The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a house that was formerly the rectory, dating from the early 16th century. It was built during the time of William Soude, who was rector from 1528 to 1544, and incorporates parts of an original 14th or early 15th-century building. The structure has seen additions by Robert Masters, rector from 1756 to 1797, and further modifications in the 19th century by Thomas Cooke Burroughs, who served from 1778 to 1821. The building features a plastered timber frame, with sections of 14th or early 15th-century plastered, moulded brick, as well as bricks from the 16th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It has slate roofs and stands two storeys tall.

The early 16th-century hall range is flanked by two wings to the north and south, designed as a rectoral farmhouse with accommodation for clergy. It retains one and a half bays of a medieval vaulted cellar and has two service doors in a cross passage. The south wing was altered in the 18th century, and a two-storey staircase hall was inserted between the wings. An early 19th-century semi-circular bay window was later extended to two storeys.

The main facade has seven bays, cased in gault brick, with a steeply pitched hipped slate roof and two rear stacks, along with a 16th-century cross-stepped side stack at the rear of the hall. The centre three bays are flanked by recessed two-storey brick panels. The building features seven first-floor and six ground-floor recessed, twelve-paned hung sash windows set in cambered brick arches. A 19th-century stone portico with a round-headed arch and key block, tall double pilasters, and a deep cornice adds to the entrance.

Inside, the hall ceiling boasts very fine 16th-century double-ogee-moulded cross beams. There is a partition to the cross passage with some 17th-century panelling, possibly covering the original screen. Two service doors have deeply moulded two-centred arches and embattled squared-headed outer orders enriched with fleurons. The cellar features quadrapartite rib vaulting with carved rose bosses and the coat of arms of the Bishop of L'Isle, truncated to the east and projecting beyond the building line to the north. The interior also includes a fine 18th-century closed string staircase, along with panelling and doors.