Vicarage to Church of St Paul

Details

722/0/10043 HOLBEACH ROAD 21-AUG-07 Fulney Vicarage to Church of St Paul

GV II* Vicarage. 1877-9. By Sir George Gilbert Scott. MATERIALS: Red brick with brick and stone dressings and a plain tile roof with coped gables and stone finials and ornamental brick stacks with linked and moulded octagonal flues. PLAN: Central staircase hall with reception rooms to south and east and service rooms to north. Two storeys and attic. STYLE: The vicarage is in a late C15/C16 East Anglian style (cf.Oxburgh Hall), with many elaborate gables though with casement rather than mullion windows and has a rich arcaded brick corbel-table cornice, and also decorative cast iron guttering similar to the church (q.v.): in all a commanding presence and romantic outline. EXTERIOR: The entrance front has two gables to the right, that more central crow-stepped and with the stair window above a gabled porch. This has a four-centred arch and a small circular window over the doorway. The gable and those elsewhere on the house have two steps to the bottom, and another to the apex with an inset stone finial, all the larger gable having an intermediate step. The gable to far right is set back. The section to the left of the porch has two gabled dormers over casements. The south front has a stone canted bay under a pentice roof and a French window within the casement to left with 3-light casements over. The east front is has a similar bay to right, with casements to left and over. The service wing is set back to right and from this extends a walled outhouse yard. INTERIOR: This is remarkably complete with virtually all the original fireplaces surviving though with some modification to the actual grates. The staircase is open-well and has a splat baluster balustrade and square newels carved with blind Late Gothic windows. The mahogany handrail is ramped and most carefully and elaborately moulded to provide a comfortable grip, the attention to detail of a master architect. Sliding window shutters survive in some rooms with many elaborate window catches as do skirtings and cornices. The layout is unaltered except for minor changes to the service wing which include the replacement of the back stairs with one which now goes only from first floor to attic. HISTORY. This vicarage was built in 1877-9 at the same time as the church itself which is some 10 metres away across the vicarage garden. Both were designed by one of the foremost architects of the C19, Sir George Gilbert Scott, and they are one of his last works as he died in 1878 as they were being built. The construction was completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott, himself a distinguished architect. The buildings were paid for by a local lady, Miss Charinton, but a major player was the Vicar of Spalding, Canon Moore, who had earlier commissioned from Scott not only the restoration of the parish church and the Church of St Peter (demolished 1968) in Spalding but also the restoration of Crowland Abbey. It is reported that Miss Charinton also paid for the work ( total cost £30,000 also with an endowment) with an eye to her nephew becoming the first Vicar. He did so and as well as being Vicar was a distinguished scholar. The Rev. Richard Guy Ash (1848-1935) became Professor of English History at Aberystwyth in 1879, was appointed Vicar of St. Paul's a year earlier and remained there until his death (55 years from the date of opening of the church). SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE. This is a very fine vicarage by Sir George Gilbert Scott of 1877-9 who is one of the most important architects of the C19. This vicarage is well designed and finely detailed with careful proportions in the elevations, rich but careful detailing, good massing, variety in outline and planes, and overall individuality: features to be seen for instance in the projection and recession in the elevations, the rich cornice and the elaborate treatment of the gables and stacks. Inside the decoration befits a vicarage but the staircase is a fine example of attention to detail as are the elaborate window catches and the sheer variety in the simple but carefully proportioned fireplaces. In addition this vicarage is remarkably complete and above all part of a very significant group. The positioning of the vicarage so close to the church is of the utmost importance in that Scott clearly considered it an essential part of the whole composition, like a 'hortus conclusus' of the medieval period, with the schoolroom answering the vicarage across the garden and both dominated by the church. This outstanding group was designed as an entirety by one of the foremost architects of the C19 and was one of his last works. The overall quality is such and the close grouping with the church is so significant that this vicarage merits listing in grade II*.

SOURCE. John Minnis, Report on St Paul's and the vicarage for English Heritage, April, 2007.

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