THE RECTORY The Rectory was one of the very oldest of the more substantial of Blackwater's dwellings.

Built of grey limestone from the local quarries, its solid square mass relieved by its quaint dormer windows was softened from its primal ugliness by the Boston ivy that had clambered to the eaves and lay draped about the windows like a soft green mantle.

Built in the early days, it stood with the little church, a gem of Gothic architecture, within spacious grounds bought when land was cheap.

Behind the house stood the stable, built also of grey limestone, and at one side a cherry and apple orchard formed a charming background to the grey buildings with their crowding shrubbery and gardens.

A gravelled winding drive led from the street through towering elms, a picturesque remnant from the original forest, to the front door and round the house to the stable yard behind.