Berse Vicarage with Flanking Walls to Garden

Berse Vicarage is a large house dating from the 18th century, retaining group value. It is constructed of brick with stone dressings, and has a rear (west) elevation rendered. The roofs are slate, forming two parallel gables, each with a panelled brick stack. The house has two storeys, a basement, and an attic.

The front (east) elevation has three windows, with a slightly projecting central bay containing the entrance. Quoins emphasise the central bay and the outer angles. A parapet sits above a moulded string course, with raised panels defining the bays of the facade. A curved flight of steps leads to the entrance, flanked by a panelled stone pier and moulded copings to the parapet. The doorcase is pedimented, made of moulded and tooled stonework, and contains a partly glazed four-panelled door. The windows of the principal floors are 12-pane sashes, likely dating from the 19th century. Surviving rear windows show that earlier wood mullioned and transomed windows were present. Ground floor windows are set within stone Gibbs surrounds, with a continuous sill band and panelled aprons incorporating mutules. Basement and attic windows are renewed leaded casements. The west elevation is similarly arranged, with a projecting central bay containing French doors in a Gibbs surround, and architraves with stressed keystones above the 12-pane sash windows. A two-bay extension dating from circa 1920 has been added to the north, with a flat roof and window details modelled on those of the original house.

Flanking the house to each side are brick walls with stone copings, running north-south. The wall to the south returns to enclose the garden, terminating in a rusticated stone pier; the garden was formerly also enclosed to the east. The south wall features various blocked openings and appears to be the remainder of the wall of the former school house range, which was part of an orphanage.

The internal plan comprises a central entrance hall flanked by principal rooms, with a single room extending the length of the house to the rear, and stairs connecting the front and rear ranges. The entrance hall was likely created in the mid-19th century by dividing one of the principal rooms. A small northeast room on each floor has a corner fireplace and retains a moulded plaster cornice. Original joinery remains, including panelled doors and the staircase, which rises the full height of the house (with some alterations to its layout), featuring turned balusters and square newels. The original kitchen was located in the basement; three shallow arches with stone voussoirs mark the location of its main fireplace and flanking recesses, one of which has been cut through by a later window.