Details
ST 68 SE WESTERLEIGH C.P. BEESMOOR ROAD, Coalpit Heath (north
side)
1/319
18.11.81 Old Vicarage
G.V.
II*
Vicarage, now house. 1845 by William Butterfield; interior remodelled and north
east wing added 1863 by W. Robertson; some C20 alterations. Coursed limestone
rubble with Bath stone dressings and typically irregular quoins, slate roofs with
coped verges. Rear wings form U-plan with high closing walls forming small
courtyard. The archetypal, indeed seminal, Victorian vicarage, regarded as the
prototype of functional domestic architecture; picturesque Gothic, Cotswold
vernacular style, with external stack derived from East Anglian vernacular.
2 storeys and 4 bays, gable to left has 10-light mullion and transom window with
trefoil heads at ground floor, 4-light window with chamfered mullions at first
floor with relieving arch, steep gable with buttress to right; 2nd bay has
smaller 8-light mullion and transom window at ground floor with trefoil heads and
decorative leaded glazing, 3-light casement under eaves; 3rd bay has wide gabled
porch with pointed arched door, single light under eaves with trefoil head and
decorative leaded glazing, ridge stack with Bath stone quoins above; 4th bay has
external stack with very pronounced batter and slender stack, ingle light to left
of 2 lights with chamfered mullion, buttress to right. Right return has 10-light
bay to ground floor left, 4-light trefoil-headed window at first floor with
decorative leaded glazing and relieving arch; lower 2-storey wing to right of
1863 has 8-light mullion and transom window with trefoil heads at ground floor,
3-light trefoil-headed window under eaves, gable stack to right. Left return has
external weathered stack to right, ground floor has 8-light mullion and transom
window to left, cross window with trefoil heads to right; 4-light window with
chamfered mullions under eaves to left, external weathered stack to rear. To
rear, 1863 wing to left connected by turret with 3-pane light at first floor;
single storey brick lean-to to right; rear of wing to right has steeply pointed
gable end, cross window with chamfered mullion and transom at ground floor,
2-light window with chamfered mullion at first floor, both with glazing bars and
relieving arch; left return of wing has blocked door with pointed chamfered arch,
C20 light inserted, cross window to right and single C20 light, first floor has
pointed arched 2-light window with trefoil heads and quatrefoil, lancet to left,
2-light window with chamfered mullion under eaves; curtain wall enclosing rear
courtyard has inner lean-to with door in chamfered surround; right return of rear
wing has C20 door and 6-pane light under eaves. Interior: has central entrance
hall with staircase to rear left, principal living rooms to front and service
quarters in rear wing; remodelled 1863, keeping much of the 1845 original, since
altered. Entrance hall/room has stencilled chamfered beams, cross window to rear
with stained glass (formerly exterial), all panilled doors with turned wooden
handles, windows at ground floor have large plain oak shutters with varied designs
of cast-iron strap hinges; in room to right, ingle light has internal ovolo-
moulded mullion; room to left has fine stone fireplace with segmental head, sides
with bolster-shaped tops, cast iron grate with triangular doors. Staircase has
high plain screen with pierced quatrefoils, winder stair with wide handrail and
pyramidal tops to newels. (Sources: Verey, D. : Buildings of England
Gloucestershire : The Vale and The Forest of Dean, 1970. Thompson, P. : William
Butterfield, 1971. Hitchcock, H-R. : Early Victorian Architecture in Britain,
vol. 1, 1954. Savidge, A. : The Parsonage in England, its history and
architecture. 1964. Ecclesiologist, 4, 1845. Mortgage plans in Gloucestershire
County Record Office (Ref. F4/1 - Coalpit Heath)).
Listing NGR: ST6728280765
