The Deanery And Attached Forecourt Walls And Railings

The Deanery is a house dating from between 1731 and 1741, originally leased to Peter Haynes, with internal alterations undertaken around 1810 and again in 1938. Since 1938 it has served as the Deanery, but it previously functioned as the residence of the cathedral organist. The building is constructed of red brick with stone detailing, topped with a slate roof and featuring brick stacks. It comprises a double-depth block with an entrance forecourt.

The exterior presents a symmetrical front of five bays. The ground floor is dominated by a central doorway, accessed by a flight of stone steps, set within a stone doorcase featuring moulded architraves and a pediment. Sash windows with original 4x3-pane glazing bars are set within openings with rubbed brick flat arches. At the rear, a large, semicircular arched window illuminates the stairwell, also with glazing bars. First-floor windows are complemented by early 19th-century cast-iron balconies supported by brackets.

The interior features a central entrance hall with fielded panels above a fielded panel dado, divided by a transverse, moulded basket arch. An open-well staircase rises to the first floor at the rear, incorporating column newels, three column-on-vase newels per tread, and an open string with richly carved tread-end brackets. The front left room showcases excellent early 18th-century panelling, installed around 1935, complete with a chimney-piece framed by full-height Doric pilasters and an entablature. The fireplace is enclosed within a moulded frame featuring a central patera carved with a swag and surrounded by 18th-century Delft tiles, above a looking glass framed by an eared architrave. A front right room contains early 17th-century square panelling above the fireplace, with two 18th-century fielded panels above it. A room at the rear on the right has an early 19th-century fireplace surround and moulded cornice. The plaster ceiling above the stairwell displays a central moulded roundel of foliage in relief. The first floor also includes fielded panelling, a modillion cornice, panelled double doors to service stairs with a fanlight in a basket arch, and a large room on the right that was refitted in the early 19th century with window joinery, a chimney piece, and a moulded cornice. The front rooms on this floor also feature 18th-century panelling above the chimney pieces. The attic incorporates reused 17th-century panelling.

The entrance forecourt is defined by brick piers, topped with moulded stone caps, and features a pair of wrought-iron gates with an overthrow between brick piers. Each pier is surmounted by a finely carved stone urn. Wrought-iron railings run between the piers, and a brick wall extends on each side of the court, connecting with No.15 College Green. The wall also has pyramidal brick piers. The building is noted as the birthplace of Robert Raikes, founder of the Sunday School movement.