The Priory

The Priory is a former vicarage, now a house, located in Freiston. It occupies the site of the former Frieston Priory and may incorporate some earlier stonework. The building largely dates to the late 16th century, with additions and alterations in the 17th century, and further changes in the early 18th and early 19th centuries. It is constructed of red brick in English and Flemish bonds, with ashlar quoins and bands. The roof is tiled, with brick coped tumbled gables and kneelers, and features two gable and one ridge stack, each with moulded plinths and diagonally set brick shafts. A rear range has two external wall stacks with diagonally set shafts and a knopped gable with a moulded ashlar kneeler. The building comprises parallel ranges; the rear range is from the 16th century, while the front range is a 17th-century addition refronted around 1720. The front façade is two storeys plus a garret, with seven bays. It features a central six-panel door with an overlight and a decorative doorcase with panelled reveals, fluted pilasters and a frieze to the pediment. Flanking the door are three glazing-bar sash windows, each set within rubbed brick splayed arches. Seven similar windows are on the first floor. The gable walls have plinths and circular lights in the garret.

Inside, a late 16th-century dogleg staircase with large balusters, a moulded handrail, a knopped newel, and a pulvinated frieze to the closed string remains. A small cellar lies beneath the stairs, featuring stone walls, potentially a remnant of the original Priory. The rear range contains deeply moulded beams on the ground and first floors, each with elaborately moulded stops. The front range retains some early 18th-century panelling, mantle shelves, and shutters. The roofs feature a clasped purl.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the property came into the possession of the King, and was later disposed of between 1714 and 1729 to the Dryden family, an event that may correspond with the refronting of the building.