Saint Mark's College (EHER 497)

Early 17th century almshouses and chapel by Thomas Howard. 14th and 15th century stained glass remains are noteworthy.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 497, 498, and 27188. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Almshouses [LB]. <1> The College of St Mark (Almshouses), a late Elizabethan brick building of uncommon completeness and plan. Two courtyards with the hall and chapel separating them; each courtyard had ten dwellings. The college was dissolved in 1633 and gradually fell into disrepair. It was restored about 1948-51 and the chapel rebuilt. <2> Built about 1600 on a double quadrangular plan, as almshouses, part 1 storey, part 2 storeys, in brick. There was a chapel, hall and kitchen in the range between the quadrangles. At some uncertain date the chapel's east end was pulled down and in the 19th century the middle range and the north quadrangle were altered considerably inside. 'Now' used as 2 tenements and farm buildings, the south quadrangle still as an almshouse. Original fittings survive such as fireplaces, panelling etc. There is 16th century stained glass in the south west tenement. The boundary wall enclosing the former garden is original, brick. At the north east angle are 2 large gate piers. 14th and 15th century stained glass remains are noteworthy. In the south-west and kitchen is a collection of stained glass of various dates. Some probably from Walden Abbey and other parts from Jesus College, Cambridge. Glass dates from the 14th, late 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Several tenements in the south courtyard have traces of 14th century designs etc. Site Assessment = "The building is of special interest as an example of a large double quadrangular almshouse of the 17th century. The original roof-truss of the chapel..(is). still noteworthy". <3> Built about 1600 by the Earl of Suffolk when he was building Audley End. Restored in 1968 and now used as a rest home for clergy. The barn is probably 18th century with an 20th century roof. A wall has some original brickwork. The barn and wall are also listed. Listed Grade 1. <4> Jacobean brick building of uncommon completeness and plan. <5> May 1968. Field visit. The restored College of St Mark has since the 1950s been a home for aged clergymen of the Chelmsford Diocese. The name Abbey farm dates from the late 18th century when the college (founded originally for members of the Audley End estate) was taken over as farm buildings with the chapel used as a barn. See GP. <6> <7> June 1989. Field visit. As described by <1> <2> <4> <7>. <8> 1993. Watching brief. A watching brief was carried out in 1993 during the laying of a gas pipe along the west side of the almshouses. For a length of 13m between the 2 entrances in this side of the building, the trench ran along the edge of a mortared flint foundation 6ft from the almshouses and parallel to them. The mortar was orangey brown and looked typically medieval. The foundation was 21" wide and 10" deep, rather narrow for a rubble wall and of above average width for a timber framed one. A patch of mortar debris in the side of the trench might have represented a robbed wall running off to the west. It was observed that the almshouses have no true foundations, their brickwork continuing only about 250mm below ground level. The chapel looks like a different building phase to the main structure because of the anomalous relationship between its windows and the adjacent roofs and the character of its bricks which are different to those of the almshouses. <9>