The Old Rectory, Compton

Summary

A purpose-built rectory, now house. Completed in 1915. Designed by the architect Walter Sarel in Arts and Crafts Surrey Vernacular Revival style for the Rector of St. Nicholas Church, Compton.

Reasons for Designation

Compton Rectory, a purpose-built rectory designed by the London architect Walter Sarel (1873-1941) in an Arts and Crafts style influenced by Surrey Vernacular houses and completed in 1915 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the design has varied elevations including swept down roofs, crow-stepped gables and internal porches and is constructed of good quality materials, brickwork in Sussex Bond, tile-hanging of alternate rectangular and curved tiles and tiled roofs with massive external brick chimneystacks;
* Quality and survival of decorative elements: good quality and unusually complete decorative elements survive both externally and internally, including impressive brick chimneys, a complete and varied set of external and internal doors, wooden casement windows with leaded lights and varied ornamental catches. Internally there are some reused timbers, an oak well staircase with gallery and an unusual screen with splat balusters, a raised frieze incorporating the date of the building's construction and a complete set of original doors, built-in cupboards, a window seat and fireplaces. The service end retains an enunciator and bell. The grounds have a decorative well head also designed by Sarel;
* Planning interest: a typical gentleman's house plan, with principal rooms on the west side mainly facing south and service wing to the east, but with the variation of a separate external entrance with corridor for parishioners to access the rector's study;
* Degree of survival: virtually unaltered apart from some replaced external tile-hanging and the later blocking of one flight of the service staircase;
* Group value: The Rectory has group value with Moors Cottage to the south-west (Grade II), Cypress Farm House to the south (Grade II) and Watts Memorial Chapel to the north-east (Grade I).

History

The Rectory was built for Andrew Betton Gwynn, who was Rector of St. Nicholas Church, Compton between 1912 and 1927. It replaced the old rectory in the village, latterly called Compton Grange, which was partly of Tudor date and partly rebuilt in the 1870s. Gwynn considered the old building was too large and too far from the church and it was sold in 1913. A site at the north end of the village was purchased with the proceeds of the sale. The land on which the new rectory was built belonged to the Molyneux family of Loseley House and the patron of the living was Gwendolen More Molyneux.

It was designed by the London architect Walter Sarel (1873-1941) in an Arts and Crafts style influenced by Surrey Vernacular houses and completed in 1915. The building is not shown on the third Edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey map of 1916, probably because the area was re-surveyed before the building was completed. Some refurbishing took place in 1963, include kitchen re-fitting. The building was in use as a rectory until about 2011.

Details

A purpose-built rectory, now house. Completed in 1915. Designed by the architect Walter Sarel in Arts and Crafts Surrey Vernacular Revival style for the Rector of St. Nicholas Church, Compton.

MATERIALS: red brick in Sussex bond with some tile-hanging of alternate rectangular and curved tiles, a tiled roof and brick chimneystacks. It has wooden casement windows with leaded lights throughout. Some reused timbers were incorporated.

PLAN: an asymmetrical plan, the principal rooms mainly in the roughly L-shaped western part and with an additional spur to the north-east containing the service end. The main entrance is in the north side. There is a tradesman's entrance to the east. The garden front faces south with a garden entrance from the drawing room and a separate parish entrance to the south-west. Internally the plan consisted of a staircase hall with a gallery, a dining room, drawing room, study and a series of service rooms on the ground floor, four bedrooms, a dressing room and a bathroom on the first floor and three staff bedrooms in the attics.

EXTERIOR: the entrance or north front is in three sections. To the east the roof has two hipped dormers and is swept down over a single storey with a casement window and, further west, a recessed porch with an oak door with carved vertical panels, a two-light casement to the right and a four-light window to the left in the angle, with a wooden seat below. The central section has a projecting tile-hung gable with a tall external brick chimneystack with crow steps near the base, a casement window to both the attic and first floor and a seven-light casement window projecting forward of the tile-hanging under a hipped roof. To the west is a single-storey projecting service wing with a casement window, a round-headed arch in the centre leading to a recess with three entrances with plank doors and a wooden shutter further east for delivering coal.

The west side has a large projecting two-storey gable, the upper part tile-hung with a four-light casement window, the lower part of brick with a six-light bay window under a hipped roof. To the south is a wide plank door with a side-light, originally a separate entrance for the use of parishioners. The projecting gable pierces a massive tapering external brick chimneystack with a crow-stepped gable to the base, and a square ribbed chimney above, with moulded a base and top.

The south or garden front is of three bays with a tile-hung first floor over a brick ground floor, under a hipped tiled roof with a hipped dormer. The first floor has three symmetrically-placed casement windows, a central four-light window flanked by five-light windows. The ground floor western bay is flush with the upper floor and has a four-light casement window. The central bay has a garden entrance with plank door flanked by two narrow round-headed lights and to the west is a canted bay window with a seven-light mullioned and transomed window.

The east side, also of three bays, is tile-hung on the first floor and of brick on the ground floor. The hipped roof has a dormer, a three-light casement to the two southern bays and a casement window to the ground floor of the south bay. There is a gable to the northern bay with a four-light casement window on the first floor, a seven-light window in the central bay interrupted by a service entrance with a plank door and a five-light mullioned and transomed window to the north bay. To the north is the south side of the service wing with a number of entrances. A long brick wall with a moulded cornice provides a screen between the garden and the service entrance.

INTERIOR
The main entrance to the north leads directly into the full-height staircase-hall which has some oak reused timbers including a wall-plate, an oak well staircase with stick balusters and square newel posts, a gallery and a series of plank doors lining the corridors on the ground and first floors. A screen with splat balusters separates the main staircase from the former service staircase behind.

The inside of the dining room door has a strap-work pattern. The fireplace has a C16 reused oak bressumer with carved spandrels, with either Tudor roses or possibly the escarbuncle symbol of the Duchy of Cleves in the corners and a cross in the centre. The bressumer is supported on unrelated reused timbers and there are flanking cupboards. There is a window seat in the seven-light square bay window.

The drawing room has a raised frieze with honeysuckle motifs and lettering reading 'This Rectory was built in the fifth year of the reign of GvR'. The fireplace has a wide elliptical arch with a brick fireplace surround and a small leaded light window in the alcove behind. The rector's study has a four-centred arched stone fireplace and can also be accessed from outside by a separate parishioner's entrance. The service end retains the original separate room divisions, such as scullery, larder and kitchen, original doors and an enunciator and iron bell. The principal bedroom has a brick fireplace and two built in cupboards with carved doors and inter-connecting doors to what was either a dressing room or a nursery. Other bedrooms also retain original fireplaces and built-in cupboards and there is also a large linen press with carved doors. Access to the attic by the half-winder service staircase leads to three staff bedrooms with smaller fireplaces. Original doors include an arched entrance.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
The house is situated within a large plot and to the west of the house is a well head also designed by Walter Sarel. It is a cylindrical brick structure raised c 1m above ground level with brick ribs and stone coping and protected by a decorative iron grille (the well is too small to be mapped at this scale but is included in the listing).


This List entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21/02/2017

Sources

Books and journals
Cecilia, Lady Boston, The History of Compton in Surrey, (1933 reprinted in 1987), 42,43, 207, 221

End of official list entry

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