The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a substantial detached house, originally Sowton Rectory, built in 1722. It may incorporate parts of an earlier building. The house is constructed of brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with distinctive burnt headers, and has a slate roof covered by a parapet. It is primarily a single-depth house, with a rear corridor and an external stair turret added to the rear of a cob wall thought to be a remnant of the original structure. There was likely a wing to the rear of the left-hand rooms, now connecting to service rooms arranged around a small rear courtyard.

The main entrance is now at the right-hand end, leading into the corridor. Evidence suggests a central front entrance existed previously, and the current aedicule may have been moved from that location. Two axial brick stacks are present. The left-hand stack heats the two left-hand rooms, with a space between the fireplace backs now occupied by the kitchen, the flues meeting above and creating arches in the first-floor rooms. The house has two storeys and an attic, originally used for servants' quarters.

The front façade has a symmetrical five-window arrangement with 12-pane hornless sash windows and depressed window arches. A parapet hides three gabled half-dormers. On the left-hand elevation, the first floor features a tripartite 4:12:4 pane sash window to the principal bedroom, and a 12-pane hornless sash window to the left. The ground floor has a Regency-era veranda with a bowed four-light window (four panes per light) with external shutters, and French windows to the left. The right-hand end features three 12-pane hornless sash windows (two to the first floor, one to the ground floor) to the left of the entrance, along with an aedicule with two Tuscan half columns, an open pediment, panelled reveals, a soffit, and a door with a semi-circular fanlight. The rear service buildings are intact, including a roof-lit kitchen. Inside, the house retains internal shutters and joinery from the 18th and 19th centuries.