The Vicarage Gates

Rev J. Williams was dissatisfied with the size of the vicarage just across the village green from the church and in 1787 he re-roofed and greatly restored a much grander building on the opposite side of the road to the church. These rather magnificent gates are all that can be seen of this vicarage from the pavement.
Gerald Sydenham John Peppin arrived here when he was eight months old in 1904 and spent his childhood and youth in the house until his father moved to another living about twenty years later. He told his family that it was earthly paradise for children and he and his siblings greatly enjoyed the space, the gardens, the trees and the birds although they were forbidden to mix with most of the other children in the village. Even the highly successful family at the far end of the village who operated a creamery, a cider factory and eventually a winery and were held in great esteem by the villagers, were deemed to be in "commerce".
He describes the gates in his memoirs as the beautiful spider web gates and at some time they became listed. The current owner had an electronic open/close mechanism fitted about twenty years ago and it is advisable to get through before they close on you. (I nearly didn't!)
This vicarage in the fullness of time was deemed a maintainance liability by the church and the priest was moved to a 1970's 4 bedroom house just along the street from me.
So, just to recap - We have The Old Rectory on the Green, The Rectory with the spider web gates and The New Rectory which will become inhabited again in a few weeks when the newly appointed Female Vicar moves in.
Now that would have set the cat amongst the pigeons not so long ago, I think!