garden front. Close by, and possibly adjoining, was the Barton Gate
which led to the stables and outhouses. The long low building of
stone and timber, washed over in the old manner with lime, which rises
from the grass on our left was once the Almonry of the Abbey. It is
now occupied as offices and separate dwellings. The front is extremely
picturesque with its buttresses, perpendicular window and quaint
openings. The western portion, built mainly of timber, with here and
there the remains of carving, and a diaper imprinted on the plaster,
contains the great fireplace, clearly indicated on this side by the
mass of solid stonework. Turning the corner into Little Abbey Lane we
come to the yard at the back, and we may be allowed to view the
interior of the Almoner's kitchen, which still retains some of its
primitive character. From this apartment a passage runs through the
entire length of the building, and this was no doubt originally
continued, forming a communication with the main buildings of the
Monastery. In the corner of the courtyard, beneath a brick gable which
is mere modern patchwork, the passage takes an abrupt turn, and in the
angle is placed a curious "lantern" of stone, which, from its
character, may very probably be the work of the Gloucester school of
masons of the fifteenth century. The proper position and use of this
curious relic is only guessed at. The chambers below are said to have
served the purpose of a prison at one time, the prisoners' food being
placed in the lantern, and taken by the unfortunate inmates through
the hatch cut in the wall behind. The passage is continued from this
corner to the outer wall of the building where it abruptly terminates
in a screen of modern construction. If we go farther round this block
into the garden we shall come to another cottage, and in the front
room we may see a well-carved fireplace ornamented with five
quatrefoils. It is composed of the oolite stone used for all the finer
and more important work in the Monastery, but has been lately painted,