The Rectory

This Anglican rectory was built in 1923 to a distinctive V-shaped plan, reflecting contemporary progressive thinking about country house design. It is constructed of brown brick with red brick and stone dressings, with pitched slate roofs to the rear sections and flat concrete roofs to the front ranges. Tall brick obelisk chimneys rise from the building.

Plan and Layout

The building has an unusual double-depth V-shaped (or half-butterfly) plan. Two front ranges extend outwards, each clasped by a deeper rear range. The north front and its rear range principally contained the servants' quarters, while the west front and rear range housed the main family rooms. The internal arrangement centres on a diagonal axis running through the entrance hall. A two-storey entrance bay sits within the angle between the two front wings.

Exterior

All elevations feature multi-paned sash and casement windows with thick glazing bars and distinctive quoined red brick dressings that run the full height of the building. Ground-floor windows have segmental-arched heads, with ashlar keystones on the front and garden sides, while first-floor windows have square heads. Secondary glazing was added internally in 2010. The outer bays of the front ranges and the first floor of the entrance bay are semi-octagonal in form. Five tall brick chimneys rise from the building—three from gable walls and two behind the entrance bay—though two of the gable stacks have been slightly shortened.

The front (north-west) elevation has five bays. A wide round-headed doorway with an archivolt sits in the central entrance bay, containing panelled double doors with leaded glazing in the upper panels. Above the door is a small ashlar datestone inscribed 'AD 1923' in stylised lettering, with small carved pateé crosses at each corner. The first-floor window above has an ashlar keystone. Ground-floor windows appear in single-storey bays with mono-pitch roofs at bays 2 and 4, while bays 1 and 5 have windows on both floors.

The north elevation consists of the semi-octagonal return of the north range with windows on each floor. At a 45-degree angle to the building's northern end, a short section of high brick wall contains a secondary arched doorway (originally the servants' entrance) with a plank and batten door, providing access to a small service yard and kitchen areas. An original single-storey garage with a flat concrete roof attaches to this wall, with a replaced door and series of multi-paned casement windows on each side, one of which on the north-east side has been blocked. Within the service yard is the north gable wall of the rear north range, which has an arched ground-floor doorway flanked by small leaded-light windows.

The west elevation shows the semi-octagonal return of the front west range, with a ground-floor doorway featuring a segmental-arched head and partly-glazed panelled door with overlight, and a first-floor window. This doorway originally led to a domestic chapel, now used as an office. To the right, the gable wall of the rear west range has paired windows on both floors.

The south (garden) elevation presents five bays set on a raised terrace with tall ground-floor windows. The two outer bays retain their original French windows, accessed by stone steps. The centre bay's French windows (also accessed by steps) have been replaced by a sash window matching the style of the rest of the elevation. The outer bays of the first floor have tripartite windows.

The east elevation comprises mainly the servants' quarters, though the main dining room occupies the ground floor of the left gabled bay (the east gable wall of the rear west range), with the main bedroom above. The servants' quarters have plainer windows of varying sizes, and a large stair window sits left of centre on the first floor. A doorway to the far right of the ground floor gives access to the service (kitchen) areas, and below left external steps descend to the basement beneath the service areas.

Interior

Original parquet floors survive in the ground-floor principal rooms, quarry tiles in the kitchen areas, and floorboards on the first floor. Original three-panel doors and simple architraves survive throughout. Most principal rooms and spaces on both floors, including the main entrance hall and hallways, have coved ceilings.

The entrance hall is a large angled space with doors opening to all ground-floor areas. A fireplace in the south-east wall has a stone surround with a gilded inscription from the Psalms, a stone hearth, and a cast-iron grate. The walls were originally panelled but this was removed in the 1960s. A doorway in the west wall opens to a short corridor leading to an office and the former domestic chapel, which is now plain with an inserted partition wall at the west end. It is not believed to have contained any ecclesiastical features when first built.

The central garden-facing room has a mid-to-late 20th-century fire surround and gas fire. Original double doors in the east wall lead to the dining room at the south-east corner, which has a part-painted stone fire surround and hearth with a later insert.

The service areas retain their separate rooms, including a large kitchen, pantry, and toilet. The main dog-leg stair lies off the east side of the entrance hall, with stick balusters and a galleried first-floor landing featuring two arched openings. A doorway off the right side of the landing, originally leading to the servants' quarters, has been blocked, and two small domed skylights that lit the west wing's first-floor hallway ceiling have also been blocked or removed.

Fireplaces in the principal bedrooms have been removed though some chimneybreasts survive, and one room has been partitioned in two. The principal bedroom at the south-east corner has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, now largely hidden by a suspended ceiling, and later fitted wardrobes placed in front of the east window. A bathroom above the main entrance retains its original wall tiling.

Servants' Quarters

Door access on each floor level has been sealed, with entry now only through a small hatch in the north wall of the entrance hall leading to the ground-floor corridor. The servants' quarters remain unaltered, with rooms on both floors retaining cast-iron fireplaces. A Soane-style stair with an angled light-tunnel above leads to the first-floor hallway, lit by a small original domed skylight. One first-floor bedroom has arched alcoves flanking the fireplace. The bathroom at the northern end retains its original suite including toilet, bath, and sink. The stone basement stair is accessed beneath the main stair and descends to the basement, which retains some original brick shelving and an external door.

Grounds and Boundary Features

The rectory and grounds are partly enclosed by a brick boundary wall of varying height with sandstone copings. Sandstone gate piers with pyramidal caps and metal gates stand at the north corner of the site. Further square brick gate piers with sandstone caps and plain metal gates sit at the centre of the north-west wall, aligned with the main entrance.

To the south of the rectory lies a large garden terrace of brick with sandstone copings and a replaced tarmac floor. The front (south) wall has raised brick detailing and two blind roundels with raised brick surrounds. Corner flights of steps sit at each end. The altered former bowling pavilion (now a garden store) west of the terrace is not of special interest.