08 - Old Rectory, Leake Road

We are not sure when the first Rectory on the south side of the Church was built, however in 1743 when only 64 families lived in the village the then Rector William Bridges, wrote to the Archbishop of York complaining of the dilapidated state of the building with its 8 staircases, 120 windows and 2100 doors. He subsequently moved out to live in Nottingham in greater comfort.

A replacement Rectory was built in 1843 and was described as commodious. The Rev. Vaughan who lived there with his wife, two daughters and a son, had a governess, a cook, a lady’s maid, a schoolroom maid, a house maid, a kitchen maid, a coachman and a footman.

Part of this Rectory was demolished in 1928 to save maintenance and costs. The Rectory garden was the centre of many village activities. Because it was very large, cricket matches, tennis games and annual garden fetes took place there. Many a Gotham wedding has the garden as a backdrop to their wedding photographs.

With the building of the new Rectory, at the opposite end of the then garden, the old passed into private hands in 1959.