Description

SOWTON SOWTON LANE (south side)
SX 99 SE
1/61 The Old Rectory (formerly listed
- as the Rectory House)
11.11.52
- II

Substantial detached house, formerly Sowton Rectory. Built 1722 (dated rainwater
heads), possibly incorporating remains of an earlier house. Brick, in Flemish
bond, with burnt headers. Slate and leaded roof, concealed by parapet. Basically a single-depth house, with a rear corridor and external stair turret built to the rear of the (now internal) cob wall that presumably is a survival from the earlier house. There was probably a wing to the rear of the left-hand room, which now connects to the service rooms, which are arranged around a small rear courtyard. The present main entrance is to the right-hand end, giving into the corridor; there is evidence of there having been a central front entrance (now gone) and perhaps the present aedicule was removed from here. Two axial stacks. The left-hand stack is unusual in that although it heats the 2 left-hand rooms, there is space between the backs of the fireplaces which is now occupied by the kitchen; the flues meet above this, forming arches in the first floor rooms. 2 storeys, with an attic, formerly containing the servants' quarters.
Front: symmetrical 5-window range; all windows with 12-pane hornless sashes, and
depressed window arches. Parapet conceals 3 gabled half-dormers. Left-hand
elevation : first floor with a tripartite 4:12:4 pane sash window to principal
bedroom, and a 12 pane hornless sash window to the left of this; ground floor :
Regency veranda, with a bowed 4-light window, 4 panes per light, with external
shutters. French windows to the left of this. Right-hand end : three 12-pane
hornless sash windows, 2 to the first floor, 1 to ground floor to the left of the
entrance, an aedicule with 2 Tuscan half columns, open pediment, panelled reveals, soffit and door with semi-circular fanlight. Service buildings to rear, all intact, including a kitchen lit from the roof.
Interior with internal shutters and other C18 and C19 joinery.

Listing NGR: SX9762992587

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389830

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

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)