The Convent

The Convent, originally a mansion house, was first built in 1589 for Thomas Reynell. It was substantially altered between 1751 and 1753 for Thomas Taylor, and again in the 1790s for Pierce-Joseph Taylor. Further remodelling took place in the early to mid-19th century, likely between 1832 and 1836, for Thomas William Taylor. The building is constructed of rendered stone with slate roofs. It has a complex plan, divided into two main sections.

The first section is a U-shaped building of two storeys, likely representing the original 1589 house and now serving as a service wing. The central doorway is flanked by a window above. The west wing has three windows, while the east wing has four (following 19th-century extension), each wing being one window wide. Windows have raised surrounds, and most have barred sashes. The fronts are finished with a raised band and parapet. A wooden bell-turret with a shaped lead roof sits centrally on the roof. The rear and west walls retain five late 17th or early 18th century wood mullioned and transomed windows. Inside, the kitchen features chamfered ceiling-beams and ovolo-moulded panelled doors are present. A stone plaque inscribed "1588 TR" has been re-set into a lean-to at the rear.

The second section is an L-shaped, three-storey main house, abutting the first section on the east. The south front is seven windows wide, with the windows decreasing in height on each storey. Some windows are 20th-century replacements. The interior of the main house includes three ground-floor rooms with early to mid-19th century enriched cornices and margin bands of C-scrolls; one room has a large chandelier-boss of foliage. A stair turret in the angle of the “L” features a stone geometric staircase to the second storey with slender moulded iron balusters (later replacements), and wooden treads to the third storey with thin oblong-section iron balusters. The turret has late 18th century round-arched doorways with moulded imposts and archivolts, enriched with flowers and egg-and-dart. A frieze of festoons and foliage is found on the second-storey landing and adjacent lobby. A coloured marble chimney piece with pilasters and a plaque carrying an oval disc is found in a former wing room, now sub-divided. A large round turret at the north-west corner of the wing may be an early feature.

The Bethany wing (constructed in 1954 and 1961), the Chapel (1955), and the Nazareth block (built in 1966) are not included in the listing.