The Priory

The Priory is a house, dating from 1910 and potentially designed by Sir Harold Brakspear, later altered and extended in the late 20th century. It is now an old people’s home. The exterior is of roughcast stone with stone dressings and a timber-framed south front featuring plastered panels. The roof is stone-tiled, hipped, with stone ball finials, one incorporating a wrought-iron weather-vane; the eaves have wrought-iron scroll brackets. Rendered axial and lateral stacks have moulded stone caps.

The building has a double-depth plan with two main rooms at the front, positioned on either side of the entrance hall to the right of centre. A service wing extends to the rear left (northwest), with a single-storey wing added later to the rear right (northeast). The architectural style is Domestic Revival.

The south front is almost symmetrical, with three bays and broad corner piers, the right of which features a stone sundial dated 1910. The timber-framed front is recessed between the piers; the first floor is jettied on projecting joist ends and brackets, with curved tension-braces. The entrance doorway has a moulded frame with a 3-centred arch, carved spandrels, a rectangular overlight, wrought-iron fittings, and a ledged door with cover-moulds, strap hinges, and a moulded iron handle. There are moulded timber mullion windows: a 4-light window to the left and a 2-light window to the right. The first floor has small canted oriels to the left and right, and a central 3-light window, all with moulded timber frames, wrought-iron casements, catches, and leaded panes. A 20th century flat roof dormer is also present. The east side has matching 2- and 4-light casement windows with leaded panes. The west side features a narrow projecting bay with an oculus in the gable and a lean-to outshout to the left. The rear north elevation showcases a large 3-light moulded stone mullion-transom stair window, a service wing to the right with an oculus in the gable, and an integral stack rising from the left corner with a moulded stone cap. A late 20th-century outshout is situated below the stair window, along with a further single-storey wing to the left.

The interior includes a panelled hall with a dog-leg staircase at the rear, featuring an oak balustrade with square newels and finials. The drawing room has panelling, a fireplace with a moulded stone frame and carved overmantel, exposed ceiling beams and joists, and panelled doors. The Priory is a good example of an Edwardian Domestic Revival style house.