Chesterton Tower is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

medieval tower located in Chapel Street,

Chesterton, Cambridge Chesterton is a suburb in Cambridge, England. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the suburb had a population of 18,620 people. History Archaeological evidence indicates that the area that is now Chesterton has been inhabited ...

. The two-storey 14th-century tower is the former residence of Italian

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

s of the abbot of

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

in Italy. It stands in the former vicarage garden of nearby

St Andrew's Church, Chesterton St Andrew's Church, Chesterton is a Church of England parish church in Chesterton, Cambridge. It is a Grade I listed building. A church was first recorded on this site around 1200. The church was presented in 1217 to the papal legate, Cardinal G ...

. Built from field stones,

clunch Clunch is a traditional building material of chalky limestone rock used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. Clunch distinguishes itself from archetypal forms of limestone by being softer in character when cut, and may resemble chalk in lowe ...

, brick and

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...

s, the tower is, unusually, not a fragment but a complete dwelling with vaulted ceilings, a spiral staircase and

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

. The lower storey is vaulted in two bays with chamfered ribs and carved bosses. A restoration was completed in 1949. In 1217 as an expression of gratitude for his assistance in preventing civil war, the Chesterton church was given by Henry III to the Papal Legate Cardinal Guala. He subsequently bestowed the buildings upon the abbey at Vercelli. A procurator, probably a canon of the abbey, resided at the tower and represented the foreign ownership. It is thought that the vicarage was probably a separate building. In 1440 Henry VI gave these buildings to

King's Hall, Cambridge King's Hall was one of the earliest constituent colleges of University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1317, the second after Peterhouse. King's Hall was established by King Edward II to provide chancery clerks for his administration, and was ...

Cambridgeshire, Second edition (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) N Pevsner which later became Henry VIII's Trinity College. The tower is an uncommon survivor of a mid-14th-century dwelling.

References

{{Commons category Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge