By Harold Brakspear, F.S.A. 227 
over the vestry, chapter-house, and warming-house, was the great 
dorter or dormitory of the canonesses. It was approached by a 
flight of steps contained in the thickness of the west wall of the 
vestry, but the lower steps were destroyed and the upper part of 
the staircase walled up solid after the suppression. At the foot of 
the staircase is a small square lobby vaulted with semi-octagonal 
ribs and entered from the cloister by a segmental-headed doorway 
of two chamfered members—the outer resting on jamb shafts with 
noulded caps and bases. The door was fastened on the inside 
vith a draw bar. 
The staircase is covered by a wagon vault with cross ribs at 
‘intervals. It was lighted under the original pentice cloister by a 
yindow formed of two pointed arches resting on detached columns 
ith moulded caps and bases,! and above the cloister roof by a 
mall trefoil window, now blocked up. Against the east side was 
wooden hand-rail; the plug holes for its fixing to the wall still 
main. 
‘The side walls of the dorter were pierced by small lancet 
mmdows ; the south jamb and sill of the southernmost towards the 
loister still remain. Above it are the remains of a hollow moulded 
jocking course that ran under the eaves of the original roof. 
ortions of a similar blocking course are also in the upper part of 
1e east walls of the vestry and chapter-house, and show that the 
tojecting part of these chambers originally had an upper story, 
robably in connection with the dorter.2 
ate in the 14th century considerable alterations were made to 
edorter. The north end was lengthened some 22 feet across the 
re-dorter and its drain, and a new gable built above the north 
ee St orem 
———$———— 
As the head of this opening was above the level of the vaulting of the 
feenth century cloister, the whole was refaced at that time by a smaller 
o-light window with cusped heads, protected with cross bars but not glazed, 
ich still retains traces of colour decoration. 
'At Burnham the dorter was of one width throughout, the chapter-house 
ne projecting beyond the range, and the projecting part was covered by a 
tice roof. At the small Cistercian house of Calder was a similar 
angement over the projecting part of the chapter-house, as at Lacock, 
s 
ered by a roof parallel to the dorter roof. 
