The Priory

The Priory is a house and attached factory dating from around 1830. It is built of colourwashed brick with moulded stucco and colourwashed stone dressings, with one wing rendered. The roof is tiled, and there are brick lateral stacks. The building is arranged in an F-plan and is constructed in a Gothick style. It is two storeys high with a four-window range to the main part of the house. The main range features a projecting one-bay centre with a studded double leaf doorway and a window above. The gable is coped, corbelled out to the left and right, and has a small blind lancet window. Sixteen-pane sashes are present throughout, with doors and windows having stucco hood moulds. One ground-floor window on the left has been blocked. A large projecting wing is situated on the right, incorporating a porch, possibly from the 20th century, within a re-entrant angle. This wing is more elaborately decorated, featuring a moulded plinth and four piers. The central bay has sashes with Gothick glazing, while the narrower bays have small blind lancets with hood moulds on each floor. There is an elaborate crenellated parapet with a taller central section that conceals the roof. Two moulded string courses are present, the upper one interrupted by a central blind window. The tops of the piers are adorned with quatrefoil panels. Double-leaf doors lead into a loggia that is open to the rear. To the rear are two gabled wings with irregular late 20th-century fenestration. A factory is attached at right angles to the right, built of brick with a tile roof. It is two storeys high with an eleven-window range. There is an entrance inside the loggia. The factory windows are segmental arched cast iron, with glazing bars and centre-hung opening lights. The interior of the main house was not inspected. In the mid-19th century, The Priory was known as 'Priory Works', serving as a significant needleshop in the district, operated by Joseph Harrison. By 1890, needlemaking ceased, and the premises were used for bicycle production.