Description

BICTON
ST 08 NE
3/2 Bicton Old Rectory
-
11.ll.52
- II
House, former rectory. Early or mid C18, remodelled and extended in early C19, C20
extension. Main house is Flemish bond red brick with limestone cornice and coping,
rear service wing of plastered cob on rubble footings and timber-framed secondary
stair turret; brick stacks with plastered brick shafts and many C19 chimney pots;
slate roofs.
House faces south-east. The main block is rectangular and has a double depth plan
with 2 front and back rooms. Axial stacks between front and back rooms. The stair
is set between the 2 rear rooms and the rear left (south-western) room is the
entrance lobby. A small courtyard behind is enclosed by service rooms. These are
mostly late C18 and single storey but the left (south-western) wing is 2 storeys and
built of cob; it may be earlier. From the front of this wing the C19 secondary
stair turret rises against the rear wall of the main house. In fact it seems most
likely that the early-mid C18 house had a central front doorway to the stairs but
was rearranged in the early C19 to the present layout; a garden front with verandah
and side entrance. The house itself is 2 storeys with attics. Symmetrical 3-
window front. C19 and C20 ground floor windows, a horned 12-pane sash flanked by
French windows with margin panes. Early C19 first floor 12-pane sashes. All have
flat skewback arches over and the centre window is narrower than the others. Early
C19 verandah across the front with later timber posts and boards making wide
segmental arches between and carrying a tented zinc roof. There is a soffit-moulded
limestone eaves cornice and a parapet above with plain coping, probably part of the
early C19 refurbishment. The roof is hipped each end. The end return walls are
similar in style without the verandah. The left (south-western) end contains the
present main doorway just left of centre; a C19 6-panel door and overlight with
diagonal glazing bars, panelled reveals and a flat hood with moulded edges on shaped
brackets. There is a 12-pane sash to left and another over the door and 2 attic
dormer windows with hipped roofs. The right (north-eastern) end has a 2-window
front of 12-pane sashes (some of them C18 with thick glazing bars), and a C19
French window with glazing bars in a bow window ground floor left. 2 more attic
dormers this side. On this side the single storey service wing continues without a
break in the brickwork. The service wings include various C19 and C20 casements,
most with glazing bars. The rear of the main house includes a large round-headed
fixed pane window with glazing bars in the centre and lighting the main stair. The
secondary stair turret includes a round-headed sash window with glazing bars. In
fact, the secondary stair window appears to be C18 with thick glazing bars. Perhaps
it was removed from the main stair window and reused here in the early C19. It is
plastered and partly slate hung on the south-western side. On the main roof is a
wrought iron weather vane, probably C19. The C20 extension on the left (south-
western) side is built of brick in a similar style to the main house and includes
horned sashes with glazing bars.
Interior includes much late C18 and C19 detail including joinery, marble
chimneypiece and moulded plaster cornices. The main stair is original. It is
dogleg stair built of oak with open string and shaped stair brakcets, turned newel
posts, turned balusters with blocks, moulded flat handrail, curtail step and
scrolled wreath. The secondary stair is C19 with stick balusters. No carpentry
detail shows in the cob service wing. Roof not inspected.

Listing NGR: SY0747685395

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389831

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

• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)