The Pryors was originally a farm house (owned by the Pryors family) situtated on the edge of Hampstead Heath; you can spot it (probably) on some of Constable’s paintings of the area, and on old prints. If you look at the plan of the block on the registered land or charge certificate for your flat, you will see that the outline of the old buildings is shown. The architect, Paul Waterhouse, designed the two new blocks. Block A (the upper one ) was built first, in 1904. Block B followed in 1910. Many of the original period features remain intact.
A party was held at Burgh House on the centenary of The Pryors in 2004. John Mark gave a charming presentation on the history of The Pryors and you can download it here. In Appendix A he relates that there were small lifts in the wells that took coal up to each flat and brought the garbage down. John Mark on The Pryors Centenary
ARTISTS, WRITERS AND FILMS WITH LINKS TO THE PRYORS
Artists and Writers
- Sir John Clifford Mortimer(1923-2009) British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole (of the Bailey) was born in Flat 7.
- Diana Joan Raymond (nee Young), writer, novelist (1916-2009) lived in Flat 22 until her death. A bench in the garden bears her name and was donated by the family.
- Ernest Raymond, novelist (1888-1974) author of more than 50 books including ‘We the Accused’ lived in Flat 22 from 1941-1974. There is a black plaque on the front of Block A in his memory.
- Dame Paula Rego, (1935-2022) well known Portuguese-British visual artist with works in many public galleries including the Tate, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, lived in The Pryors for many years until her death in 2022
- Christopher Robbins (1946-2012) was a British writer and journalist. He is best known for his 1978 bestseller Air America, a non-fiction book which was made into a film in 1990. It is about the secret airline run by the CIA for covert operations during the Vietnam war.
- Bartolomeu dos Santos (1931-2008) Printmaker, Head of Printmaking and Professor of Fine Art at the UCL Shade School of Fine Art.
-
Erich Wolf Segal (1937-2010) was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel Love Story and its hit film adaptation.
- James Wellard (1909-1987) was an English author of over 30 books on a diverse range of subjects, both fiction & nonfiction. He was a journalist who served as a combat correspondent attached to Patton’s Third Army during WWII, after which he wrote a biography of General Patton.
Films
- Some scenes from the cult horror film, An American Werewolf in London, were shot at The Pryors and show views of Block A and the interior of one of the flats. Most exciting of all, the werewolf attacks a couple just outside our garden gate on to the Heath.
- Smiley’s People (John le Carre, Alec Guinness) was filmed partially from Flat 56 and many scenes show the Heath behind us.
The newspaper clipping in the images below dated 6 June 1902 advertises the sale of the original farm house 2 years before the building of Block A.
