The Old Rectory on East of Parish Church is a Grade II listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 January 1967. Rectory. 3 related planning applications.
The Old Rectory on East of Parish Church
- WRENN ID
- distant-vestry-hawthorn
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- East Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford MP: Josh Dean (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 24 January 1967
- Type
- Rectory
- Address
- The Old Rectory on East of Parish Church, Ware Road, Widford, SG12 8RL
- OS grid reference
- TL 413 157
- Coordinates
- 51.82275, 0.0496
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old Rectory, located to the east of the parish church, is a rectory that has been converted into a house. It dates from the 18th century and was extended on both sides in the early 19th century. The building is constructed of colourwashed brick with grey brick chimneys on the newer sections, and it features hipped slate roofs.
This irregularly shaped, two-storey house faces south and has a formal garden front that overlooks the Ash Valley to the north. The highest section of the building, which likely represents the original 18th-century structure, consists of a three-window, two-storey, and basement section in the middle of the north front. This section has flat gauged arches, recessed sash windows with 6/6 panes, and a modillioned cornice. The southern part of this section has two sash windows under gauged arches, along with a triple window on the right. The narrower window may have been the location of the original door.
In the early 19th century, a two-storey west wing was added, which is slightly lower than the central section on the north front but significantly taller than the southern part. This wing features two windows and an entrance on the right, with recessed sash windows under segmental gauged arches, also with 6/6 panes. It has wide eaves overhangs with plastered soffits. A flat-topped, heavy Tuscan porch with columns, pilasters, and a full entablature leads to a six-panel half-glazed door.
Additionally, a narrower two-storey bay was added on the east side, set back on each front, with one window on each storey. All windows are fitted with louvred shutters. The Old Rectory is a picturesque example of 18th and 19th-century architecture and is part of the group of buildings surrounding the parish church.
Local climate
The Old Rectory on East of Parish Church sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 88% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2015
- Related listed building consents — 3 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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- Parish Church of St John the Baptist (Church of England)
- Wall Forming West Boundary of Church Yard with Classical Gateway
- Widfordbury Farm and Widfordbury House on West of Churchyard
- Ash View Rest Home on East Corner with Bell Lane
- The Lodge on the East Side of Ash View Rest Home
- North View Cottages
- Westbury
- Widford Jmi School
- Abbotts Farmhouse
- The Bell Inn on the Corner of Bell Lane