The Old Vicarage And House Adjoining At The North

The Old Vicarage and adjoining house are a pair of properties dating to 1837, designed by Edward Blore. The building is constructed of rock-faced stone with stone dressings, and has a gabled slate roof with prominent rock-faced stone stacks featuring diagonally-set, grouped ashlar chimney shafts and moulded caps. It is built in the Tudor style, with mullioned windows and an irregular plan of two parallel blocks, a crosswing to the south (left), and a lower service wing to the north. The service rooms of the north wing are now a separate property, with a lower roofline.

The main east-facing entrance elevation is asymmetrical, five bays wide, with the former service wing occupying the two right-hand bays. The three-bay main block has a projecting gable with a coped gable, kneelers, and a pinnacle on the left-hand side. A smaller gable exists at the left-hand end of the service wing, which has a large projecting stack with paired chimney shafts. The porch, centrally positioned, also has a coped gable, kneelers, and a pinnacle. It features a pointed arched doorway with a hoodmould and a half-glazed door with three pointed lights and timber Gothic tracery. Windows are single-, two-, and three-light casements with glazing bars; the two- and three-light windows have moulded stone architraves and chamfered mullions. Hoodmoulds are present over the larger windows on the main block, while the service wing has a two-light transomed stair window. The south-facing garden elevation includes a gabled projection at the left-hand end with a ground floor four-light bay window. All windows retain their original mullions and fenestration. The west elevation has a two-tier canted bay with a pyramidal slate roof, also retaining original fenestration. A small 20th-century single-storey addition is present on the west elevation.

The principal rooms of the main vicarage were not inspected, but are said to be complete. The property formerly comprising the service wing has a modernized interior but retains a contemporary staircase with stick balusters and a ramped handrail, as well as a cellar stair with cast iron balusters.

Historical records, including correspondence in the Bedford Estate Papers, indicate that the original designs for the vicarage by Blore were supervised and altered by the 6th Duke of Bedford and the Duchess. The unusual roof profile, punctuated by tall chimney shafts, makes a significant contribution to the character of Milton Abbot village.