Summary The Old Vicarage occupies the site of an early building, but has been altered and rebuilt a number of times. The present roof contains some early timbers remodeled for the low pitch slate roof. Evidence from maps suggests the main part of the present building was built between 1779 and 1818.
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The main house today is a large stone-built house with a symmetrical façade of two storeys, with a later brick built rear wing. The windows in this façade have sixteen-paned sashes with flush voussoired stone lintels. There is a central front 6-panelled door with semicircular overlight, within a trellis porch. The slated low-pitched roof is between coped gables over kneelers. Stone moulding caps the front squared stonework. In the main house there is a central through hallway, with reception rooms either side, spanning 4.5m front to back, furnished with chair rails and cornices. The rear wall is substantial, at 0.58m thick. There are shallow gable stacks with fireplaces, one of marble introduced. The first floor reflects the ground floor plan. The rear of the hall opens to a cross passage, 1.8m wide, originally with windows both ends. This contains the present stair. A doorway from here opens to a rear wing 2 steps lower. The rear wall of the front living rooms carries the roof, suggesting that the cross passage is a later addition. |
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The roof of the main house is of four bays, with three oak trusses, all constructed with reused timbers. These timbers are of interest as the working on them suggests their former use was in a roof of high quality, probably of late medieval construction.
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| The rear wing is of two storeys, built with brick with a slate roof. In date, it appears to be mid to later 19th century. This rear wing occupies the footprint of the earlier vicarage (see maps below). | |||
| History Evidence from maps indicates that the rear wing occupies the footprint of an earlier Vicarage, and that the front building was erected sometime between 1779 and 1818, probably under the incumbency of William Singleton (1806-39). The earlier building was probably retained until the new one was finished, and it is possible that the rear cross corridor was attached to the front block after the demolition of the earlier building. The vicar was moved to a building of similar date in Park Road between 1891 and 1901.
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| The information below is summarised from a terrier of 1599 and several maps. | |||
1599 Glebe Terrier This Glebe terrier lists land which was originally set aside to provide an income for a Rector, although by the time of this Terrier the rectory had been converted to a vicarage. The document is headed:
Click on the image to the right for more information about the terrier. Page 9 of the Terrier includes the following reference to the a vicarage:
This appears to describe the plot on which the Old Vicarage stands today, as can be seen by comparing the sketch to the left with sections below from maps of 1779 and 1900.
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| To see the whole of these maps click on: 1779 map, or 1900 map. | |||
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Description
The principal rafters have purlin trenches, and blind mortices, with 2 and 4 pegs. One of the tie beams has numbered mortices for 24 close spaced joists. This form of construction is of high quality, and probably late medieval in execution. The numbering is in Roman numerals. 
If they came from the earlier parsonage house on the Green shown on the 1779 map, then the vicar must have lived elsewhere whilst the new building was under construction. 
