Old Priory

Old Priory is a large country house, dating from around 1580, with significant alterations in the 18th century, around 1830, and again around 1870, the latter likely by William Clissold. The building is constructed of ashlar limestone, with some roughcast render, ashlar chimneys and a stone slate roof. It is two storeys high with an attic; the upper floor was raised to become a piano nobile in the 18th century. A tower was added to the north side in the 19th century, the pyramid roof of which was removed in the 20th century.

The south front has two gabled wings projecting either side of a re-entrant angle, each wing with opposing gables. A moulded stone staircase leads to a central doorway with a bracketed cornice and a 20th-century six-panel fielded door, flanked by recessed chamfered fixed lights. Above the doorway is a gable containing a chimney and a two-light upper-floor casement. All gables have roll-moulded coping with finials. Canted two-storey bay windows with mullioned and transomed casements run along the centre-line of the wing gables, with a plain canted base and crenellated parapet.

The west side features a central gable and, above, three windows with mullioned and transomed fenestration to the piano nobile; the left side is configured as a canted oriel with an openwork stone parapet. Four two-light casements are on the ground floor, two of which are possibly original, with the others dating from the 19th century. A three-light 19th-century attic casement is in the gable to the left and a small parapet gabled eaves-mounted attic dormer with a two-light casement is positioned beyond.

The north side mirrors the south side, with two gabled wings and a re-entrant angle. A tower, dating from around 1870, was added to the inner side of the west wing. A mullioned and transomed oriel is set at a 45-degree angle with a coped top and moulded base. A 19th-century glazed lean-to connects the wings, with original two- and three-light recessed cavetto mullioned leaded casements above; a three-light upper-floor dormer is centrally placed. The east end has 19th-century fenestration to the piano nobile and a small canted attic oriel in the central gable.

The interior shows that the 18th-century raising of the driveway and the creation of the piano nobile resulted in the ground floor being used for service areas. A significant amount of late 16th-century panelling remains on both main floors, particularly in the room in the north-east corner, which has lozenge decoration to the upper panels and a matching carved stone fireplace with additional panelling above. The hall was remodelled around 1830, featuring a two-bay pointed arched ceiling with moulded ribs and openwork Gothic corbels. A gallery with a timber balustrade was added on the south side. Some Victorian work has been removed, restoring the interior to a late Regency Gothic appearance.

The house was built on the site of an earlier manor house, known as the Manor until the late 18th century. Stables and a Stable Cottage are located to the north, and a gazebo stands to the southwest.