Description

SE 04 NW KILDWICK PRIEST BANK
(east side)

1/25 The Old Priory (formerly
listed as Priests Bank Top
10.9.54 and Priests Bank

GV II

Two cottages, now one house. Mid C17, restored 1899, the two buildings
united and restored 1953 by W. Olivant. Coursed gritstone rubble,
graduated stone slate roofs. Quoins. The main building, of 2 storeys and
3 bays (formerly Priests Bank Top), has a C20 recessed entrance bay to
right, linking it to the gable end of the former Priests Bank Cottage, also
of 2 storeys and 3 bays. Main building: central single-storey porch, the
doorway with chamfered quoins reduced to a window C20; bulbous kneelers and
gable coping; a reset stone spout projects above the lintel. Flanking 2-
light chamfered mullion windows, the sills lowered and openings altered
C19. First floor: small 3-light recessed chamfered mullion window of
unusual form; the 3 lights have curved heads, the taller central light
having a lancet form, the hoodmould above is ogee-curved. Below the window
a projecting string terminates above projecting stone spouts. External
stack to left gable. Rear: two 2-light windows, blocked, all possibly
reset; C20 extension to left (not of special interest). Left return:
massive stepped external stack with stone spouts at roof level, the top of
the shaft rebuilt; small chamfered first-floor window at eaves level,
right. Inserted mullion windows to right return. Interior: large arched
fireplace to left gable end with separate voussoirs. Former cottage, south
face: half-glazed C20 door to right of centre in C19 chamfered surround;
flanking 4-light recessed chamfered mullion windows to ground floor;
similar 3-light windows to first floor. Large C19 single-light window to
ground floor, left. Stone gutter brackets; end stack to left, and to right
to rear of ridge. Left return: plaque with raised lettering, "Restored AD
1899 R.H.F.W.W." The site of the house is important, at the junction of
the road from the grange of Bolton Abbey (q.v.) where it divides to lead to
the church (down Priests Bank) or Kildwick Hall (q.q.v). The very extensive
1899 restoration included alterations to the main building's ground-floor
windows (possibly their removal to the first floor of the cottage) and
alterations to the central bay; the stone spouts are similar to those on
the Kildwick Hall pavilion (q.v.) but here do not serve any function (apart
from those on the chimney stack). The dormer window is not a vernacular
feature and was possibly built in imitation of those at Kildwick Hall
(q.v.). The initials are those of Richard Henry Francis Wharton Wilson,
then owner of Kildwick Hall.

Listing NGR: SE0146846202

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26603092

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

• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)