The Cloisters

The Cloisters is part of the former Benedictine priory's refectory, and another section of the priory, now a house. The building dates back to the 12th century and has undergone alterations in the 14th, 16th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It is an L-shaped range, with the western part representing five bays of the original refectory (the remainder of which belongs to the adjacent Refectory building). It is constructed of flint and chalk with an old tiled roof. The south front retains four trefoiled single-light openings high in the wall, beneath the eaves; four are blocked. A round-headed blocked opening with two orders is located below the second window from the east, and a similar opening is below the westernmost, now containing a 20th-century half-glazed door. An old lead water pump is positioned below the second window, featuring a small reservoir tank and spout. Several memorial plaques are set into the wall, including one commemorating Justin Morell McKenna, R.F.C., who died on October 2nd, 1917, in Wasnes-An-Bac, France. The north front displays remnants of two large early 14th-century windows with moulded pointed heads and deeply splayed internal jambs, although the tracery and mullions have been lost and the openings are now filled with 20th-century windows. The third arch now belongs to the adjoining property, the Refectory. The entrance front of the L-wing is irregular in appearance. On the left is an outshut featuring a small gabled dormer and three windows below. To the right is a two-light window on the first floor, with an entrance porch below containing a 20th-century door and a four-light window to its right, sheltered by a lean-to tiled roof. Further to the right is a two-storey outshut with a two-light window on each floor. The right end of the front features two windows on the first floor and a plain door with a ten-light window on the ground floor, also under a lean-to roof. The garden front is a 19th-century addition of seven bays, with the central three bays projecting, and features twelve- or fifteen-pane sash windows throughout.

The interior includes a 17th-century curved brick fireplace in the lounge, and a chamfered beam with run-out stops. The refectory is open to the roof and has a later 16th-century roof of 6½ bays, incorporating tie beams, collar beams, through purlins, and curved windbraces. This section appears to have become an outbuilding following the Reformation. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.