The Priory

The Priory is a house dating back to the 16th century, with substantial additions and alterations made in 1607/8. It is constructed of brick and flint, with a plain tiled roof. The house comprises a 16th-century cross wing on the left, a front range to the right, and an 18th-century range to the rear.

The south-east facing front consists of the cross wing to the left, built of uncoursed broken flint with brick dressings and a crowstepped gable bearing the datestone 1608. It has flush sash windows with glazing bars to the ground and first floors, as well as a 2-light casement window with glazing bars in a former opening. Above is a small blocked opening. To the right is a later range with a chimney bay containing a stack. A two-storey porch extends from the chimney bay and features a crowstepped gable with shaped brick kneelers. The façade and upper returns of the porch are constructed of 17th-century brick, incorporating a double sawtooth cornice, with part of the returns rebuilt in the 19th century using Flemish bond. The porch’s 19th-century arch frames a double-leaved glazed door set within an earlier doorframe having a 4-centred arch with carved spandrels displaying the initials M B and the date 1607. The first floor of the porch has a flush sash with glazing bars and a flat arch. The main range consists of varied brickwork in English and Flemish bond, from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The ground floor of the first bay has a flush tripartite sash; the second bay has a sash with 4x4 glazing bars. The first floors of bays 1 and 2 have renewed 4-light casements with transoms; the third bay is windowless. A dormer window is present in bay 1, and a 2-light attic window sits in the right-hand gable. The left return of the cross wing has been partially rebuilt in brick, and the left gable is coped, featuring flush sash windows with glazing bars to both the ground and first floors.

The rear range, dating to the 18th century, extends partly across the cross wing and features three bays, two storeys, a hipped roof, pantiles, and a wood modillion cornice. A reset 16th-century doorcase is found in bay 2, having treble wood moulding to the frame and a 4-centred arch with carved spandrels showing I P and a defaced shield. A leaded light is positioned above the doorway, and a reset corbel in the form of a lion's head is also visible. Casement windows flank the doorway. The first floor has flush sashes with glazing bars in bays 1 and 2. A single-storeyed service range is located to the left. The right return has a glazed addition to the ground floor and flush sash windows with glazing bars to the first floor.

The interior of the cross wing contains a large lateral stack, formerly external, now incorporated into the 17th-century range. The roof of the cross wing displays curved wind braces. The attic of the 17th-century range remains largely open, except for a central inserted stair. A late 19th-century staircase serves the 18th-century rear range. The ground floor of bay 2 in the 17th-century range is panelled with egg and dart mouldings sourced from a demolished house in Pitt Street, Norwich.