Abbey or priory · Colchester · Essex

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse is a monastery in Colchester. It holds the status of a Grade I listed building. Our list has 42 more places within 15 km; first among them is Colchester Castle, at 600 m.

Photo: St. John's Abbey Gatehouse, Saltmarsh (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Where

In Colchester

inside the built-up area

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 23%

#1,932 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

May–Sep

highs of 18–23°C

In brief

Abbey or priory in Colchester

Inside Colchester

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse is inside Colchester’s built-up area, with 16 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Grade I listed building

On the official list of protected heritage; Colchester has 443 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The best months to visit

Aim for May to September, when Colchester reaches 18–23°C.

Jan8° / 2°51 mm

Feb8° / 2°42 mm

Mar11° / 3°37 mm

Apr14° / 5°37 mm

May18° / 8°47 mm

Jun21° / 11°52 mm

Jul23° / 13°47 mm

Aug23° / 13°55 mm

Sep20° / 10°47 mm

Oct15° / 8°65 mm

Nov11° / 4°61 mm

Dec8° / 2°58 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Colchester, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Colchester. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Colchester’s full climate →

About

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse

Its upkeep is handled by English Heritage. Articles on it exist in 2 languages.

Colchester’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Abbey or priory
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Grade I listed building
Wikipedias: Covered in 2 languages
Town: in Colchester
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-johns-abbey-gate

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Its place on the map

Spot St. John's Abbey Gatehouse in orange, then follow the numbers to the places below.

Towns near it

The nearest towns to St. John's Abbey Gatehouse

Colchester tops the 8 for size, at 130,259 people. The list runs from its own town outward.

1 · It’s in town

Colchester

130,259 people · 22 places to visit

2 · 1.8 km south of it

Berechurch

7,702 people · 18 places to visit

3 · 3.5 km southwest of it

Layer-de-la-Haye

1,338 people · 19 places to visit

4 · 3.8 km northwest of it

West Bergholt

3,175 people · 17 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where St. John's Abbey Gatehouse is	People	Places to visit
Colchester	It’s in town	130,259	22
Berechurch	1.8 km south of it	7,702	18
Layer-de-la-Haye	3.5 km southwest of it	1,338	19
West Bergholt	3.8 km northwest of it	3,175	17
Rowhedge	3.8 km southeast of it	2,492	19
Wivenhoe	3.9 km southeast of it	7,354	20
Great Horkesley	4.2 km north of it	2,232	15
High Park Corner	5.7 km southeast of it	247	5

Make a day of it

Worth adding to a visit

A visit can add 3 art galleries, a castle and an abbey or priory, from 42 places within 15 km.

CastleColchester Castle600 m away 2

Abbey or priory · English HeritageSt. Botolph's Priory300 m away 3

FortBalkerne Gate700 m away 4

Art galleryFirstsite500 m away 5

ZooColchester Zoo5.4 km away 6

Art galleryThe Minories500 m away 7

MuseumHollytrees Museum500 m away 8

Art galleryAlbert Hall600 m away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Planning a visit to St. John's Abbey Gatehouse

Where is St. John's Abbey Gatehouse?

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse is in Colchester, Essex, inside the town’s built-up area.

What is St. John's Abbey Gatehouse?

Monastery in Colchester.

Who runs St. John's Abbey Gatehouse?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit St. John's Abbey Gatehouse?

May to September are the warmest months in Colchester, with afternoon highs of 18–23°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is St. John's Abbey Gatehouse a listed building?

Yes: Grade I listed building.

What else is there to see near St. John's Abbey Gatehouse?

Within 15 km: Colchester Castle (600 m), St. Botolph's Priory (300 m), Balkerne Gate (700 m) and Firstsite (500 m).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

St. John's Abbey Gatehouse: Saltmarsh, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Colchester Castle: George Gastin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
St. Botolph's Priory: Maria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Balkerne Gate: Tanya2501, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Firstsite: Alexis Ip, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Colchester Zoo: Angela Tuff, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Minories: David Hawgood, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hollytrees Museum: Jarry1250, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Albert Hall: Jo and Steve Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.