The Old Vicarage

The Old Vicarage at Ivegill is a vicarage with attached servant's quarters and parish office, now converted into two houses. Built in 1868 by the architect Robert Jewell Withers for Arthur Emilius Hulton, a benefactor who wished to provide the village with a place of worship more accessible than the existing Chapel of Ease. The building is constructed in sandstone with polychromic sandstone dressings under a roof of Welsh slate.

The building follows an irregular longitudinal plan with the main entrance on the east side and principal rooms to the south overlooking gardens, with services to the north. It rises to two storeys with multiple pitched roofs, gables, sandstone chimney stacks, a string course, and polychromic sandstone window and door hoods.

The entrance front features a projecting gable at the south end incorporating the main entrance and windows, with 2 over 2 pane ground-floor sash windows to either side of the entrance, a further ground-floor window, and 6 over 6 pane upper-floor sash windows. A small circular window serves the attic. Iron foot-scrapers and rainwater downspouts with decorated supports are present throughout.

The south elevation comprises three bays with a ground-floor canted bay window at the east end, a central door, and a large multi-pane window at the south end. The upper floor has three windows each below a gable. Six over six pane windows flank a central 4-light mullion and transom window with stained glass depicting the Arms of the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Reverend Hulton (the first incumbent), and his successor, with a quatrefoil above. Iron rainwater downspouts with decorated supports are present.

The west elevation features a projecting gable at the south end with two ground-floor windows—one of 9 over 9 panes and the other 4-paned—and two 6 over 6 pane upper-floor windows with a narrow breather to the attic. A door and three 6 over 6 pane sashes serve the ground floor, with two similar windows beneath gables on the upper floor flanked by two 4-pane windows. Iron rainwater downspouts with decorated supports are present. A 20th-century flat-roofed brick extension extends from this elevation.

The north elevation features a gable to the entrance front with cellars, 6 over 6 pane windows to the ground and upper floors, and a 6-pane attic window. An entrance door at right angle to the gable entrance front is accompanied by a 9-paned window above, with a gable-ended return containing a ground-floor window.

The servant's quarters and parish office form a single-storey L-shaped attachment to the north facade of the vicarage, functional in appearance and of plainer architectural character than the main building.

The interior retains a largely unaltered plan with many contemporary features. The entrance hall is floored with encaustic tiles. Principal rooms on the ground floor retain oak fireplaces with tile surrounds and sandstone fenders, wooden window shutters and doors (some with dentition), and other period fittings. The study preserves much carved wood including built-in cupboards, bookcases, roller-blind cases, and cornice work. The dining room has two fine arched recesses either side of the fireplace. A curved wooden basin cupboard and screen appear in the ground-floor lavatory. A fine carved wooden staircase with churches depicted on the newel posts provides access to the upper floor, complete with an original child and dog gate at the top. The upper floor contains a number of original fireplaces alongside Edwardian replacements with coloured tile inserts and decorative grates, original doors, door furniture, and fitted cupboards.

The former servant's quarters and parish office retain original features including window shutters, re-inserted doors, flagged floors, an underground rainwater cistern, and roof-space rainwater tanks. An elegantly structured narrow and twisting back staircase with curved skirting leads to the attic, which contains an original fireplace. Three cellars remain in original condition: one with sandstone wine bins, another with substantial slate sconces for dairy produce, and the third with original meat hooks.

During the 1950s, the servant's quarters and parish office were remodelled into a separate house. The building was carefully restored from around 1980 onwards with original features retained. The Old Vicarage remains a well-preserved and carefully detailed dwelling of special architectural interest, retaining a finely detailed interior that has undergone relatively little change, with a largely undisturbed plan.