Earlier Houses: The current house was built on a site northwest of the ruins of a 12th century Cluniac priory dedicated to St. James. The priory was dissolved in 1539 as part of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. In the 1550s the crown granted the property to Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley.
Built / Designed For: 1st Earl of Dudley of the first creation
Garden & Outbuildings: The former grounds of the house today form the nine-acre Priory Park, owned and operated by Dudley Metropolitan Council as a public park since 1932.
House Listed: Grade II
Park Listed: Grade II
Past Seat / Home of: John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (first creation), 1826-33; William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward, 1833-35; William Ward, 11th Baron Ward and 1st Earl of Dudley (second creation), 1835-85; William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, 1885-1926.
Current Ownership Type: Government
Primary Current Ownership Use: Offices
Ownership Details: House is owned by Dudley Metropolitan Council and operated as the Dudley Register Office; grounds are a public park.