Old Vicarage

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

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

400217

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Verey, D, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 1 The Cotswolds, (1970)
Savidge, A, The Parsonage in England its History and Architecture, (1964)
Thompson, P, William Butterfield Victorian Architect, (1971)
Hitchcock, HR, Early Victorian Architecture in Britain, (1954)
The Ecclesiologist in The Ecclesiologist, Vol. 4, (1845)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.