A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



two three-light windows between buttresses, and in 

 the south end of the east wall is a doorway to the 

 open. The rest of the east wall is occupied by two 

 wide splayed recesses. A three-light window is in 

 the west wall, and to the north of it two small recesses 

 and a doorway to the open. North of this block is 

 the so-called ' long gallery,' which was partly repaired 

 by Sir Ralph Assheton in 1 66 1, but has since been 

 again ruined at its south end and absorbed into the 

 house. It was the infirmary hall, and opened on to 

 its cloister by two doors on the east, and to the 

 south of each door \vas a large three-light window. 

 Opposite these in the thicitness of the west wall is a 

 long recess about 2 ft. deep. A door in the south wall 

 leads to the kitchen. It seems likely that before the 

 destruction of the monastery this hall had been sub- 

 divided and put to other than its original use, or it 



eastern portion are blocked pointed doorways. A 

 similar doorway in the north wall of the larger 

 portion is open. In the upper stage are three three- 

 light windows on each side and similar windows at 

 the east and west ends. It is conceivable that this 

 important and well-lighted room may have served as 

 a capdla extra porta. The l^indows at the sides all 

 retain their muUions and tr.icery, except the western- 

 most on the north side and the middle window on 

 the south. This tracery consists of three trefoilcd 

 lights, the centre ogeed and the flanking lights 

 round, with two bowed quatrefoils and a true quatre- 

 foil over in a two-centred head. The east window 

 is an elaborated version, on a larger scale, of the same 

 arrangement, but the west window is quite plain 

 and of one light. The upper stage was reached by 

 a stair from the blocked doorway in the north wall 



Whalley Abbey : North-west Gateway 



may be that the infirmary proper was in the upper 

 stage. 



Of the two gate-houses, that at the north-west is 

 of early i4th-centur\ date. It stands east and west, 

 and is about 75 ft. long by 33 ft. wide. Its east 

 and west entrances are wide two-centred archways 

 with single-shafted jambs, and about one-third of the 

 length from the east end are the customary large and 

 small entrances, the former a segmental arch at the 

 north and the latter a pointed arch at the south side 

 of the passage. Both the larger and smaller portions 

 of the passage are vaulted, the former in five and the 

 latter in three bays, the ribs springing from moulded 

 corbels, and the wall ribs forming an acutely pointed 

 wall arcade. In the north and south walls of the 



of the ground stage leading to a doorway between 

 the two easternmost windows of the north wall 

 above. 



The north-east gateway is of the 1 5th century, 

 and is of two stages, with angle buttresses. It stands 

 north and south, and has wide two-centred arches 

 with heavy jamb-shafts at each end, and has larger 

 and smaller entrances exactly midway. In the south- 

 west corner of the inner portion is a vice to the 

 upper stage, which has a high embattled parapet 

 carried also round the heads of the diagonal but- 

 tresses. On the north face of the upper stage are 

 three niches, the central one canopied and lower 

 than the others and containing a later figure. It is 

 also flanked by two shields of arms. 



386 



