Late 18th century game larder, The Drying House, St Osyth's Priory (EHER 25677)

An 18th century game larder or brewhouse, probably with medieval foundations. The building is made of red brick with some weatherboarding at the rear. It is square with a pointed red tiled roof and vertically boarded door.

February 1950. Grade II listed. An 18th century brewhouse, probably with medieval foundations. The building is made of red brick with some weatherboarding at the rear. It is square with a pointed red tiled roof and vertically boarded door. <1> See also: <2>. May 2023. Heritage assessment. The Drying House is a fairly simple, diminutive building of late 18th century date, which was most likely constructed as a game larder and formed part of the complex of service buildings on the Western side of the courtyard. The building incorporates some earlier fabric into its western elevation, which probably represents earlier structures suggested by the plan of the estate of 1762; the surviving brickwork accords with an early post-medieval date; otherwise, little about this precursor to the building can be understood. It appears to have been adapted to an alternative use in the late 19th or early 20th century, judging by the insertion of a copper; what this use was remains obscure. Despite this, the fittings relating to its original function as a game larder have survived well. <3>