Dartford Priory was one of the former monastic residences that Henry VIII converted into royal accommodation after the suppression of the monasteries. Not much is known of the Dominican Nunnery that formed the nucleus of Henry’s new house but an excavation in 1913 and the fragmentary surviving buildings give us some clues.
It was a big project. The work was designed by the king’s chief architect, James Nedeham, who used two million bricks and employed 500 workmen. The total cost of the works was some £6,600 and everything was completed in the winter of 1543-4.
The royal lodgings were approached by a processional stair from the great court. There was no great hall but, instead, a communal room in which people waited before being called into the presence. The king’s and queen’s lodgings were laid out in a standard sequence. Architecturally the most remarkable feature was the stair which had situated at its foot a gilded stone lion and dragon holding gilded metal vanes.
After the King died the house was granted to Anne of Cleves for life but Mary I restored the house to the nuns in 1557. Their return was short-lived and Elizabeth ejected them in 1559 and Dartford returned into the royal portfolio of progress houses. It was not much used and, in 1606, James I swapped it (and other properties) with Robert Cecil in return for Theobalds.