The Old Rectory Including Stables To East

SY 19 NE OFFWELL OFFWELL

3/118 The Old Rectory including stables - to east 22.2.55 GV II House,former rectory. 1845 according to the owner, and built by the Reverend E. Copleston, Bishop of Llandaff, and Dean of St Pauls. Local stone rubble and flint rubble with Hamstone detail (all the ashlar is a little proud of the wall masonry as if it was to be exposed and the rubble masonry was to be plastered); stone rubble stacks with probably late C19 cream-coloured machine brick chimneyshafts; slate roof. Plan: the house faces west. The main block has a 2-room plan, one either side of an entrance hall and main stair. The left room has a gable-end stack and the right room has an axial stack backing onto the entrance hall. Behind this front block and slighly narrower is a rear block projecting at right angles under parallel roofs. This contains the 1-room plan kitchen block with a gable-end stack to the north. The south block projects a little further back and has a 2-room plan, the first room heated by an axial stack backing onto the front block and the second room has a gable-end stack. This south block overlooks the garden and contains principal rooms. 2 storeys with attics. Tudor Gothic style. Exterior: nearly symmetrical 3-window west (entrance) front of Hamstone 2-light windows with hollow-chamfered mullions and hoodmoulds, containing timber casements with glazing bars. The centre bay is broken very slightly forward and is gabled with an attic window. It contains the main doorway, a Hamstone Tudor arch with moulded surround and hoodmould and contains part-glazed panelled double doors. Alongside to left is a small side light with its own hoodmoulds. Above, at first floor level, is a dripcourse. There is a plain Hamstone eaves cornice. The roof is gable-ended with shaped kneelers and coping. The front and right end gables have carved apex finials. There is similar fenestration round the rest of the house. The south (garden) front, for instance, has a 2:2-window front. Here is included a canted bay window, ground floor right and the other ground floor windows are large enough to be used as French windows. Interior: not inspected but the owners report that it contains a great deal of original joinery and other detail. To rear (east) is a service courtyard containing the stables and coach house which is built in the same style as the main house and includes more Tudor style Hamstone windows. The Old Rectory is one of a group of listed buildings in the centre of Offwell village, most of which were built by Bishop Copleston in the early C19.

Listing NGR: SY1951899527