Præsidium

First Appearance and Context

During an ascent to the Starhenge amid a passing storm, the tower’s interior stair is described; on descent into a stone cupola, the Master of the Keys stands by a portcullis, and the gridirons of adjacent towers are observed closed during Apert.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Architectural and mechanical hub of the Mynster; it carries the great clock’s dials and anchors the rooftop instruments.
• Access to the upper works is controlled by tower portcullises that are scheduled at night by the Master of the Keys so that only one cohort has the stair at a time.
• Windowed upperworks complement the inward watch associated with the Warden Regulant and the outward watch above; both overlook the Concent.

Relationships

• Integrated with the rooftop Starhenge and the larger fabric of the Mynster.
• Access patterns are administered by hierarchs (e.g., the Master of the Keys) in coordination with broader observance schedules.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Central tower with high clock dials and an interior spiral stair that rises through tracery walls to the roof.
• Four corner towers with portcullises and a stone cupola at the stairheads; closures can be coordinated across towers.
• Rooftop structures include domes and a ring of standing stones set among the instruments.

Current Status/Location

Active at the heart of the Mynster. It continues to support timekeeping and observation from the rooftop, with portcullises configured at night to regulate access; during Apert, multiple towers’ gridirons have been observed shut.