The Old Rectory Letcombe Bassett

The Old Rectory is a Grade II listed building and was the residence of the incumbent
since construction, however, by the time of listing in 1951 it had passed into private
hands.
The current house was constructed in the 17th century, extending an earlier building.
A truss comprising cusped principal rafters and a cranked tie-beam in the roof
structure suggests that the origin of this earlier building may lie in the early-14th
century, although this early phase had already been considerably altered by the 17th
century.
In the late-18th century, a single-storied brick extension was constructed to the rear
of the house and the older building remodelled. In turn, this extension underwent
alteration a century later when the roof was raised and the upper rooms were added.
Throughout the 20th century, minor improvements were undertaken, with the
construction of a conservatory and the fitting of a modern kitchen and utility room
occurring around the time of the turn of the current century.
The programme of work which necessitated the watching brief focussed on structural
repairs to the building caused by water ingress and the use of inappropriate materials
such as the cement-based render to the timber-framed frontage. The timber frame was
exposed during the removal of the cement render, revealing the external frame had
suffered severe decay due to the render and required major repairs and substantial
replacement. Other work included the installation of a damp-proof membrane to the
ground floor and considerable repairs to the roof structures which had suffered some
decay due to water ingress.