Stoke-sub-Hamdon Priory

Stoke-sub-Hamdon Priory is a small complex of 14th and 15th-century buildings in golden Ham stone, quarried on nearby Ham Hill, which housed the priests serving the Chapel of St Nicholas, since destroyed. John de Beauchamp founded the chantry college in 1304 for five chaplains; after chantries were abolished in 1548 the buildings passed into lay hands and were worked as Parsonage Farm by tenant farmers, and the National Trust bought the site in 1946. The late 15th-century great hall is Grade I listed, and visitors see the grounds and the dovecote. This is an unmanned site and part of it is a private home, so the Trust asks everyone, members included, to book entry tickets in advance. There is no designated parking, there are no toilets and accessibility is very limited. Only assistance dogs are admitted. Reviewers call it small but charming and quick to get round; it lies 2 miles west of Montacute. One tip from visitors: several have turned up to find it closed, so check that the priory is open and book before travelling.