Savills Portugal

Be they English rectories or Scottish manses, homes for the clergy have been at the centre of British life for centuries.

A little over 200 years since Jane Austen described ‘the unpretending comfort of a well-connected parsonage’ in Northanger Abbey, such properties are still every bit as desirable – though it’s their attractive late Georgian/early Victorian architecture rather than their good connections that buyers covet today.

Once they were shabby, run-down dwellings but that all changed during the 18th century when the status of the clergy increased and their homes grew in size and importance. By the time Austen was writing, many clergy houses had become substantial, comfortable residences, combining fine design with generous living space and large, picturesque gardens.

In Scotland, houses provided for ministers were called manses rather than parsonages or rectories and by the mid-19th century there were thousands across the country.

Following the First World War the costs of maintaining such homes – together with dwindling financial support from shrinking congregations – led to large numbers of clergy houses being sold both north and south of the border.

Often found in a prime location, what these former clergy houses – whether manses, parsonages, rectories or vicarages – offer today’s buyer is a family home that is not only attractive and well built, but which has also played a unique role in the heart of the local community.