Priory Oast

The pretty front elevation of this oasthouse hides a series of less remarkable extensions at the rear. It has a single roundel, 18ft diameter and 15ft. high to eaves level. The brickwork is of Flemish bond and has square dentelles at its eaves. It was used for drying hops up until the Second World War but was converted into a domestic residence immediately afterwards in 1946. It is understood that the cowl was removed at that time, never to be replaced.

The roundel is located on the gable end of the barn and, unlike most other single-roundel oasts, the barn and roundel give an integrated appearance on the front elevation. It is not clear whether the building was originally built like this or whether this was a later alteration (perhaps at the time of conversion). There are no signs of discontinuity in the external brickwork though there is a slight shadowing in the roof line. The curve of the roundel wall still features in the inside of the property and the original access from the lower floor of the barn into the roundel provide a handsomely large doorway for a modern residence. On the upper floor there appears to be variation in the structure of the front wall where the barn adjoins the roundel supporting the theory that this may have been done on conversion to afford more usable space internally. In the roof of the current property, the top of the opening between roundel and barn through which the hops would have been passed to the slatted drying floor can still be seen,

Alongside and to the north of the oasthouse is a large old granary which was converted for residential purposes in 1994