The Old Rectory

The Old Rectory is a former rectory dating from 1810, with information provided by the owner. The house is likely constructed of stone, whitewashed and stuccoed, with a slate roof (originally thatched) featuring deep eaves and hipped ends, and a brick end stack. It is built in the picturesque “Cottage Ornée” style. The architectural plan is an overall “L” shape, based on a double-depth rectangular main block, two rooms wide, with the principal rooms facing the front—one on either side of a central entrance passage. A rear left service wing creates the "L" plan, with a small, 20th-century flat-roofed addition in the angle between the service wing and the main block. The thatch was replaced between 1850 and 1879.

The symmetrical front façade has three bays and an exceptionally attractive nine-bay timber trellis verandah that extends around the returns of the main block. The verandah features a central gable with a laurel wreath, timber posts encased in trelliswork, a plastered ceiling, and a cobbled floor. The front door is half-glazed with Gothick detailing including an iron traceried fanlight incorporating stained glass (some medieval), and Gothick panelling to the doorcase. Two-leaf French windows with Tudor arches are situated to the left and right, with the upper panes featuring segmental arched glazing bars. Sixteen-pane sashes are present to the left and right on the first floor, with a twelve-pane sash centrally located. The verandah extends for three bays on the left return and five bays on the right return, which incorporates a two-leaf arched timber traceried door, likely removed from the church. The left and right returns have small casement windows to the ground floor, with segmental arched glazing bars to the upper panes; two of these windows are 1970s reproductions of original windows. Original fenestration includes small-pane sashes and casements elsewhere.

The interior is notably elegant, on a small scale, with the entrance passage and stair hall being especially fine. A doorway to the stair hall has glazed side panels and a glazed fanlight with delicate ornamental glazing bars. The stair hall is a striking feature, being very small, with a cantilevered open-well stair featuring stick balusters and a wreathed handrail; a curved panelled door at the rear leads into the service wing. The rest of the interior retains much original joinery, including shutters and marble chimney-pieces. The Rectory was described as being "under alteration" in 1821. Its design shares some similarities with the larger rectory at Kingsteignton (now known as the Chantry and Elmfield), which retained its thatch and was described as “nearly built” in 1821, and which may have been designed by the same architect. The house is an exceptionally attractive and complete example.