Lee Priory and stable block, Littlebourne

Sir George Gilbert Scott was clearly not proud of his work at Lee Priory, near Canterbury, as it is not mentioned in the Recollections. It was originally designed by James Wyatt between 1785 and 1790 in the Gothick style. Scott hated this type of architecture and in about 1865 he recased the exterior in diapered brickwork, altered the windows and chimneys and added a large service wing while keeping most of the pretty ‘Strawberry Hill’ interiors, for Francis Philips. At the same time, he built a new stable block which has been adapted to form the present house, the original house becoming dilapidated after the owner’s death and subsequently demolished in 1955.

Honour, H., ‘A House of the Gothic Revival’, Country Life, vol. 111, 30 May 1952, p. 1666.
Colvin, H., A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1995), p. 1116.