The remains of St Mildred's Priory Tower at Minster Abbey, Minster-in-Thanet, which form part of the GI listed building, were surveyed ahead of a programme of consolidation work. The tower is rectangular in plan with the longest axis orientated east - west. The remains are situated at the southern end of the adjacent north- south orientated range. The fabric of both buildings share many similar details indicating origin and alterations common to the two structures throughout the history of the site. From the remains, the tower stood to two storeys in height plus ground floor and roof (or garret) access. The tower is predominantly constructed of rubble, flint and dressed stone in several combinations. The surviving features and fabric of the tower represent the history of the construction, use and alteration of the structure. The earliest surviving fabric includes the remains of the herringbone facing, some slab-like quoins, and the round arched window on the eastern elevation. A series of cosmetic additions were carried out after the Norman Conquest. The Norman alterations included the re-facing of the stair tower, the addition of alternating horizontal quoins at the edges of the tower construction and the creation of the Romanesque arches, the eastern one constructed to include the earlier window. The monastery suffered during the dissolution and it may have been during this period that various buildings on the site were dismantled. It is clear from the position of the respond at the southeastern corner of the tower that an archway had stood in this location extending out to the east where it would have terminated in a further column or respond attached to masonry no longer in situ. The western side of the tower is also very fragmentary and the rubble core of much of the structure is all that survives. It is to the west of the tower remains that the rubble core of a pier stands to which a four-centred arch has been added, connecting the pier to the projecting western elevation of the tower. A carved plaque representing a visitation of God, believed to date from the Saxon period now sits above the archway. The plaque and arch are not in
their original locations and were moved to this position after the remains were uncovered during the 1928 excavations. (information summarised from source) (1)

<1> Archaeology South-East, 2008, St Mildred's Priory Tower, Minster-In-Thanet, Kent: Photographic Historic Building Record (Unpublished document). SKE18288.