The Priory

TL 71 SE HATFIELD PEVEREL CHURCH ROAD (south side)

5/55 The Priory 18.5.78

GV II*

Large house. C.1770. Possibly by John Phillips, for John Wright, historian of Essex. Gault brick in Flemish bond, roofed with slate. Square double pile plan facing N, with 2 internal stacks. 2 storeys and cellars. Central part breaks forward in 1:3:1 arrangement, 4 original sashes of 12 and 8 lights on ground floor, 5 original sashes of 3 and 6 lights on first floor, all with flat brick arches, and much crown glass. Central glazed double doors in plaster doorcase with pediment on scrolled brackets. 2 flights of 10 stone steps with scrolled tread ends and cast iron railing, incomplete. Modillioned cornice, plain parapet, hipped roof of shallow pitch. The S (garden) elevation is similar, except that a French window replaces the entrance, and there are no equivalent stairs. The ground floor rooms are symmetrically arranged, except for stair hall to right of entrance hall. The entrance hall has on the left wall a plaque in low relief by L. Delvaue, c.1725, and on the rear wall 3 roundels in low relief of William III, Alfred the Great and George II, with garlands, and 4 painted plaster escutcheons of the Wright family. All interior details are original, including doors with egg-and-dart bordered panels, eared doorcases with carved cresting, pine dados with egg-and-dart borders, folding internal shutters, carved fire surrounds, plaster cornices. The original windows are of mahogany. Accurate restoration in progress at time of survey, January 1985.

Listing NGR: TL7962910854