The Old Rectory and Coach-House Adjoining to East

The Old Rectory and Coach-house, Patrington

A rectory with adjoining coach-house, located on the south side of Nicholson's Lane near Winestead. The house has 17th-century origins with significant alterations and additions spanning three centuries. The coach-house dates to 1804.

The main house underwent substantial changes in 1728 for Christopher Hildyard, further alterations and the addition of a north-west drawing room wing in 1775 for Francis Drake, and rear additions around 1825. The 19th century saw the addition of bay windows. During the 20th century, Colonel R A Alec-Smith commissioned major interior alterations and repositioning of the entrance and windows to create a symmetrical front in 1948, and added a north-east kitchen wing in 1954-55.

The house is constructed principally in red brick laid in English bond, with brown brick to the north-west wing and pantile roofs throughout. It is approximately U-shaped in plan. The main range forms a symmetrical 5-bay front of 2 storeys with attic, featuring projecting full-height square outer bays with canted bay windows. The central entrance has a stone step with moulded nosing leading to a recessed half-glazed fielded-panel door in a shouldered architrave with stepped key bearing a crest in an oval medallion, pulvinated frieze and dentilled pediment. A datestone above the door is inscribed 1728. The three central bays contain 12-pane flush sashes (slightly shorter at first-floor level) with sills and rubbed-brick flat arches with raised ashlar keystones inscribed with the Alec-Smith monogram and dated 1948. The flat-roofed full-height bay windows have 12-pane sashes to the front and 8-pane sashes to the sides, with sills and moulded wooden cornices. The building features a dentilled brick eaves cornice and tumbled-in brick to raised gables, with axial and end chimney stacks. The left return has a similar ground-floor sash and unequal 9-pane attic sash to the front range; a 2-bay wing has slightly recessed 12-pane sashes with sills and stucco flat arches incised in imitation of rubbed brick, stepped eaves, and tumbled-in brick to raised gables with shaped stone kneelers.

The coach-house is set back to the right. It is single-storey with attic, comprising 3 bays. The central carriage entrance has double board doors, flanked by a single door to the left and an 8-pane sliding sash with a board door beneath a 3-pane overlight to the right. All openings have segmental arches, with doors fitted with wrought-iron strap hinges. The right gable has tumbled-in brick, and the right return contains a 12-pane ground-floor sash, a first-floor board door and a small triangular opening to the gable with a projecting shelf. A later single-storey rear wing contains a pair of stable doors.

Internally, the house retains the original 1728 staircase (possibly re-set), featuring exposed tread-ends, a ramped corniced hand-rail, column newels and alternating column-on-vase and twist-on-vase balusters with square knops. The drawing room retains its original 1775 dentilled cornice. During the 1940s and 1950s, Colonel Alec-Smith acquired numerous architectural features from other buildings, including early 18th-century 2-fold library doors in architraves from Winestead Red Hall, fitted bookshelves, an ornate chimney-piece, overmantel and dentilled cornice from Etherington Buildings in Hull, a dentilled chimney-piece in the entrance hall from Etherington Buildings, carved doors and architraves, chimney-piece and overmantel in the drawing room from 37 High Street Hull, and an elaborate west bedroom chimney-piece with door architraves featuring open pediments and urns from 20 High Street Hull. The coach-house interior contains a re-set 18th-century stone chimney-piece with carved overmantel and cornice, a half-domed alcove with keyed archivolt, fluted pilasters and dentilled cornice.

Historical context suggests that a rectory stood on this site in 1616, when it contained a hall and chamber and was noted as decayed; by 1672 it had 5 hearths. Andrew Marvell, the poet, was born in Winestead Rectory in 1620-21, though it remains uncertain whether parts of the present building incorporate the original structure, despite the plan and wall thicknesses clearly suggesting 17th-century origins.