Pykenham's Gatehouse

Ipswich Building Preservation Trust: Pykenham's gatehouse. Northgate Street. Built by the Archdeacon of Suffolk, this important 15th century property was restored by the Trust in 1983 and is leased from the Ipswich and Suffolk Club. It is used by the Trust as its Headquarters. We include here an essay kindly written for us on Archdeacon Pykenham's House by noted local historian, Dr John Blatchly expanding on his talk at the Trust's Corporate Guest Evening (see News).

Illustration by J.S. Corder 1890

The gatehouse is Listed Grade I; the listing text follows:-

'A C15 gateway attributed to William Pykenham, who became Archdeacon of Suffolk in 1471, Dean and Rector of Hadleigh in 1472 and who died in 1497. He also built the fine brick gatehouse called the Deanery Tower at Hadleigh. The initials W P were formerly on the gateway, and in one of the spandrels a fish, presumably a pike, although these have now been worn away. The gateway has a 4-centred arch and a 2-light 4 centred arched window with latticed leaded light, moulded brick mullions, hood moulds and chamfered reveals. The gateway has a crow stepped gable (rebuilt). At the rear a timber-framed and plastered wings extends to the west on the 1st storey, with exposed timber-framing and a 3 light mullioned window with arched lattice leaded lights. The gable is jettied on a moulded bressumer and the apex also projects slightly on a moulded bressumer. A small gabled wing extends south with a jettied upper storey and a 2 light casement window. A high brick wall extends south for about 70 ft. At the north end there is a small entrance with a 4-centred arch with shafts and capitals, and at the south end there is a large 4-centred arched carriageway. The north part of the wall now has a tiled capping and the south part has a sloping brick capping with brick dentils.'