House repairs reveal 'nationally significant' features

"Nationally significant" wall paintings and medieval doorways have been revealed during the restoration of a Grade II listed home.

Priory House in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, has undergone £1.82m of repairs since 2022, funded by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England.

The work has uncovered traces of 16th and 17th Century wall paintings, while carbon dating found its vaulted ceilings dated from the 13th Century.

Tony Calladine, the East of England regional director of Historic England, said: "This isn't just about restoring bricks and mortar. It's about giving this community back a piece of its own history, one that's even richer and more surprising than we imagined."

The building is expected to reopen to the public in early 2027.

The building was part of the grounds of Dunstable Priory, which was founded by King Henry I in 1132.

In 1533, bishops met at the priory and pronounced the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon as void.

Following the priory's dissolution in 1540, Priory House was converted into a home.

Fireplaces added during this period show it was divided into two heated rooms on the first floor.

Teams uncovered evidence of the building's earliest layout, including a doorway that once connected the priory grounds to the High Street.

Marks were found on the fireplace indicating residents carried out rituals to protect their home.

Conservationists have preserved the fragile wall paintings before they are concealed again as work continues.

Historic England described the finds as "nationally significant".

Calladine added: "From a medieval doorway to five layers of wall paintings, to protective symbols scratched by homeowners, to straw hats being made in the attic - Priory House has quietly held onto centuries of Dunstable's story, just waiting for someone to find it.

"These findings will help shape how the story of Priory House, and Dunstable itself, is shared when the building reopens to visitors next year."

Maggie Henderson, director of historic buildings at HB Archaeology & Conservation Limited, said: "We have had the pleasure of uncovering and observing highly significant evidence that not only assisted in confirming the building's mid-13th Century origin but also filled in a lot of blanks in the narrative of this important building's evolution over the c. 800 years of its life since first built."

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