Description

SO 8203-8303 WOODCHESTER NORTH WOODCHESTER

14/233 Old Priory

28.6.60

GV I

Large country house. c1580; extensive C18, c1830 and c1870
alterations, last probably by William Clissold. Ashlar limestone
with some roughcast render; ashlar chimneys; stone slate roof.
Two-storey with attic - upper floor becoming piano nobile in C18;
C19 tower on north side of original H-plan. South front: 2
gabled wings project either side of re-entrant, each wing with
facing opposed gables. Moulded stone steps to central doorway
with bracketted cornice and C20 6-panel fielded door; flanking
single recessed chamfered fixed lights. Gable above with chimney
and off-centre 2-light upper floor casement. All gables have roll
moulded coping with finials. Canted 2-storey C19 bay windows on
centre-line of wing gables with mullioned and transomed casements,
plain canted base and crenellated parapet. West side: central
gable; 3-window C19 enlarged mullioned and transomed fenestration
to piano nobile, left in form of canted oriel with openwork stone
parapet. Four 2-light casements to ground floor, 2 to right
possibly original, others C19. Three-light C19 attic casement in
gable with chimney to left and small parapet gabled eaves-mounted
attic dormer with 2-light casement beyond. North side: 2-gabled
wings with re-entrant between as to south except for addition of
c1870 tower to inner side of west wing, originally with tall
pyramid roof, removed in C20; upper floor mullioned and transomed
oriel set at 45º with coped top and moulded base. C19 glazed
lean-to between wings with original 2- and 3-light recessed cavetto
mullioned leaded casements above; 3-light to upper floor in
central dormer. East end: C19 fenestration to piano nobile;
small canted attic oriel in central gable. Interior: C18 raising
of driveway and creation of piano nobile has left ground floor for
service use. Much late C16 panelling on both main floors,
especially to room in north east corner, having lozenge decoration
to upper panels and matching stone fireplace with more elaborate
panelling above. Hall remodelled cl83O with 2-bay pointed arched
ceiling having moulded ribs and openwork Gothic corbels. Gallery
added on south side with timber balustrade. Some Victorian work
has been removed, restoring the interior to a late Regency Gothic
appearance. Built on the site of an earlier manor house, known as
the Manor until late C18. Stables and Stable Cottage stand to
north (q.v.); gazebo to south west (q.v.).
(W.N.R.J. Black, A History of Woodchester, 1972; W.J. Sheils,
'Woodchester' in V.C.H. Glos xi, 1976, pp.294-304; and D. Verey,
Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds, 1979.)

Listing NGR: SO8393403170

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17526242

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas