Prior's Cottage the Priors

This is a probably 15th-century open hall house, later divided into two properties known as Prior’s Cottage and The Priors, located in West Malling. The original four-bay hall (No. 18) has a projecting cross wing (No. 16) with a 16th-century inserted ceiling and windows, restored in the 20th century.

The house is timber-framed with plaster infill and has a steeply pitched tiled roof. No. 18 has a large external brick stack and features exposed framing with curved tension braces. The front of No. 18 has four original mullioned windows on the first floor and three on the ground floor, with a later 5-light mullioned oriel window on brackets added to the right-hand side; all with leaded lights. An arched doorcase with recessed spandrels is also present. A 19th-century cast-iron fluted water pump stands in front of the chimney stacks. No. 16 is two storeys and four bays, with timber framing and plaster infill. The rear ground floor right-side is of whitewashed rubble, built on a rubble and brick plinth. The front has a gable with curved tension braces and attic decoration, with a jetty on the first floor. It features a paired original mullioned window on the first floor and a restored mullioned window on the ground floor. The left side elevation has one mullioned window and two curved tension braces, while the right side has five restored mullions on the first floor and a set of paired mullions on the ground floor. A 20th-century recessed wooden cupboard door in an antique style is present. A modern penticed porch, constructed in timber framing on a stone rubble plinth and with a tiled roof, is located at the rear.

The dining room, formerly the open hall, contains a fine 16th-century chestnut roll-moulded inserted ceiling. The hall features stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. A ground floor room to the extreme left has an open fireplace with a wooden bressumer. There is also an open fireplace in the right-hand front room. The roof structure includes crown posts with head braces, collar purlins, and gunstock jowled posts. The timber framing in both parts of the building appears identical.