The Rectory Including Forecourt Area Railings And Gates

The Rectory is an early 19th century house located on Cross Street in Moretonhampstead. It is constructed of roughcast, likely over granite rubble, and has a low-pitched slate roof with lead rolls to the hips. There are two rendered chimney stacks on each side. The house follows a square, double-depth plan with four principal rooms, two on either side of a central entrance hall passage that widens at the rear to form a stairwell with a rear doorway to the garden. A large, two-story leanto outshut containing kitchen and service rooms extends the full depth of the house on the right-hand side.

The symmetrical front facade has three bays and features large early 19th century 12-pane sash windows. The centre first-floor window is taller but narrower, with an 8-pane casement. A central Tuscan porch, with columns and pilasters supporting an entablature, has a round-headed doorway with moulded panel reveals, a semi-circular fanlight with radiating glazing bars, and an original moulded 6-panel door, with the bottom panels flush. Plain corner pilasters are present. A short flanking wall with a gateway to the garden is on the left; to the right is the leanto kitchen range.

The rear elevation presents a three-window range, with large 12-pane sash windows. A narrower 8-pane stair window is centrally placed on the first floor. A bow window with sashes is on the ground floor to the right, and a 20th century French window is on the left.

The forecourt area includes cast iron baluster stanchions with finials, granite plinths, and similar pedestrian gates at either end with granite monolith gate piers topped with pyramid shapes. The central double gates are a 20th century alteration using the original railings. The forecourt is paved with cobbles in a radial pattern.

Inside, the open-well staircase has stick balusters, a thin column newel, a moulded handrail, and an open string with a reeded band. There's an archway at the end of the hall passage leading to the stairwell. The left-hand front and rear rooms have simple marble fireplaces with console brackets, and panelled folding doors between the two rooms. The right-hand rooms have been altered with a partition in the front right-hand room. Briefly inspected, the exterior of the house remains almost entirely intact, set back from the road behind the railed forecourt, which is an important element in Cross Street. The internal plan is notable for its four principal rooms and service rooms on the side, facilitating access to the garden.