RUPERT'S TOWER, LEICESTER

BY ALBERT HERBERT, F.S.A.

Rupert's Tower, Leicester

By Albert Herbert, F.S.A.

HISTORICAL landmarks always tend to be a diminishing quan­tity-as is indeed the case with all works of art. One has only to read Vasari and similar authors to know what grievous losses have been sustained in the latter category by one cause or another. It is all too true and regrettable that Leicester, even in living memory, has lost many of its architectural treasures which it could little afford to part with.

To mention only a few-the Wyggeston Hospital chapel in St Martin's, the Huntingdon Tower in High Street, the many old Georgian fronts, Francis Hames' charming council chamber with its enriched barrel ceiling at the municipal buildings, the money­penny stone fac;:ade o.f the penitentiary in Highcross Street-all have gone.

Some six years ago, with the object of slightly increasing the width of Bonner's Lane, an interesting relic of medieval times on the north side of that thoroughfare was demolished . The surprising thing was that so little by way of lament was heard at the time of its disappearance or since, for the matter of that, although there was "a blessing in it".

The building referred to was on the southern boundary of the Newarke area and was generally known as Rupert's Tower. Whence the appellation Tower was derived it is difficult to say, for although a careful search was made during the pulling down, nothing suggestive o.f a tower or gateway was brought to light. From the remains, one might safely assume that they represent a building of domestic character of the late fourteenth century. By some the building was spoken of as Bishop Bonner's Palace. It is quite possible, however, that a few yards distant from the west end of it there was, at the southern end of Fairfax Street, a gateway or tower giving access to the Newarke.

The buildings, · as will be seen from the accompanying plans and details, were of unusually sturdy construction-the main walls being about three feet two inches thick:

RUPERT'S TOWER, LEICESTER 189

To be in conformity with buildings of this period there should be an embattled parapet and presumably a low roof, lead covered, as indicated on the accompanying drawings, in dotted lines, v.ith .a moulded stone string course lineable with the wood eaves gut­tering.

The ashlaring, dressings and quoins were of Attleborough stone, i.e. stone from the Nuneaton neighbourhood, with rubble walling on the northern elevation. On the south side the entire walling was seemingly coursed wrought sandstone, but much of this facing was replaced by brickwork in the eighteenth century, or later, when the whole of this front was grievously disfigured by the insertion of clumsy windows and a doorway. In its last years the building served as a millwright's workshop.

The drawings illustrating these notes were prepared before and during the period of demolition and in accordance with the objects of our Society are being, somewhat tardily, placed on record by their inclusion in these Transactions.

None of the original glazing was discoverable, but happily, sufficient remains of hand-wrought iron stanchions and saddle bars were found to complete the design of the upper windows.

The dimensions of the building were, roughly speaking, fifty-three feet long by twenty-two feet seven inches wide and it was of two stories in height. See plate No. 2.

Ample evidence of the original internal plastering was found, and on the lower floor there was a spherical-shaped mural cavity, smoothly plastered, the use of which was difficult to identify. Query, a baking oven, for it was towards the chimney end, and later this cavity had apparently been conv,erted into· a depository.

The tracery of the upper one~and two-light windows was typical of the period by having pointed apexes, see "R" plate 2, but obviously some half century or so later the traceried window openings of the lower storey on the north front were replaced by work of less gothic character, see variations in the design at "S" and compare this with the tracery at "R". Later still, the two door­ways, with their four-centred heads and stone rere-arches were cut into the old work, the mason varying the outline of his mouldings to comply with a change in fashion.

As will thus be seen, it was this, the north front, which pre~ sented features most worthy of examination. The east wall was

190 LEICESTERSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

"faced" externally suggesting that the garden returned on this side and the south wall seems to have been carried eastward to form an enclosure to the property, see ' ,'W" plate No. 1.

The writer is of the opinion that no windows originally existed to the lower storey on the south side, but that probably a door on this side gave access to the public roadway.

We may conclude by refreshing our memory of the chron­ological order of the main items in this very interesting N ewarke area, so .ably dealt with by Professor A. Hamilton Thompson. They are the Castle, twelfth century et subseq., St. Mary de Castro 1107 et subseq., Trinity Hospital 1331, the Newarke Gate­way and Castle Gateway, both some sixty years later-say 1395, and the Chantry House, 1512.

BUILDINC JOUrn OF TOE NEWAIU<E LEiCEITEll.. KNOWN AS Rl.JPER.T5 IDWElt..

!Ja. fJ

.... ,,. ·uc: L .:,,,:,, ~,.,,.,_.J= C ... F ,--

\00. ·---=- ' ---

Jo ' A. MOUND. 8. CASTLE ~ S.MARY CH

D. TRINITY HOSP~ E CAHLE CATEWAY

... w UI « I­I/I

F. <::HANTRY 1-0USE C NEWA!ll<E CATEWAY

BLOCK PLAN

COTTACES.

BONNERS

-· ., ,,. ... _. . . r . ·-·· -

(f]u;KJ,n<t> soutfJ Qfffle Newarf<e. ie1ceffer knouin Of c.J@peifi tJotl)er_ DEMOLISHED Jg35

.'\

2' 10

U P P E R R O O M

FIRST FLOOR. PLAN

G a r () e

....

SOUTH

Co u r£(/). J' a r o

PLATE NQI

i-1

y -··-J ··

COTTAC&S COTT ACES

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

LANE

/ ''.

~5-- .,-"'?==== = = ==----..... ae-~~

ALBERT ~fRBfRl F S.A. JUNE 1_935

R10CE

EAVES

UNCOUP.SEO RUBBLE WALLING -·----------------- -----

PI.AN OF WINDOW OVER.

-f\-r"'\(\ I I I I I I I II I I I

I II- :I I I I I I I J I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I t----'J&--!Jt.!.---'J

_::;:/-

Tl-1E DRESSINGS ARE OF ATTLEBOROUCH STONE ( A FINE CAAINED CREY SANDSTONE.

CAOJNO LEVEL

Ri\RT NORTI-I ELEVATION.

I !¾RT PLAN OF NORTI-I WALL

·~·.

F. F.

-. t('t

. .... ~,.l . , •. . , L -,, ~~-

. FIRST FLOOR

=----~ -

R

CROSS SECTION

PLATE. N02

--,_J} I I

BONNERS CANI: .

S?: I f 'f' !,5 l? ( SCALE a; FEET

dBLJifoin{f) soutfJ otfne NeuJarf<e fetcesfer knouln ar c.fWpe,tI 8a&er DEMousHED 1935

) ' '

ALB~RT ~ERBERT.fs.A LEICESTER., JUNE l935