An "elaborate" gatehouse that defended an Essex monastery from peasants and Parliamentarians is the only surviving piece of the building's history today.
St John’s Abbey Gate in Colchester once guarded the entrance to a Norman monastery.
Founded in 1095 by Eudo Dapifer, high steward to William the Conqueror and constable of Colchester Castle, the Benedictine abbey of St John the Baptist played a major part in the religious and economic life of the region.
In 1133, the abbey was severely damaged by a fire but major reconstruction followed and it was partly rebuilt in a cruciform layout.
It is said than in 1170, the abbey received its most treasured relic - a vial said to contain the blood of Thomas Becket, sent by a monk called Ralph who had been present at Becket's murder in Canterbury Cathedral.
In the late 14th and early 15th centuries - believed to be as a result of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 - the abbey strengthened its defences and the gatehouse, which remains today, was constructed around 1400 as part of those fortifications.
A spokesperson for English Heritage said: "This pinnacled gatehouse, elaborately decorated in East Anglian 'flushwork,' is the sole survivor of the wealthy Benedictine abbey of St John.
"It was built around 1400 to strengthen the abbey's defences following the Peasants' Revolt.
"Later part of the mansion of the Royalist Lucas family, the gatehouse was bombarded and stormed by Parliamentarian soldiers during the Civil War siege."
During the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, St John’s was one of a handful of abbeys that refused to surrender to Henry VIII’s commissioners.
It fell only after the abbot was executed for treason.
The property eventually passed into the hands of the Lucas family, who converted some of the abbey buildings into a house.
It remained in the family until the mid-17th century and was the birthplace of Margaret Cavendish, the writer and natural philosopher, in 1623.
During the siege of Colchester in 1648, the gatehouse was heavily damaged by artillery fire from Parliamentary troops.
Part of the upper storey was destroyed, and the vaulted roof was damaged.
The site later housed Dutch prisoners in the 1660s, and the rest of the abbey buildings appear to have been demolished shortly after.
Built principally from flint and brick with limestone dressings, it features a gate hall and a porter’s lodge.
Both the carriageway and pedestrian entrances have ribbed stone vaulting springing from moulded corbels carved with human heads and lions.
The lower part of the gatehouse is mostly original, according to English Heritage, including the elaborate vaulting.
The upper chamber, northern facade and turrets were heavily restored in the mid-19th century but are believed to be faithful copies of the original work.
A doorway in the west wall once led into a now-destroyed adjacent building - a blocked door in the south-west turret once connected this building with the upper room of the gatehouse.
Today it remains a Grade I listed building managed by English Heritage and Colchester City Council, and is considered one of the finest examples of late medieval East Anglian flint flushwork architecture in the country.
Whilst the exterior of the gatehouse can be viewed any time, the interior - including the famous vaulted ceiling with its cannonball scars - is only open occasionally for Heritage Open Days.
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