King'S Acre With Wall, Grotto And Steps Attached To South And Wall Attached To North

King's Acre with Wall, Grotto and Steps

A vicarage, now house, with attached wall, grotto and steps. The building probably dates from the mid to late 18th century, with a service wing addition of the late 19th century and some later alterations.

The front is constructed of granite ashlar and granite rubble, with a slate roof featuring gable ends and ridge coping tiles, brick gable end stacks, and an axial stack at the original gable end. The plan includes a side entrance to the left, leading to an entrance hall at the rear of the house. The 18th-century house contains two rooms to the front facing the garden, with a stairwell to the rear right. In the late 19th century, a service block was added to the right with a one-room plan, cellar kitchen, and service stair to the rear. A one-room wing extends to the rear of the entrance hall at the centre, probably also of late 19th-century date.

The building rises two storeys on a basement. The original house is three bays wide. At ground floor, the front has early 19th-century 15-pane sashes with a central window blind, while the first floor features 12-pane sashes with voussoirs. The basement contains two 9-pane sashes and a central double half-glazed door. The late 19th-century addition adjoins to the right at the same height, with paired 12-pane sashes at basement level. The ground floor of the addition is lower; at first floor it displays a box bay window with a 25-pane sash to front and 10-pane sashes as sidelights, surmounted by a wrought iron balcony. The first floor also has a 12-pane sash, a 16-pane sash, and a blind window. A screen wall is attached to the right, ramped down in four stages with a terminal cap.

To the left, the wall sweeps round to the front, with a flight of seven granite steps leading to the rear and a flight of twelve granite steps at the left end. Between these flights is a small grotto, featuring a round niche with a circular granite basin and a rounded back with some ormer shells remaining set in plaster. This is of similar design to the grottoes at Mahebourg and Water Meadow.

The left side of the house has an entrance with a round arch and half-glazed door, panelled cheeks, and a fanlight with Gothic glazing bars, with an 8-pane sash to the left. The right side of the service wing features a two-storey lean-to addition for dairy or scullery use, heated by a brick stack to the rear. This section has a door with overlight and a 12-pane sash at ground floor, and two 12-pane sashes at first floor.

At the rear, to the right, the entrance hall block has a hipped roof and 12-pane sashes at both ground and first floor. The central two-storey rear wing has a split gable end, stepped back to the left, with a tall window of 20th-century glazing at ground floor and an 8-pane light at first floor, heated by a brick end stack. A 12-pane sash is positioned at the left side of the wing at both ground and first floor. The rear of the service block has a 12-pane sash and double half-glazed doors at basement level, a 12-pane sash at first floor, and an 18-pane sash at second floor.

Internally, the two main front rooms each have six-panelled doors with panelled shutters to the windows and double panelled doors between the rooms. The stairwell to the rear right features an open-well stair with a moulded handrail and stick balusters. Oval niches flank the first floor landing to left and right, with a lantern above.