This is Abbotsleigh House, probably built during 1847-48 and described by local agents as “a modern and very elegant Mansion of the Italian style of architecture, placed on a cheerful, healthy eminence, commanding very extensive and highly picturesque scenery, with pleasure grounds and walks tastefully arranged”. Abbotsleigh (or Abbotsley as it was known in the early days) took its name from The Abbot’s Land, the land having belonged to the Abbot of Sherborne.

The house and about 36 acres of land was purchased by the Catholic Church in February, 1860, and gradually became the hub around which the new Priory of St. Augustine was built.

In this aerial photograph, probably taken during the 1960s, Abbotsleigh House is the white building with a black roof. The church, with its tower, can be seen at the right of the picture, with the presbytery and guest house next to it and apparently separate, although the two buildings were in fact connected. The large block to the left of Abbotsleigh House was the nunnery, with the nun’s cells on the first floor and the refectory, library and social areas on the ground floor.

The North Wing was the shorter wing pointing towards the top left of the photograph, and housed domestic services such as the laundry. This was three stories high and almost completely obscured the view of Abbotsleigh

House from the north. More importantly, it obscured the Belvedere (the square tower which was designed as a place for viewing the countryside), so when the conversion of the Priory took place 130 years later the top storey of this wing was removed and the stone used for extending the building at a lower and more visually acceptable height. The photo of Priory Court on the Home Page shows that the design of the new building was influenced by that of Abbotsleigh House, even to the extent of including a square tower.

Joseph Hansom was appointed to prepare plans for buildings to accommodate 50 nuns. Hansom had recently completed work on Plymouth Cathedral, but is probably better known for his other interest, Hansom Cabs. His ground plan for the whole development is still available for inspection at the Priory and, although later stages were completed by Benjamin Bucknell with details different from those planned by Hansom, the layout is nevertheless almost exactly as he originally planned it.

The convent wing was completed by the autumn of 1861 and the new Church of the Holy Ghost was completed in autumn 1863. The east, or guest, wing and the north services wing were added during the next 20 years. After the Second World War the number of nuns fell gradually and the last three departed in March, 1983. In 1985 Clennon Developments purchased the property to develop as a retirement complex and the project was launched in April, 1987. The new building, Priory Court, was started in February 1989 and was largely completed by the middle of 1991. Finally, the small farmhouse and various outbuildings adjacent to Priory Road were converted into seven cottages during the period 1991 to 1997 and became known as Priory Yard.