St Nicholas Priory

St Nicholas Priory. . From Monks... , St Nicholas Priory is one of the earliest surviving buildings in Devon. Founded in 1087 as a Benedictine monastery, the Priory housed monks for nearly 500 years. When the Priory was dissolved in 1536 by Henry VIII, the religious buildings - the church and the chapter or meeting house - were knocked down. The remaining West Wing and Refectory were converted into a fine house where two of Exeter's most prominent figures in the cloth trade later lived., ...To Merchants , One, William Hurst, lived here during the second half of the 16th century. He built a fulling mill near the quay and employed many local people in the mid-18th century. Nathaniel Cosset also made the Priory his home. He was a skilled craftsman who leased the fulling mill and dry house at Cricket (now home to the Devon Wildlife Trust), which is also on this trail. He was a Huguenot refugee from France who sought asylum in England to escape persecution for his protestant beliefs. The Priory's fortunes changed and by Victorian times it had been split up and was described as 'a rockery of tenements'. The building was deteriorating rapidly and even threatened with demolition. It was purchased by Exeter City Council in 1913 and extensively restored, before opening as a museum. The building to which this board is fixed is the West Wing, with a cellar on the ground floor and a fine hall for guests above On the opposite side of Mint Lane is the Old Refectory of the monks. In 2018, Exeter City Council affected a community asset transfer of the building, and it is now looked after by Exeter Historic Buildings Trust. Today, the Priory is a performance and private hire venue.