Vicarage To Church Of St Paul

Vicarage designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, 1877–9. This is one of Scott's last works, as the architect died in 1878 during construction; the work was completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott.

Materials and Structure

Red brick with brick and stone dressings. Plain tile roof with coped gables and stone finials. Ornamental brick stacks with linked and moulded octagonal flues. Two storeys and attic. The plan features a central staircase hall with reception rooms to the south and east and service rooms to the north.

Style and Exterior

The vicarage is designed in a late 15th- and 16th-century East Anglian style, comparable to Oxburgh Hall, with elaborate gables and casement rather than mullion windows. A rich arcaded brick corbel-table cornice and decorative cast iron guttering (matching the adjoining church) create a commanding, romantic outline.

The entrance front features two gables to the right; the more central gable is crow-stepped with the stair window above a gabled porch containing a four-centred arch and small circular window over the doorway. All larger gables have two steps to the bottom and another to the apex with an inset stone finial; the gable to the far right is set back. To the left of the porch are two gabled dormers over casements.

The south front has a stone canted bay under a pentice roof and a French window with 3-light casements over. The east front has a similar bay to the right with casements to the left and above. The service wing is set back to the right, extending to a walled outhouse yard.

Interior

The interior is remarkably complete, retaining virtually all original fireplaces, though some grates have been modified. The open-well staircase has a splat baluster balustrade and square newels carved with blind Late Gothic windows. The mahogany handrail is ramped and elaborately moulded. Sliding window shutters survive in several rooms, along with elaborate window catches, skirtings, and cornices. The layout remains unaltered except for minor changes to the service wing, where the back stairs were replaced with stairs running only from first floor to attic.

History and Context

The vicarage was built 1877–9 simultaneously with the Church of St Paul, some 10 metres away across the vicarage garden. Both buildings were funded by a local lady, Miss Charinton, with support from Canon Moore, Vicar of Spalding, who had previously commissioned Scott to restore the parish church and Church of St Peter in Spalding and Crowland Abbey. The project was completed after Scott's death in 1878 by his son. Miss Charinton's generous endowment (totalling £30,000) was arranged with the expectation that her nephew would become the first Vicar. He did: the Reverend Richard Guy Ash (1848–1935) was appointed Vicar of St Paul's in 1878, one year before the church opened, and remained in post for 55 years until his death. Ash was also a distinguished scholar who became Professor of English History at Aberystwyth in 1879.

Significance

This is a fine example by one of the 19th century's most important architects, notable for careful proportions, rich but considered detailing, good massing, variety in outline and planes, and individual character evident in the projection and recession of elevations, rich cornice, and elaborate treatment of gables and stacks. The interior staircase exemplifies Scott's attention to detail, as do the elaborate window catches and carefully proportioned fireplaces.

The vicarage's exceptional importance lies equally in its positioning as part of a unified composition with the Church of St Paul and schoolroom across the garden, creating an enclosed precinct comparable to a medieval hortus conclusus. Scott designed this entire group as an architectural whole, one of his last major works, making the close grouping of exceptional quality and significance.