The Priest'S House

The Priest's House is a house dating from around 1500, with later alterations and additions, built for Richard Lord Rich. It features a timber frame that is faced with 18th-century red brick and has a hipped roof covered in red plain tiles. There is no visible chimney stack from the road. The house has two storeys and attics, with two square-headed dormers that contain two-light casements. A dentilled eaves cornice adds detail to the roofline.

On the first floor, there are three small paned vertically sliding sash windows. The ground floor has 19th-century angled bay windows on both the right and left sides, also with vertically sliding sashes that include glazing bars. The central entrance consists of a two-panelled door topped with three lights, framed by a moulded surround and a pediment. To the right side of the house, facing Ashingdon Road, there is a two-window range of small paned vertically sliding sashes with segmental heads, along with part-glazed double doors.

Inside, the house features an 18th-century staircase and fireplaces. The main range includes jowled storey posts and stop-chamfered bridging joists, while the rear range has heavy jowled storey posts and sooted rafters from the open hall. The property was part of the Lord Rich estate in 1557 and is marked as Swanes on the Chapman and Andre map of 1777.