The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a former rectory with origins in the early 16th century, although it was extensively rebuilt in the early 19th century and around 1860. The construction is of colourwashed rendered stone rubble and cob, with a stone rubble wing, and features slate and asbestos slate roofs and brick chimneys.

The building's plan has evolved significantly, resulting in a complex arrangement of wings and projections. A 19th-century crosswing balances a single-story projection at the front. The original core of the house likely comprised a three-room and passage arrangement. A particularly fine hall or parlour from the early 16th century survives at the front, alongside a second room on the same axis which is heated by a projecting rear lateral stack. A later stack, also heating the same room, appears to have been inserted into the former passage, presumably when the earlier stack was temporarily blocked. A third room on the same axis is unheated and its origins are unclear, with a lean-to roof. Further alterations include a lean-to addition to the front of the early range and an extension beyond it as a single-story projection with a rounded end. The 19th-century crosswing has a polygonal end.

The front of the building has an asymmetrical 1:2:1 window arrangement. The single-story projection to the left features a rounded end and a sash window with glazing bars. A two-leaf door, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century, with Gothic glazing bars, leads into the central block, which has two gables. The end of the right-hand crosswing is polygonal with stone-framed mullioned windows.

Inside, the front left room of the main block contains an exceptional 1550 ceiling consisting of intersecting moulded beams with carved foliage bosses at the intersections. A moulded wallplate remains on two walls, and carved half-bosses support the beams at the walls. A good Adam-style chimney piece, featuring carvings of corn on the jambs and delicate applied timber mouldings, likely conceals a larger, earlier fireplace. The room heated by the rear lateral stack contains two open fireplaces: the rear fireplace has a high oak lintel and evidence of a former bread oven; the second fireplace, potentially introduced into the former passage, has a 19th or 20th-century lintel and a brick-lined bread oven. A late 15th-century stone statue niche of ecclesiastical origin, including an angel corbel and carved canopy work, has been incorporated into the stair hall. The roof was not inspected. Timbers are believed to be 19th or later in date. The 16th-century ceiling is a remarkable survival.