Thorndikes And Former Stable And Coach House Adjoining

Thorndikes and the former stable and coach house adjoining is a house that was formerly the Rectory to St Margaret's, built in 1781, possibly incorporating earlier work, with alterations made in 1870. The building is constructed of brick with some stone dressings and features Kent tile roofs that are hipped and gable-ended. It has a double-depth design, consisting of two separately roofed parallel ranges with end stacks, a side wing, and a stable and carriage house that face the street.

The front of the house is asymmetrical, featuring two dormers with Yorkshire sash windows. The left-of-centre doorway is framed by pilasters and has a moulded canopy supported by shaped brackets, leading to a panelled door. To the right, there is a storeyed canted Victorian wing with sandstone dressings, a dentilled cornice, a pierced parapet, a string course between the storeys, rubbed brick elliptical window arches, and 2:4:2 horned sash windows. To the left, two window bays remain from a regular Georgian front, showcasing sash windows in flush frames, with glazing bars on the first storey only, and rubbed brick flat arches.

Projecting forward on either side are the single-storey stable and coach house, each with a hipped roof and a round-headed arched doorway, although the doorway on the right is blocked. The side wing also features sash windows. At the rear, there is a regular four-window range with 12-pane sashes under rubbed brick flat arches, and a 20th-century left-of-centre glazed door. The name of the house commemorates Dame Sybil Thorndike, who spent much of her childhood here while her father was the Rector of St Margaret's.