Heywood House Preparatory School The Priory

Heywood House Preparatory School, known as The Priory, is a house built in 1776. It features an ashlar front with a hipped, double-valley mansard roof that is tiled with stone and has ashlar ridge stacks. The building has two storeys and an attic, showcasing a formal Palladian style on its north front, which consists of one central bay flanked by three bays on either side. The central bay is slightly projected and topped with a pediment, while the sides have a cornice and parapet. The house stands on a raised plinth and has a band, with glazing bar sash windows—six-pane in the attic and twelve-pane elsewhere. The central entrance door is set within a Roman Doric pedimented surround. The side walls are made of coursed rubble and feature a parapet that ramps down, along with two hipped attic dormers. There is a drip course above the upper windows.

On the west side, there is a three-window range, with upper twelve-pane sashes flanking a blank centre window, a floor band, and a ground floor that includes a fifteen-pane sash, a blank window, and another twelve-pane sash. The basement has a two-light mullion window with a dripstone. The east side has a two-window range and an outside stack to the left, featuring twelve-pane sashes with dripstones over the lower pair but lacking a band.

Inside, there is a central rear stair with column newels. The front rooms on the ground floor have plaster friezes and cornices. This house is located on the site of the former parsonage, which was associated with the rectory manor recorded in the Domesday Book. The manor was held by St Stephen's Abbey in Caen in the 11th century, Marmoutier Abbey in the 12th century, Tickford Priory in Buckinghamshire in the 14th century, and Syon Abbey in Middlesex in the 15th century. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was held by R. Bellott until around 1570, and then by the Smyth or Smith family until 1738. The manor was purchased in 1738 by R. Neale, who sold the house to H. Pullen of Bath in 1776, who then rebuilt it.