The Great Priory of England was destroyed in 1546 on Royal orders after the assets of the Templars had enriched it when they were dissolved. Only the door was kept. The 16C guardhouse, flanked by three storey towers, was the south entrance to the Priory. The Great Priory Church used to stretch out further towards the west. Under the low vaults of the 12C crypt, which is the only remnant of the original Priory, are the statues of a Spanish grandee and the recumbent figure of the last Prior.