The Old Rectory, With Boundary Wall Attached To South-East Corner

THE OLD RECTORY, WITH BOUNDARY WALL ATTACHED TO SOUTH-EAST CORNER

A former rectory containing some 16th-century fragments, substantially remodelled around 1800 and further reshaped by Reverend Mickleburgh in 1833, with re-roofing undertaken around 1900. The building is constructed of local lias stone rubble with dressed quoins and Ham stone dressings. Roofs are mostly plain clay tile, though the north crosswing has double Roman tiles; both are generally arranged with overhung gables, replacing earlier thatch. Yellow brick chimney stacks are a notable feature.

The building is set on a curve with an eastern projection and a north crosswing. The roadside elevation comprises five bays, with bays 2 and 3 set back behind stonework. Bay 1 is the crosswing gable, featuring a tall pointed-arched window with Y-tracery, its lower part now blocked. Bays 2 and 3 are masked by a stone wall with plain boarded doors in heavy frames under a glazed roof covering the yard behind; upper bay 2 contains a 2-light 4-centre arched Y-traceried window with label, filled with stained glass. Bay 4 displays a 3-light hollow-chamfer mullioned window with a pointed-arched light bearing incised spandrels, beneath a square label, and above sits a small 3-light casement with a rendered gable, both windows diamond-leaded. Bay 5 holds another tall Y-traceried window with transome and square-stop label, diamond-leaded with thick cases to the upper portion; above is a gable containing a stretched quatrefoil window, flanked on each side by blind pointed arches of nearly identical height.

The east garden elevation comprises six bays, of which bays 1 and 6 project. Bay 1 has 4-centre-arched Y-tracery windows on both levels, with a quatrefoil light in the gable, and the wing corners feature deep chamfers. Bays 2 and 4 contain similar windows below with 20th-century casements above set in gables. Bay 3 has a cross-traceried ogee-arched doorway with a Gothic door, and a 2-light mullioned window above. Bay 5 comprises a single-storey projection with a flat roof behind a battlemented parapet, with arched recesses to the south and east faces—the former containing a 20th-century door and the latter a 19th-century circular window. Bay 6 is the gable end of the crosswing, with a Y-traceried window and 4-centre-arched doorway to its left.

Interior work largely dates to the 1833 reshaping, though some is earlier. Doors feature pointed-arched panels. The staircase dates to around 1800. The crosswing ceiling appears to be late 16th century, comprising eight panels with moulded beads and a few 19th-century repairs. The south-east room has convex curved outer corners and a fine Gothic decorated plasterwork ceiling.

The building's general history is unclear, though it originally comprised three cottages with a prebendary house to the north, demolished in the 19th century. The house was re-roofed around 1900 following a fire that destroyed the thatched Ashill Inn opposite. The Diocese sold the property in 1958.

Attached to the south-east corner of the house is the south boundary wall, constructed of late 19th-century local stone rubble with slim near-ashlar piers approximately 2 metres high. The wall is capped with cast-iron railings featuring ogee-arched work and barbed top points, with a recessed pedestrian gate in the centre. This wall contributes significantly to the setting of the house and the streetscene in the centre of the village.