SEPTEMBER 2024

Priest House, Prior Park Road

On the corner of South Street and Prior Park Road stands the iconic, Priest House (old lodge) building which is a listed grade II building and used to be a toll house for access to the local Prior Park area.

A building (the shed) next to the Priest House was once used as a temporary RC church, before the Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic church was opened in 1913. During this time a Priest inhabited the old lodge and hence the nickname the Priest House!

The shed started life as Harry Trevor’s Photographic Castle Studios. The photograph (taken 1910) is of Mr Harry Trevor and his wife Helen with a Mrs Grew who lived in the old lodge.

In its final years the shed was used as a garage, which was run by Pat Kesterton (this area is now a pleasant community garden).

The Priest House is nowadays a 3 bedroom detached residential house spread over 1000 square feet.

Apparently a retired Bishop (ex Bishop of Salford) and his wife moved into the Priest House in the 1980’s and he also a member of the Ashby Civic Society committee.



So a Bishop living in a Priest House would have been an interesting religious link!