The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
not confirmed (now)
Augustinian house, former
After the dissolution of the Abbey in 1538, some of the stone was used for the Earl of Leicester's developments at Kenilworth Castle,c.1570; other stones were used for local building foundations, etc. Loose sculptures from the excavations of 1890 and 1922 are now held in the Abbey Barn museum, an essentially 14thc. monastic building, later used as a barn. The site was covered over in 1967 for preservation.
Ruined church
Early monastic site with ruined round tower and nave and chancel church. A medieval residential tower was built over the earlier church probably in the 16thc.
Castle
The remains of Clitheroe Castle consist today of the Norman keep standing on rocky outcrop dominating the town. The keep is one of the smallest in the country, measuring no more than 10.8m on each side externally and 5.2m internally. It is square with small, flat, pilaster-like corner turrets, one of which contains a spiral staircase. It consists of a single room on three floors, with an extra intra-mural chamber on the 1st floor. The original roof or floor timbers is lost. The main entrance was on the NW elevation at 1st floor level. Entry must have been by an external, wooden staircase. The substantial stepped buttresses are part of the 1848 restoration work.
On the elevations, all apertures are either simple slits - some enlarged at a later date - or round-headed doors which appear to have been rebuilt and renewed or what appear to be breaches in the wall (particularly at ground floor level). It may be that the door apertures on 1st floor level are in their original position, however the jambs and arches appeared to contain rebuilt or newer fabric.
There was no sign of any moulding or decorative work on the extant jambs, lintels or sills.
The museum, occupying the 16thc Steward's House, was visited and checked for any ex situ fragments of stone but none were seen.
Benedictine house, former
Only a section of walling survives from the abbey church itself. Fragments of the 13thc. chapter house, the free-standing early 16thc. bell-tower and the gateway otherwise remain. The lower part of the gateway is built of stone, and of 12thc. date, the upper parts, probably dating from the 15thc., are timber-framed. Romanesque sculpture is found in the gateway arch (see para. III.1(i) below); some fragments in the museum may also come from the Abbey (see Evesham, Museum).