The Glebe House

THE GLEBE HOUSE

A rectory, now a house, originally built in the mid to late 17th century, possibly with earlier origins. It was substantially remodelled, probably in the mid-18th century, with a rear service wing added in 1892 and further alterations made in the 20th century.

The building is constructed of mixed sandstone and slatestone rubble with a hipped slate roof featuring ridge tiles and three rubble rear lateral stacks, with an end stack to the left. The symmetrical front elevation presents 2 storeys with 7 windows. At first floor level, all windows are 2-light casements with glazing bars and timber lintels (20th-century replacements). The ground floor has three mullion and transom windows to the left and right of a central pair of double panelled doors with an overlight, all 20th-century replacements. Above the first floor windows, the ends of beams from the former roof line are visible, a consequence of the roof being raised during the 18th-century remodelling.

The building originally followed a 3-room plan with no passage. The central front entrance leads directly into the central room, which was probably the original hall. The inner room to the right was the service room, and the lower end room to the left was the service end. Each room was heated by a rear lateral stack. A stair tower, probably added in the mid to late 17th century, stands to the rear of the central room, with an outshut at the right end. The 18th-century remodelling involved raising the roof to create the symmetrical front; the ends of the tie-beams remain visible below the eaves level.

A 1½-storey rear service wing of single-room plan was constructed in 1892 to the rear of the lower end. At this time, the lateral stack to the lower end appears to have ceased use, and a gable end stack was added. Twentieth-century alterations included rebuilding the staircase within the stair tower, partitioning the rooms at first floor level, and a complete reconstruction of the roof.

To the right is an attached 1½-storey rubble lean-to with a 20th-century 2-light casement at ground floor (formerly a door) and a blocked loading door or window above. The left side features a 4-pane light at ground floor and a 3-light casement at first floor, both 20th-century. At the right side of this addition is a 20th-century ground floor window.

At the rear, the addition to the left has a 20th-century door with a sandstone segmental head and keystone, a single 20th-century light, and a narrow door, with a straight joint to the main house. The three rear lateral stacks are all constructed in rubble with cornices. An outshut built around the two stacks to the left (serving the rear of the hall and inner room) also encloses the stair tower, featuring 2 twentieth-century windows at ground floor and 2 under the eaves. A separate, lower pitched roof covers the stair tower, with a single light at upper level to the right side, 20th-century double doors and single light at ground floor. The 1½-storey rear service wing to the right has a gable end stack and a 20th-century window to its inner side, with a lean-to in rubble to the outer side featuring a single 20th-century light at the end and a 3-light window to the outer side.

Internally, the central room contains a fireplace with a flat, hollow-chamfered granite head serving the rear lateral stack. The lower end room to the left has a blocked fireplace to the rear lateral stack and a gable end fireplace with a recess to the right, probably for an oven. The inner room to the right has a plaster overmantel over the rear lateral fireplace, displaying the arms of Nicholas Kendall, vicar (circa 1680), with panelled pilasters and a central cartouche. The shield is topped with a helm and bears the motto "virtus depressa resurgit" (virtue, when depressed, rises again), surrounded by a border of stylised leaves and a lion above the helm. The ceiling features a central plaster Tudor rose with four surrounding flowers. The remainder of the house was remodelled in the late 20th century.