The Vicarage

The Vicarage

This vicarage on Church Street in Buckingham dates from around 1445, when it was built following Nicholas Dixon's, prebendary of Sutton-cum-Buckingham, assent to the institution and foundation of the Vicarage of Buckingham. The building was constructed on ground specially purchased for the purpose, replacing the previous arrangement where the church had been served by chaplains. It has been altered significantly in the 17th and 19th centuries, extended, and underwent further alterations in the 20th century.

The building comprises a hall range flanked by cross wings, arranged as a two-storey, three-window frontage. The structure is built in uncoursed limestone rubble with rendered sections: the front of the right wing and front of the left wing are rendered, though the left wing is partly of red brick. Plain-tile roofs sit above, with brick ridge and lateral stacks.

The hall range features a central double-leaf, eight-panel part-glazed door with a chamfered Tudor-arched wood surround set within a gabled wood porch. The ground floor has one-light windows with wood lintels, the one to the far left replacing an earlier door, and a three-light casement window to the first floor above the door, also with a wood lintel. The right cross wing projects forward and has a small two-light casement to the ground floor and a taller two-light casement to the first floor, both with hoodmoulds. The left cross wing, which has been extended to the front and projects further than the right wing, has a similar two-light casement to the first floor. The right side of this left wing is of red brick and includes a tripartite sash window to the ground floor, a three-light casement to the first floor above, and a one-light casement to the first floor near the hall range, all with wood lintels. A 19th-century two-storey gabled brick extension was added to the rear centre, facing the garden.

The interior preserves remarkable features. The hall contains a chequered limestone paved floor with small black stone or slate squares at the intersections and has a scoop stop-chamfered spine beam. A fitted cupboard to the back wall features shaped shelves. The drawing room, occupying the ground floor of the right cross wing, contains a fine large late 17th-century marble chimneypiece, now painted, with a Greek wave pattern to the eared fireplace surround. The frieze displays swags of fruit and flowers either side of a large central relief panel with a cherub's head at its centre, flanked by large console brackets supporting the shelf. This chimneypiece was presented by the Marquis of Buckingham around 1808 to Reverend Henry Crowe and is believed to be of Buckingham marble, originally made for Stowe. Reused 17th-century panelling flanks a 19th-century staircase. The study in the left cross wing retains a panelled wood chimneypiece and a cast-iron grate with Japanese-style ornament. A small bedroom to the front above the drawing room has a bolection-moulded wood corner chimneypiece. A larger bedroom nearby contains a large veined grey marble chimneypiece with bolection moulding, probably both from the late 17th century.

The attic preserves the roof structure of the former open hall, comprising two bays with tie beams to principals, short queen posts, and collars. One tier of wind-braced purlins supports large original rafters and the ridgepiece. The cross wings have similar roof structures.

The building's original form included an open hall, which was sub-divided horizontally in the 17th century. The through-passage preserves the location of the earlier screens passage. Historic records, including an entry in the Parish Register dated 10 June 1814 by Reverend Henry Crowe, document alterations to the vicarage undertaken during that period.