Puddington Old Hall, Priests House And Priests House Flat

Puddington Old Hall, together with the Priest's House and Priest's House Flat, is a complex of buildings with origins in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, initially constructed as a moated manor house for the Massey family. Rewalling occurred in the early 18th century, and an addition was made in 1909. The construction is timber-framed, with outer walls brick-clad and roughcast, and a Welsh slate roof, incorporating both lateral and ridge brick chimneys. The buildings enclose three sides of a courtyard.

The main house is two storeys and has attics. The external facades include a brick band at first-floor level and a mixture of casements with glazing bars. Four doorways are present, one in the north-east corner featuring a 1909 porch under a wooden lintel. Entry to the courtyard is gained through the west range. The north range presents a two-storey, three-bay south front. The eaves project and are supported on wooden posts from a narrow first-floor gallery, itself supported on posts. Behind this gallery is close-studded timber framing featuring heavy arch braces. The ground storey of the north range retains two original casements with wood mullions and shaped wooden sills, alongside a blocked basket arched doorway and a rectangular frame for a board door. Above these are a blocked three-light wood mullioned window and copies of the wooden casements. The east front of the west range exhibits close-studding with a middle rail and weaker arch bracing visible in the upper storey. The south range is now largely obscured by a two-storey addition dating to the late 19th century.

Internally, Puddington Old Hall has a line of rooms accessed from a corridor. While some heavy ceiling beams remain exposed, most of the fittings, including the staircase, date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Upstairs, a mix of 17th-century six-panelled doors, three-board doors, and panelled pine doors are present, and sections of close-studded timber framing are visible. The Priest's House Flat contains a large blocked fireplace with a chamfered and stopped bracket of the bressumer visible. A double chamfered and stopped beam is present near the staircase. The upper level reveals three early trusses; one has a tiebeam and collar with open vertical studs, another has an arch-braced collar, and a third features a cambered tiebeam, formerly arch-braced and likely supporting a king or crown post. This arrangement suggests either a three-bay room originally open to the roof, or a solar arrangement, in the northwest corner. The Priest’s House itself was not inspected.

The complex has historical significance due to its association with Saint John Plessington (c.1637-1679), a Catholic priest who was seized at the house following the Popish Plot and subsequently hung at Chester Castle. His quartered body was initially displayed at the Old Hall before being buried at Burton.