The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a very fine house incorporating a core dating back to the 13th century, with significant alterations and additions around 1700, and further renovations in the 18th and 19th centuries. The building is now arranged as a half-H plan. The front facade is red brick, with 18th and 19th-century extensions and renovations. The left return is clad in 18th-century beaded weatherboard. The roof is hipped and covered in red tiles, with two pedimented dormers. The house has two storeys, attic space, and a large brick cellar. A parapet features a band and coping.

The front has a seven-window range of circa 1700 small-paned vertical sliding sash windows with moulded glazing bars and gauged brick arches. A central Doric porch has a flat canopy and a frieze incorporating triglyphs and metopes. The front door has small panes of glazing and a frieze above. To the right is an early conservatory with a moulded timber frame, cast iron internal brackets, and an original winding window opening mechanism. Iron finials adorn the ridge. The building has a brick base, a central attached red brick diagonal shaft chimney, and a red brick chimney to the right. Five circular iron tie plates are visible externally. A timber and leaded bell cote is located at the rear.

The right return features an early 19th-century two-storey bay with contemporary small-paned sliding sash windows and a door with glazed margins. Internally, pilasters with moulded capitals and bases in the panelled hall lead to a circa 1820 dog-leg staircase. Panelled gun cupboards are positioned either side of the front door. A round-head window is visible in the pilaster screen wall. A circa 1700 or earlier moulded stone fireplace surround is also present. Detailing throughout the house relates to the period 1680-1700 or the 1800-1820 renovations, including three Adam fireplaces, panelled walls, dado panels, wainscotting, and ceiling coving. All windows have panelled shutters. Many 17th-century doors feature hand-wrought hinges and catches, while numerous 18th and 19th-century panelled doors have brass handles and locks, one of which has a drop bolt. An attic contains a 16th-century or earlier, nailed, three-board door. The large, brick-partitioned cellar contains a working pump and a well.

A section of 13th-century scroll moulding dates a two-bay fragment of a former crosswing, located to the left of the house. The original roof was replaced in the 17th century with a good quality framed side-purlin construction, incorporating heavily sooted timbers from the medieval hall. Jowled storey posts are also present. Lead from the roof is inscribed “Mark Webster 1861, 1872,” along with various other graffiti. The chimney stack dates to the mid-16th century, with a 17th-century concertina shaft added. The house is set within a pleasant moated garden, which includes a restored 18th and 19th-century walled garden to the rear.