History of the Priory Cellars & The Orangery Apartment

The Priory is a landmark building within the village of Abbots Leigh and is steeped in local history. In 1818 Philip George of the Bristol based George’s brewing family bought the Redcliffe Street shot tower. His son, Christopher George, expanded the lead shot business and in 1831, as a wealthy newcomer to Abbots Leigh, built The Priory. Other residents include the Fry family, famed chocolatier’s whom alongside Cadbury and Rowntree’s, were one of the big three British confectionery manufacturers throughout much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The original house was later divided into  separate dwellings,  which are so often admired by passers-by owing to the dramatic Gothic architectural styling and intricate external stonework.