The Priory

The Priory is a wing of a Cluniac Priory, incorporating the end wall of a priest's house and later serving as a farmhouse, now a house. Dating back to the 14th century, the east wall is the original section, while the remainder of the south wing was built in the early 16th century. The roof was likely reroofed in the 17th century, with an L-shaped wing added to the north during the same period. Some early 19th-century windows are present on the east side, although most have been replaced in the 20th century. The building is timber-framed, now plastered, with hipped and gabled tiled roofs and three brick chimney stacks.

The main range, representing the surviving section of the Priory, is aligned east-west with the north wing projecting to the north. It is two storeys high and features irregular window placement. The east end has two early 19th-century 12-pane sash windows; the remaining windows are mostly 20th-century casements, except for five windows with leaded lights to the south, including two restored wooden mullioned windows dating to approximately 1600. Modern doors provide access.

Inside, the east wall, located to the east of a chimney stack, is the only surviving wall of an earlier building, likely from the 14th century, evidenced by a long passing brace and probably representing the original priest’s house. The rest of this wing dates to the early 16th century and was originally jettied to the west, incorporating an internal ‘cloister’. A notable feature was a wide timber fireplace on each floor, positioned between a smoke bay and a timber stack. The ground floor fireplace was moved and incorporated into a late 16th-century brick chimney. In the living room, a spine beam displays a 4-inch chamfer on one side, accompanied by chamfered floor joists on one side and square joists on the other. A winding staircase with early 18th-century balusters is located to the west. The first floor contains jowled posts, curved tension braces, shutter grooves, sockets for diamond mullioned windows, a stone corbel supporting a chamfered beam with lambs tongue stops, an old floorboard, and a 2-centred arched doorcase. The attic storey features a 16th or 17th-century plank door and a 17th-18th-century roof with pegged rafters, tie beam, and side purlins.

The north aspect of the property presents an L-plan with a wing extending from the west end. It is timber-framed and plastered with a peg-tiled, ridged and hipped roof. The windows are mixed, numerous, and irregularly spaced, mostly modern. Three red brick chimney stacks are present: one on each hip apex, and one central to the north wall. The south elevation displays eaves and a range of casements, including two sets of three small-pane casements to the left, two sets of four small-pane casements to the right, a blank bay, and one pair of sashes. Ground floor windows are similarly casemented, with modern doors in the second bay to the left.