Keynsham Villa The Priory

The Priory, now offices, is a villa built around 1820-1830, with later additions and alterations including a rear range constructed around 1980. The exterior is stucco over brick, with a hipped slate roof and iron window boxes. It is two storeys high, with a five-window first-floor frontage arranged 1:3:1, the central range projecting forward. Stucco detailing includes Doric pilasters to the ends and a breakforward design. Window architraves are tooled, with eared surrounds to the ground floor and the central first-floor window of the main range; other first-floor windows have shoulders and sills on feet. A plinth runs along the base. The windows are mainly 6/6 sashes, taller on the ground floor; the central ground-floor opening is a 6-pane French window with a divided overlight and margin-lights. A 6/6 sash is located to the far left of the facade, between two 2/2 sashes, and the entrance on the far right has a 6-fielded-panel door with side-lights and an overlight with glazing bars. The main range features two tall end stacks and one rear stack with cornices. The rear of the building also has 6/6 sashes.

Inside, there is an open-well staircase with stick balusters and a wreathed handrail. Most windows have panelled shutters. The central drawing room has an acanthus cornice, a vine-leaf ceiling frieze, a ceiling rose, and a marble fireplace with corbel brackets. Most doors have fluted architraves, some embellished with anthemion motifs and others with floral decorations. A room at the rear mirrors the drawing room’s detailing. The dining room to the left includes an egg-and-dart cornice and a floral ceiling frieze, with a rear door featuring margin-lights and coloured glass. The upper hall has an embellished cornice. A single marble fireplace, in a Regency style, remains on the first floor. A ground-floor window box to the rear features a floral motif. The property appeared on Merrett’s Map of Cheltenham in 1834.