Brief History of the Priory

The earliest documentary evidence dates to AD1032, when an estate at ‘Orpedingetune’ was given to Christ Church Priory in Canterbury.  A building on the site is first mentioned in 1270. In 1290 the Great Hall was pulled down and rebuilt, improvements were made in 1471. After the dissolution of Christ Church Priory in 1539 the estate was given to the Hart-Dyke family. The estate passed through other families and the property was used as a private home, with further alterations made. In 1947, it was sold to the Orpington Urban District Council. In 1942, as part of emergency wartime recording, the Priory was surveyed by the architect George Rose and plans produced. It was listed Grade II* in 1954. In 1959-60, the service wing was demolished and a new library built on the site. At the same time that the library was being built, the Priory building was ‘restored’ and the museum opened in 1965. The library moved to the shopping centre in 2010 and the museum closed in 2015.

EXCAVATION OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE SERVICE WING AT THE PRIORY, BROMLEY MUSEUM, CHURCH HILL, ORPINGTON, BR6 0HH
By Michael Meekums

Extract from Archives Volume 36 No 4 November 2014

Priory Excavation Report Service Wing Website
 

THE PRIORY GARDENS, ORPINGTON  –  AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

by Adrian Green

Extract from Archives Volume 29 Number 1 February 2007

Priory Gardens Archaeological Investigation Front of House

A Mesolithic Site in the Priory Gardens, Orpington by Tony Grey and Alan Tyler. An account of a Mesolithic flint industry in the Museum grounds (one author (A.T.) is a former Curator) with illustrations of some of the 3364 flints excavated. Reproduced from ODAS Archives, 13, 3, 44-75, 1991.
32 pp., 3 figures, 145 illustrations. Stapled A4, card covers. Price: £2 plus postage (see order form).

 Orpington Priory Mesolithic Excavation Report