Description

SS 72 SE BISHOP'S NYMPTON

6/48 The Rectory (formerly listed
as The Vicarage)
20.2.67

GV II

Rectory, formerly the vicarage. 1836 by J. Cock of South Molton (D.R.O.) for Joseph
Thorne, incumbent, 1835-71. Stone rubble, colourwashed and plastered to the
principal elevations, roughcast to the rear; 2-span slate roof, hipped at ends; 2
stacks to the left end, internal front and rear lateral stacks to the right hand
rooms, all with rendered shafts and moulded cornices.
Plan: Original plan preserved. Double-depth west-facing main block, the south
elevation overlooking the garden, with a service wing adjoining at the north.
Central entrance into a deep entrance hall: study to the left with the stair rising
behind it; dining room to the right, rear right drawing room, rear left kitchen, rear
centre store room or gun room. The north wing contains a back kitchen with a stack
back to back with the kitchen stack; a game larder; pantry and service stair.
Exterior: Remarkably intact. 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-bay front (west) elevation,
all the features original, with deep eaves on shaped, paired eaves brackets. Left
and right pilasters with incised Greek ornament. Steps up to a 7-bay paved cast iron
verandah, with a hipped slate roof on decorated cast iron uprights with decorated
cast iron segmental arches, the central arch wider and the verandah returning to the
south and extending across the south elevation. Original C19 front door, the upper
panels replaced with glass, with narrow half-glazed panels to left and right and a
narrow entablature with a Greek key ornament on 4 fluted timber colonnettes.
Original 1836 painted glass is preserved in the elliptically arched fanlight with
decorative glazing bars. Blind recesses in the right hand bay, where there is an
internal lateral stack, match the left hand windows : a transomed French window with
margin glazing to left, 2 C19 12-pane hornelss sashes to first floor left and centre
with eared architraves.
The south elevation, overlooking the garden, is similar, but of 4 bays with an 8-bay
verandah. 4 original French windows, 4 first floor hornless sashes and a central
pilaster in addition to the outer pilasters. The rear (east) elevation also
preserves its original sash windows with a smaller, possibly C20 window on the ground
floor. The service block, adjoining the north elevation, has a date plaque of 1836
with the initials J.T. for Joseph Thorne. The fenestration, including the pantry and
game larder windows, is original except for 2 C20 first floor timber casements.
Interior: Very complete. The joinery includes original doors, doorcases, shutters,
skirting boards and a stick baluster dog-leg stair with a ramped wreathed handrail.
Original marble chimney-pieces survive in the principal rooms except the study, with
more modest ones on the first floor. Original plaster cornices are also preserved,
including one combined with a ceiling frieze in the drawing room.
A remarkably complete C19 rectory, still owned by the Church of England and
preserving its original garden and vegetable garden walls and stables (q.v.), a rare
survival.

Listing NGR: SS7590623969

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401084

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)