Apparently a hayrick fell upon him whilst he was inspecting it. Another early reference to the Priory can be found in The Harrow Rolls of 1512, These state that: 'The Priory was built in honour of St Mary Magdalene, and the Archbishop of Canterbury beyond memory gave the Priory with all its lands to the Priory of St Gregory without the wall of Canterbury, and to the convent there in pure alms; that they from time of such grant used to find a priest to celebrate Mass and other divine services in the chapel within the Priory each week, and that the priest used to be called the Prior of Bentley'. "Thus Bentley Priory and its lands, apart from being passed back and forth between church and lay owners in its early years, managed to avoid falling into the covetous hands of its neighbours." St Gregory's was dissolved in 1536, and the buildings and land of the former Bentley Priory were granted to Archbishop Cranmer, but in 1542 he was forced to hand them back to the king, and in 1546 they were granted to Henry Needham and William Sacheverell. Subsequent buildings In 1775, Sir John Soane designed a new house north of the original priory called Bentley Priory, for James Duberley, an Army contractor. Duberley is thought to have pulled down the original Priory building before having a more imposing house built on a higher point of the ridge some distance from the original site. Druett based his idea that the original site of the Priory can be found further down the slope at Priory House on the supposition that Duberley would have built higher on the ridge, 'to show off the evidence of his wealth and importance'. The house was sold in 1788 to John Hamilton, who succeeded his uncle as Earl of Abercorn in 1789. On his elevation in the peerage the following year to Marquess, he made extensive alterations to the house and park. He commissioned Sir John Soane, one of the most pre-eminent 18th century architects, to extend and refurbish the house in a more lavish and sumptuous manner, and the outside of the house as it appears today is largely due to his money and Soane's vision (although the clock tower was added at a later date). The refurbishments included a gallery of fine paintings, several large apartments and a grand staircase of Portland