Priory Cottage the Priory

Priory Cottage, located at The Priory on The Causeway in Steventon, is a Grade II* listed building that includes parts formerly listed as Nos. 125, 127 The Causeway and No. 1 Mill Street. This structure has evolved into three dwellings and features a complex history, with the south-west block dating back to around 1330, the north-west block to about 1463, the hall to circa 1500, and the service wing to the hall from around 1550. There is also a late 16th-century range to the east, along with various later alterations.

The building showcases irregular and large timber-framing, with some sections exhibiting close-studding, and has painted brick and rendered infill. It is topped with a complex old plain-tile roof and features various brick stacks, including a massive stone end stack on the right with brick flues. The layout is courtyard-style, with a wing extending to the east.

The exterior is two stories high with a seven-window range, and a two-storey-and-attic cross-wing on the left. There is a plank door to the right of the center with a flat hood, a four-panel door to the left of the center also with a flat hood, and a four-panel part-glazed door at the end of the cross-wing on the left. The fenestration is irregular, comprising casements and sashes, with a wood oriel window on the ground floor right that has wood mullion and transom windows, as well as flanking three-light wood mullion windows. An additional wood oriel is present on the first floor right, and there is a cross-gable at the center, with a jettied cross-gable to the right featuring pendant bosses. The rear of the building is partially encased in brick.

Inside, the hall boasts a false-hammer-beam roof truss with two tiers of curved wind braces and a massive stone fireplace. The west range and the western part of the north range have crown-post roofs, while the remainder features a queen-post roof. Some medieval wood arched doorways are also visible. Historically, this site has been a priory since 1330 and was built on the location of earlier priory buildings, which were partly used as the manor.