth walls. Inner boundary to monastery proper comprises double-leaf vehicular and one pedestrian entrance having ashlar limestone piers with plinths, moulded string courses and cornices with caps having lanterns, spear-headed cast-iron gates, flanked by cast-iron railings on cut-stone plinths, with rendered piers at intervals. Cast-iron pedestrian gate to east of chapel entrance having cast-iron railing to inner side, circular-plan tooled limestone piers with moulded plinths, moulded string courses, foliate carvings to friezes, and domed render caps. Double-leaf vehicular gateway to south having wrought-iron gate to round-plan tooled limestone piers with moulded string courses and plinths and globe finials, flanked by similar railings on cut-stone plinths. Coursed rubble limestone boundary walls to east bounding graveyard, having stepped copings terminating in square-plan dressed limestone piers with pointed caps and having ornate cast-iron double-leaf pedestrian gate. Ruined medieval abbey, and graveyard to site.

This entrance gateway and internal gates and railings act as a formal introduction to Saint Joseph's monastery. The ashlar masonry of the entrance piers forms a pleasing visual contrast with the render piers, rubble piers and dressed piers of the inner gates. The different railing styles add further interest, heightened by the fleurs-de-lys mounts and ornate abbey gates.