The Vicarage

The Vicarage is a house, originally built as the vicarage, dating from 1837. It was designed by the Reverend R S Hawker for his own use. The construction utilizes stone rubble with decorative dressings, slate roofing, and stone chimneys. The architecture is in a Gothick style, described by Hawker as "Old English," and loosely inspired by the first engraving of Hunt's Designs for Parsonage Houses. The plan is asymmetrical, consisting of a central rectangle containing a parlour, staircase, and kitchen, with two projections to the south for a study and dining room, and two further projections to the north. A porch is situated in the southwest corner, between the study and the parlour. The house has two storeys, with gabled roofs. Windows throughout are in a Gothick style, with arched timber frames, some set beneath square-headed hood moulds incorporating label stops. The windows vary in size, from single to four lights, with leaded panes and stained glass borders, although some glass and leading have been replaced. Six chimneys are present, some projecting and featuring eccentric crenellated and pinnacled shafts which Hawker designed and modeled on the church towers of Stratton, Whitstone, and North Tamerton. The chimney shaft for the kitchen is modelled on the tomb of Hawker’s mother. The main front of the house, facing the sea, features a stepped gable and a four-light bay window on the ground floor. The first-floor window above is a three-light with a hoodmould and label stops. A one-light casement has replaced a former fixed light window in the attic. The two-story porch has a flat roof and a four-centred arched doorway with a square-headed hoodmould and label stops. An inscribed slate above the doorway reads "A house, a glebe, a pound a day,/ A pleasant place to watch and pray, Be true to church, be kind to poor,/ A minister for ever more," referencing the fact that the living was valued at £365 per year when Hawker arrived. The front door is arched, with four panels and studded rails. Inside, there are panelled doors, some with panelled and studded soffits. Early 19th-century fireplaces are found in the study and dining room. The main staircase is early 19th century, with stick balusters, a ramped handrail, and some Gothic revival detail. A rear service staircase is also present, with stick balusters. The Reverend R S Hawker, a notable churchman, poet, and philanthropist, served as vicar of Morwenstow from 1834 to 1875. He detailed the vicarage’s construction in letters to the Reverend H T Ellacombe, expressing his desire for an ecclesiastical building. The interior of the vicarage was described in The Standard in 1873. Alfred Tennyson visited Hawker at the vicarage in 1848, discussing his plans for an Arthurian poem.