The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory, Haccombe-with-Combe

This is a house with late medieval origins, probably remodelled in the early 17th century but substantially altered in the early to mid 18th century, with a late 20th century extension into former outbuildings.

The building is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with a thatched roof that is gabled at the left end and hipped at the right end of the main range. The front wing has a half-hipped roof at its end. There are four chimneys: one stack at the left end and two stacks to the wing, one on either side of the ridge.

The plan is overall L-shaped, consisting of a north-west facing main range with a front right wing at the south-west end. The main range has a single depth arrangement of 3 rooms with an unheated entrance hall from which the stair rises against the front wall. The house originated as a late medieval open hall house of jointed cruck construction, with part of a late medieval roof structure surviving over the right end, including a formerly infilled truss indicating that the left end of the medieval house was either storeyed or unheated. The house was presumably floored in the early 17th century, but all signs of this phase disappeared during the early to mid 18th century alterations, which provided the present 3-room plan arrangement and a good set of 18th century windows. The front right wing, which retains some remains of chamfered beams, is probably an 18th century service wing. 20th century alterations have introduced a stair at the right end of the range and extended the house to the right into converted single-storey outbuildings.

The exterior is 2 storeys with an asymmetrical 2:1 window front, with one window to the end of the wing at the right. There is an open porch on square reeded timber posts with a 1980s panelled front door. Above the porch is a 2-light 18th century casement with square leaded panes, lighting the stair. To the left are 1 ground floor and 1 first floor 18th century 3-light casements with square leaded panes and timber mullions, complete with original catches. The end of the wing to the right has 1 ground floor and 1 first floor 20th century timber casement with glazing bars, and a 20th century casement to the ground floor on the left return of the wing.

The attractive garden elevation facing south-east features a 1980s 2-leaf glazed door in the centre into the entrance hall, three first floor 18th century 3-light mullioned casement windows with square leaded panes, a similar window to the ground floor right, and two 20th century 2-light casements to the left with square leaded panes. The left return of the wing has two first floor 20th century timber casements.

The interior contains some 18th and early 19th century joinery and chamfered ceiling beams in the kitchen wing.

The roof contains two side-pegged jointed cruck trusses below a later roof structure, mortised at the apex with cranked collars mortised into the principal rafters and formerly with threaded purlins. These trusses are positioned above the centre of the main range. The right-hand truss is lightly blackened, while the left-hand truss, formerly infilled with wattle and daub, is blackened on the right side only. A probably 17th century truss survives further to the right, and three jointed crucks form the hipped end of the house at the right, though the apex of these timbers was not inspected.

This is an interesting evolved house of medieval origins with a good set of 18th century windows.