The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a manor house, later used as a rectory, dating to circa 1650. It was originally built for the Carew family. The interior was altered in the mid-19th century and restored in the 20th century. Constructed from red brick in English bond on a plinth of coursed squared limestone, it features plain tile roofs and brick end stacks. The building has a compact plan with a central cross hall, a staircase located to the rear of the hall, large rooms on either side, and smaller rooms to the rear. The house is two storeys and has an attic, with a seven-window front. The main facade, facing east, is articulated by a row of giant Ionic pilasters defining bays, which have pedestals and a full entablature. A two-storey porch is centrally positioned, with a door and window on the first floor, flanked by pilasters. The doorway has a round-arched head, imposts and a key block, while the window above has a flat-arched head. The porch is flanked by half bays with narrow windows to the ground and first floors, each with flat-arched heads. The two outer bays feature windows of uniform size with similar flat-arched heads. There are three attic gables above a cornice, displaying ogee curves on the sides and segmental pediments; each gable contains a single window with a flat-arched head. Wave-moulded brickwork creates a storm plinth, a first-floor storey band, and the roof is relatively modern. Most windows are timber cross windows, except those in the half bays, which retain timber transoms. The interior includes a stone-flagged hall separated from the staircase by a 19th-century screen. The open-well staircase has stop-chamfered newel posts, turned balusters, and scrolled tread ends. The drawing room retains a stop-chamfered spine beam and stop-chamfered joists. A mid-19th century stone fireplace features a Tudor-arched opening with carved spandrels, a frieze of encaustic tiles, and a moulded cornice. The Old Rectory is considered a gentry house of national importance, built in the artisan mannerist style, and has undergone relatively little external alteration.