The Old Rectory and Southview

THE OLD RECTORY AND SOUTHVIEW

A 17th-century rectory with 19th and 20th-century extensions, now divided into two separate houses. The original building is rendered over a timber frame beneath a clay tile roof. Later extensions have rendered solid walls with slate or clay tiled roofs. Certain 20th-century extensions to the south and east are excluded from this listing.

EXTERIOR

The Old Rectory

The principal northern elevation comprises three irregular sections. The first is a steeply pitched gable of two bays formed from rendered 17th-century timber frame, fitted with 20th-century timber casement windows. At the base is a projecting stone plinth over a cellar. The second section projects eastward and is constructed of painted brick in flying bond. Its first bay is fronted by a cottage-style 20th-century timber porch under a tiled lean-to roof. The second bay has a 19th-century triple timber casement window with timber lintel on the ground floor and a 19th-century sash window with eight panes above. The third section is a 20th-century extension of two bays in plain style.

The rendered western elevation is vernacular in character and represents the original principal front of the 17th-century lobby-entry house. It rises two storeys over four bays, with twin or triple timber casement windows having multi-paned lights and lead cill covers. The central ground-floor window has lead lights, and a 19th-century glazed four-pane door stands at the northern corner. A brick double-stack internal chimney rises centrally from the roof ridge. The eastern elevation has a rendered gable end bearing a date stone of 1868 above a moulding depicting a lion holding an anchor. The first storey displays a pair of 20th-century horned sash windows and a multi-paned 20th-century timber door. The second storey has two 19th-century eight-pane sash windows.

Southview

The principal southern elevation dates from the early 19th century. Two storeys high and rendered, it comprises five bays beneath a low-pitched hipped slate roof. From the east, the first four bays are broadly symmetrical, with the first two formed by a 20th-century extension. Each bay is fitted with a pair of 20th-century timber French windows with eight panes; on the 19th-century bays these have moulded bullnose stone thresholds and the render is scored to imitate ashlar. The second storey has a 20th-century 12-pane sash window with narrow margins in each bay. The fifth bay is a projecting 20th-century extension.

Three brick chimney stacks rise from the ridge line. All soffits and fascia are plain with modern guttering. The western elevation, abutting the Old Rectory, is later in style and has a 20th-century half-glazed timber door with a small 20th-century sash window to its left, and several 20th-century sash windows on the first storey above the entrance. The eastern elevation comprises two sections. The southernmost is a projecting 20th-century rendered extension. The second section dates from the later 19th century with a pitched roof and gable end faced in stone; window openings are surrounded by red and grey faced bricks. The first storey has two 19th-century 12-pane sash windows with stone cills below. The second storey also has two 19th-century 12-pane sash windows of later style with wider spacing and narrow bracketed margins, with stone cills.

INTERIOR

The Old Rectory

Timber frame elements are exposed internally, including the underside of the first floor visible in ground-floor ceilings. The beams are black-painted and chamfered with run-out stops. To the north the frame has been opened to create a larger room. Ceilings are low and plain, external walls are of thickness commensurate with timber-frame construction. Fireplaces are 19th-century cast iron or have been stripped back to accommodate wood burners. An internal trap door to the north opens onto steep stone steps descending to a two-chamber vaulted brick-lined cellar. One chamber has a blocked western aperture. The stairs feature an internal timber casement window with lead lights marking the eastern extent of the 17th-century building. On the second floor, the frame is visible as wall plates, small framing, and tension braces. Evidence of later alteration to the frame is apparent, reflecting re-ordering of the house following the 19th-century extension and insertion of 20th-century bathrooms.

Southview

The 19th-century extension has a formal entrance hall with high ceiling and open-well stair. The stair features a wreathed mahogany handrail supported on stick balusters, two per tread, with an initial curtail step and open string construction thereafter; tread ends are embellished with elaborate bracket mouldings. A deep wall string follows the risers on the supporting wall, which together with the skirting at the base of the stair shows evidence of a former passageway. The study, opened southward to form a kitchen, retains a fireplace, dentil cornice, and built-in bookcase. The dining room has a high ceiling with a deep moulded architrave decorated with an egg-and-dart cornice; window reveals retain 19th-century timber shutters. The drawing room is of similar proportions with a decorative Tudor rose style architrave. A 20th-century fireplace stands here, and a 19th-century fitted timber corner cupboard with concave shell design above twin doors occupies the corner. First-floor bedrooms are fairly plain but retain some 19th-century fireplaces and surrounds. Some window openings have 19th-century shutters, and the south-western corner has 19th-century chamfered beams.