Priory Remains (Now Part Of The New School) And Attached Buildings

Priory Remains (now part of The New School) and attached buildings

This is a group of buildings and walls from a former Dominican Friary founded by Edward II around 1308, with 18th-century and later extensions. The site is now in domestic use with a chapel on the first floor of the west range. The entire surrounding land is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The buildings form an L-shaped group of generally two storeys, comprising two separate medieval structures linked by later additions. The west range and its extending wall to the south are built of flint with stone dressings. The north range is plastered flint with stone dressings to the lower floor; its upper floor is timber-framed with a jettied construction and white plastered infill panels on the north side. Both ranges have steep old red tile roofs. The 18th-century work includes a red brick rebuilt east front and south extension of the north range. Two timber-framed dark weatherboarded extensions with tiled roofs connect the ranges, with a bell turret at the west end of the linking structure. A southeast extension to the west range is roughcast with stone mullioned windows and a red tile roof. A northeast extension to the west range is roughcast with a jetty and hipped tiled roof.

Extensions dating from around 1910 on the south side of the north range feature a formerly open three-bay timber gallery with alpine-style cusped vertical boards as balustrade, sitting above a timber-framed ground floor with three cross-windows beneath a continuously glazed band. These extensions have a red brick base with brick panels between the windows.

The first building, in the west range, is a long narrow structure formerly called King John's Bakehouse. It shows evidence of early doors or windows on all sides, and may have originally had a range extending eastwards from the south end of its east side. A wall divides the building near its middle. The ground floor of the north part is arcaded on the west side with three large depressed 14th-century arches with plain splays dying against buttress sides; 20th-century cusped stone tracery has been inserted. A diagonal buttress marks the northwest corner, while a pair of corner buttresses stands at the southwest. Since a survey for the Victoria County History in 1908, blocked windows have been opened and matching windows inserted on the west first floor over the first and second arches from the north. These windows light the chapel, which has limewashed flint walls and a three-bay crown-post roof with chamfered cambered tie-beams, chamfered cornice along the walls, and chamfered square crown-posts with heavy curved braces to the collar purlin. The same roof construction continues over the south half of the building.

The second building, in the north range, is called The Gatehouse. It features a large blocked stone archway with continuous moulding, set off-centre in the masonry of the tall lower storey on the north side. A parallel thick wall is pierced by the doorway connecting the parlour and study in the 18th-century house formed at the east end of this range. The timber-framed first floor is jettied on bullnosed joists on the north side and may also have been jettied to the south. Large panelling with curved tension bracing and flush mullioned leaded windows are visible. The interior features arched braces to tie-beams of the crown-post roof, with braces to the collar purlin. The 18th-century house at the east end has an asymmetrical east front of two storeys with two windows and a heavy framed boarded door in the middle. Tall two-light casement windows light the elevation. A large external gable chimney is present. Good panelled early 18th-century rooms survive on the ground floor. Medieval framing is exposed internally. Stone quoins mark the northeast angle.