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The area of Hungerford lying to the south-east of the town, near the John o'Gaunt School, is littered with references to "The Priory". There
is Priory Road, Priory Avenue, and the "Priory" estate. Why is this?
Lying in its own much reduced grounds opposite the school is a large Victorian house which is called "The Priory". But is this why the
street names are associated?
A look at the 1819 Enclosure Award Map shows no sign of the large house - which was indeed built at a later date. However, it does mark
"Priory Lane" leading to Sanham Green, and the land either side of this road is labelled "St. John's Priory". This land relates back to land associated with the Priory of St. John the Baptist (in modern-day Bridge Street).
On the same 1819 map, it is clear that the land where the Victorian "Priory" was built belonged to Charles Child.
The Priory does not appear on the 1819 map, and the style of the building is heavy mid Victorian, perhaps 1850-1880. The 1882 Ordnance
Survey Map does mark The Priory.
The Priory was built by the wealthy brewer John Platt. He ran the brewery in the High Street (later the Laundry, demolished 1999 when Somerfield supermarket was built).
The Platt family was a large one. In the 1841 census John Platt junior (40 years) was recorded as "Brewer, employing 20 men" living in Willow Lodge [in Bridge Street, with an adjacent malthouse].
His son, George Platt lived at The
Priory for some years after the business closed - he is in the 1920 Kelly Directory, but by 1939 Blacket it was in the ownership of J. Arthur Palethorpe,
In the mid 20th century the building became the offices of the Hungerford Rural District Council, before being converted into flats for
residential accommodation.
The site of The Priory is due for redevelopment by Sovereign Housing in 2011, and the Priory building is scheduled for
demolition in April 2011.
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