Rickmansworth, Urban and Rural

105. RICKMANSWORTH, Urban and Rural.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xliii. N.E. ^(b)xliii. S.E.)

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Mary, stands in Church Street, on the S. side of the town. It was re-built in 1824 and part of it again in 1890, except the West Tower, which is dated 1630, and is built of flint with stone dressings.

Architectural Description—The West Tower is of three stages with clasping buttresses, an embattled parapet and a small leaded spire. On the W. face is a stone bearing the date 1630. The W. window has wooden tracery; the windows of the second stage are of two trefoiled lights under square heads, and those of the bell-chamber are of three lights with uncusped tracery; the W. doorway is modern.

Fittings—Brasses: in the N. aisle, of Thomas Day, 1613, his two wives and inscription; the figure of the second wife is a modern restoration. Glass: formerly in the E. window, now kept at the vicarage, French, 16th-century. Font: probably 17th-century. Monuments and Floor Slabs: in the chancel, altar tomb of Henry Cary, Earl of Monmouth, 1661, and others of his family, alabaster panel at the end with arms and supporters: in the N. chapel, mural tablet to Sir Thomas Fotherley, 17th-century, and part of marble inscription to Thomas Fotherley, 1624, and his wife, 1584: at the W. end of the nave and in the tower several floor slabs, 17th-century. Plate: includes cup and cover paten of 1559, cup and paten of 1628, an unmarked silver-gilt cup and paten of c. 1600, silver-gilt flagon of 1695 and a silver salver of 1692, re-made from a piece of c. 1670.

Condition—Good.

Secular

^b(2). The Bury, a little W. of the church, is the manor house of Rickmansworth; it is of two storeys with attics, and was built early in the 17th century of brick and timber, covered with rough-cast; the roofs are tiled. Some flint walling remains in the foundations, and may be part of an earlier building. In the first half of the 18th century the house was much altered, and the W. side was re-fronted; during the 19th century it was considerably repaired. The original plan was half H-shaped, the central block facing W., but the N. wing has been pulled down. The chimney stacks are of the 17th century, and have square shafts, set diagonally; the windows on the E. side retain the original wood frames and mullions, though much repaired. In the central block is a 17th-century staircase, which has large square newels with turned finials and circular moulded balusters; and there is a smaller staircase of the same date in the S. wing. Several rooms have 17th-century panelling, and one room has a fire-place with moulded stone jambs and head, and an elaborately carved oak overmantel of the 17th century. A second overmantel, of the same date, formerly in the kitchen, is used as a sideboard. Many of the original doors remain, and two of them have moulded frames and carved spandrels.

Condition—Good, much repaired during the 19th-century, after being used as a warehouse and much neglected.

^b(3). The Priory, near the N.W. corner of the church, is a small, rectangular, 17th-century building, of two storeys; the walls are of brick and timber; the roofs are tiled. The windows and chimneys are modern.

Condition—Good.

Church Street, North end

^a(4). The Vicarage is a gabled building of irregular shape and height; the walls are plastered; the roofs are of tiles and slates. Part of the house is mediæval; it is built of timber on a brick base, and originally consisted of a hall and two wings, but has been much altered, heightened and enlarged. Under the window of the hall, on the N. front, is a brick corbel table with small trefoiled arches, probably of early 16th-century date; on a gable is the date 1737, probably the year when the walls were raised and the gables added. Some of the rooms, including the hall, contain original ceiling beams, and in a window on the first floor is a fragment of old heraldic glass.

Condition—Good throughout.

West side

^b(5). The Feathers Inn, is a small low building with a plastered front; the S. end is of timber construction with modern brick filling, and at the back is a gable built of thin bricks; the roof is tiled. The house was built in the 16th century, and altered and enlarged in the 19th century. On the street front is an old porch, and the entrance doorway has moulded wood jambs and a four-centred head. One chimney is of very thin bricks, the others are modern. In the ceiling of the bar are some original moulded beams.

Condition—Fairly good.

^a(6). Almshouses, five, on the N. side of the High Street, built in 1682 by John Fotherley, lord of the manor of Rickmansworth, form a single building of one storey; the walls are of brick; the steep-pitched roof is tiled.

Condition—Good.

^a(7). Parsonage Farm, in Rectory Road, ½ mile N.W. of the church, was originally the manor house of the Rectory manor, and was built in the 17th century, but has been much altered. It is of two storeys and the back shows timber construction, but the front is covered with cement; the roof is tiled. In the farmyard is a Barn built of timber and plaster; it is of the same date as, or possibly older than, the house.

Condition—House, good; barn, dilapidated.

^b(8). Hampton Hall, formerly Batchworth manor house, ruins, in an orchard at King's Farm, ¼ mile S.E. of the church, consisting of some brick walls, about 6 or 8 ft. high; all the bricks are 2½ in. thick, and are apparently of the 17th century, but no detail remains.

Condition—Bad, though where the walls serve as field boundaries they are kept in repair.

^a(9). Croxley Hall Farm, about ½ mile N.E. of the church, was built of red brick c. 1600, but was almost entirely re-built in yellow brick in the 19th century. It is of two storeys, and the plan is rectangular. The gabled E. wall of the original building remains, and also a large chimney stack with moulded octagonal shafts. On the ground floor is an original room, probably the parlour; it is lined with early 17th-century panelling and has a plain oak overmantel. In the farmyard is a large barn, probably mediæval, with weather-boarded walls and a tiled roof. It is built in five bays, each of about 20 ft. by 40 ft., of timber, on flint and clunch walls about 5 ft. high. The framing is constructed on the principle of a nave with aisles; the trusses are of the king-post type and the posts have plain curved strutting.

Condition—Good; house almost entirely re-built.

^a(10). Parrot's Farm, Croxley Green, is a building of brick and plastered timber, of early 17th-century date, but refaced and much altered in the 19th century; the roof is tiled. The chimney stacks are old and there are a few metal casements with old furniture.

In the farmyard is a square Granary, of the same date as the house. It is built of timber with brick nogging, and is on brick piers; the pyramidal roof is tiled.

Condition—Good; house much altered.