The Priory

The Priory

The Priory, located on Priory Road in Mansfield Woodhouse, is a substantial house that originated in the 15th and 16th centuries but was refronted in the 19th century. It is constructed of coursed squared rubble with dressed stone and ashlar dressings, beneath steep pitched and hipped roofs of stone slate and artificial slate. The building features a chamfered plinth, stone gutter brackets, coped gables with kneelers, and three gable stacks, one of which is external.

The main block is two storeys plus garrets and spans eight bays across the south front. The windows are cross casements with projecting architraves; those on the ground floor have moulded hoods. The south front presents a complex arrangement of openings. There are two panelled doors with moulded and chamfered reveals, mullioned overlights and hoods. Between these doors are two casements. To the left stands a Tudor arched lancet, beyond which are two further casements. To the right of the doors are two more casements. Above this ground floor arrangement is a central oval cartouche, and above that are eight cross casements. The central cross gable contains a blind quatrefoil opening.

To the west of the main block are adjoining outbuildings of 16th-century origin, altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. These are single storey structures spanning three unequal bays, with flat parapeted and lean-to pantile roofs. To the left is a 20th-century brick garage. To its right is an external stack flanked by moulded square openings. Further right is a segmental headed recess containing a 14th-century chamfered and rebated doorway.

The north side of the main building displays three blocked lancets. The west front has a 20th-century flat-roofed brick addition with two casements and two relieving arches to the left above, and a 20th-century casement to the right. The north front features a 20th-century brick addition to the left, rendered, and two storeys high. To its right is a double gabled wing, and to the right again is a single gabled wing. A 20th-century bay window projects from the left. The double gable contains a glazing bar sash and a 20th-century gabled porch with lean-to additions on each side and five casements. Beyond this are a glazing bar sash, two casements, and another glazing bar sash. Above are four glazing bar sashes to the left, two smaller similar sashes above them, and small rectangular openings in the gables. To the right is a quatrefoil opening with a 20th-century casement. The east front has a projecting cross-gabled wing to the left and a 20th-century two-storey addition to the right. The left wing features a tiny light. A recessed central bay contains a lean-to over the stairway with a ground-level casement and a plain sash above it. At the return angle to the south is a blocked Tudor arched window with square reveal and hood mould. The 20th-century addition has a square timber bay window with French window and four casements. Above are a plain sash to the left and two casements to its right. Further up are a leaded casement to the left and at the return angle, a blocked fireplace above which is a blocked window.

The interior retains significant medieval and post-medieval features. There are six jowled bay posts and two sections of studded wall. The principal rafter roof has tenoned purlins and wind braces. An early 19th-century dogleg stair features a curved landing with coved, clustered quatrefoil newels, stick balusters, and a curved moulded hand rail. There are two span beams, one with ogee stops.

Fireplaces are notably abundant. The west end contains a large 16th-century chamfered segmental headed fireplace with a re-sited crane and pothook, and to its left is an inserted pointed arched door. A 17th-century ashlar fireplace has a four-centred arched head with moulded surround and cornice. There are two moulded Tudor arched fireplaces with square stops and two moulded square-headed fireplaces. An early 19th-century hob grate is also present. Seven studded Tudor arched doors with shaped reveals survive, along with a single 19th-century pointed arched door. The building retains a 19th-century ceiling with moulded cornice and cased beams.