Leeds Priory

Leeds Priory stands on a gentle rise in the village of Leeds, Kent. Founded in 1119 by Robert de Crevequer and his son Adam, it was an Augustinian priory dedicated to St Mary and St Nicholas. The priory church was built in the Norman style using Kentish Ragstone with Caen stone corners. Its nave was rebuilt in the 1320s and the presbytery replaced in the late 1380s or early 1390s. The chapter house, built around 1160, adjoined the south transept. The priory was valued at £220 in 1384 and at £362 in 1539 when it was dissolved. Canon Thomas Hazlewood wrote several history books here, including A Compendious Chronicle. After dissolution, the site passed through various owners including Anthony St Leger and Sir William Meredith. A mansion was built on the site and later demolished in the late 18th century. The dovecote from the mansion remains and is now on the Heritage at Risk Register. Visitors find the scheduled monument of the former priory church with its vaulted porch and surviving transepts. The site includes the remains of the claustral buildings to the east and south. Excavations in 1846 and between 1973 and 1978 uncovered parts of the church and claustral buildings. The grounds show traces of the mansion’s landscaped gardens. Views extend over the surrounding Kent countryside.