The Presbytery, East Hendred

The Presbytery, built in 1865 for the Roman Catholic church of St Mary in East Hendred, was designed by Charles Alban Buckler. It is constructed of red brick in English bond, with ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The house has two storeys and a basement.

The north front connects to a bridge at first-floor level, providing access to the church on the other side of the road. The south front, the principal façade, features a projecting gabled wing toward the right, with two-light windows on both floors, each set within stone surrounds and having cusped heads. The gable features stone kneelers, coping, and a carved shield and quatrefoil surrounded by the coat of arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese. To the right of this wing is a recessed gable with a triple lancet window on the ground floor, set in a stone surround with a square head. Above this is a similar triple lancet with an arched head to the stone surround, with a hood mould rising into the gable and a slender lancet in the gable head. To the left of centre is a single-storey canted bay at ground-floor level, with paired lancet windows on the first floor. The front door is located far to the left, approached by a passage along the west side of the building. The door is planked, with a Caernarvon-arched head, and a first-floor lancet window above. The roof retains its original eight ridge stacks.

The eastern end has a door near the centre, with a two-light window with a cusped head and stone surround to the right and a service outshut housing the scullery to the left. A large rectangular chimney stack rises above the original kitchen and scullery hearths.

The western gable end features a central mezzanine window of two lights with cusped heads in a stone surround. The gable also contains a painted terracotta or majolica plaque, set within a stone surround depicting the Virgin and Infant Christ with angels.

The interior features a spinal corridor running east to west along the northern side of the house on both floors. The principal bedrooms and reception rooms are located to the south of this corridor. Overpainted stone fire surrounds remain in several rooms, including the drawing room and kitchen. Doors have chamfered panels, and both front and back staircases feature stick balusters with chamfered edges and newel posts. The scullery floor is tiled with terracotta.