Priory Close

No 73 Priory Close is an early 16th-century cottage located on the east side of High Street in Swaffham Prior. The building is timber-framed and plaster rendered, with the left gable end covered in gault brick from the 19th century. It features a thatched roof made of long straw, topped with a gault brick ridge stack. The cottage has a plan consisting of three bays and a narrower fire bay, originally designed with an entry to a cross-passage at the low end of the hall, but it has since been converted to a lobby entry plan. The structure is one storey with attics and includes two later gabled dormers.

The three windows and the door are from the 20th century but are positioned roughly where the originals were located. At the rear, there are original lintels above the rear doorway leading to the cross-passage and two windows—one for the hall and another for the service end. The window in the service end and another in the front wall, likely from the parlour, originally featured diamond mullions. The rear wall framing has been exposed, showcasing its construction.

Inside, the cottage has stop-chamfered ceiling beams with flat, unmoulded joists. The partition wall between the hall and service bay has been removed, revealing an inglenook hearth made of clunch and brick, which has been restored. The jambs of the hearth display cyma moulding and stops. The framing in the left gable end remains exposed, featuring cranked bracing similar to that found in the crown-post roof of Linton House in High Street, Swaffham Bulbeck, and the wall bracing at Downing Farm barn in Swaffham Bulbeck. The ceiling of the hall is supported by chamfered clamps that are pegged to the studs.