The Old Rectory

SP9780 13/111

LOWICK MAIN ROAD (West side) The Old Rectory

GV II

Rectory, now house. 1855/6 by Edward Browning for Reverend Pretyman. Squared coursed limestone with Collyweston slate roofs. Complex double-depth plan. 2 storeys. Entrance front is a 5-window range with gables breaking forward to left and right. 2-storey gabled porch, attached to right gable, has arch-head door with moulded stone surround. Stone mullion oriel window above. Large square-head stone mullion stair window, with tracery, to left of porch. Other windows have stone mullions, some have hood moulds with carved label stops. Ashlar gable parapets. Ashlar stacks at ridge and ends have flues linked by arches. Elevation to right has square bay window with stone mullions to left and gable to right with lateral stack. Garden front to rear of entrance front has irregularly spaced gables to left and right and canted bay window with stone mullions to left. 2-storey gabled building attached to far right of garden front was originally probably intended for parish facilities, but now forms part of house. Interior: entrance hall has staircase around open well with Gothic style balustrade, some doors have Gothic panelling. During C19 Reverend Lucas Collis entertained literary figures here including Anthony Trollope and George Eliot, who are said to have done some of their writing here. (V.C.H.: Northamptonshire, Vol.3, p.213; Strapentoria, Vol.5, p.7 by J. Brassington; Northamptonshire Records Office, Architectural drawings collection).

Listing NGR: SP9763880924