Cowshed about 60 metres south of Priory Farmhouse

This is a cowshed, located about 60 metres south of Priory Farmhouse. It dates back to the 15th century, with alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries. The building is constructed of rubble stone with a corrugated asbestos roof, which was previously thatched. It features two truncated external stone stacks.

The north-west side of the building has a planked door to the right, a large Tudor-arched blocked opening – a former gateway – to the left, a Tudor-arched chamfered doorway, and a square-headed chamfered doorway to the centre. The three central openings are partially covered by a 20th-century yard. The first floor has two two-light chamfered mullioned windows to the left, three chamfered blocked windows, and a Tudor-arched planked door to the right. A small, canopied image niche sits above the central Tudor-arched doorway. The rear of the building, facing south-east, has a large Tudor-arched blocked doorway, a former gateway to the right, a blocked square-headed doorway, and three 19th-century segmental-headed windows. The first floor features two chamfered lights, two blocked pointed lights, and an open doorway, along with the two truncated stacks. A 19th-century lean-to extension adjoins the left return side.

The interior on the ground floor contains 19th-century cowstalls and a ceiling. The first floor retains the roof structure of a five-bay hall house. This includes two arch-braced collar trusses with chamfered soffits to the east, and three collar and tie-beam trusses with cranked collars and lower king struts to the west. Two tiers of purlins are visible, with curved windbracing, chamfered to the three eastern bays. There are two added bays to the west end of the roof, which are single-storey only. Two blocked stone fireplaces were inserted into the south wall, with the western fireplace post-dating a pointed window.

Historically, this building is believed to be part of a 12th-century women’s leprosy hospital founded by Manasser Biset, a steward to Henry II, before 1164. It later became a small Augustinian Priory in 1190, containing five canons. Following the Dissolution, the lands were acquired by the Seymour family. The building likely represents a late medieval structure, developed across several phases, and was situated on the south side of the domestic ranges.