MEM25398 - Post-medieval rectory gardens at The Old Rectory (Monument)

The formerly extensive grounds to the Old Rectory (MSO10743) are now shared between four separate dwellings with their own private gardens. [1] An area of garden is depicted on the Tithe Map to the south of The Old Rectory. It is part of the land parcel shared by the Rectory and its associated buildings, which is labelled 472 and described as "House and Pleasure Garden". A small subdivided parcel containing a building (MEM25397) and described as "Garden" is shown in the southwestern corner of the area. The field to the southwest is labelled 474 and described as "Higher Parsons Meadow". [2] By the time the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, a section of Higher Parsons Meadow appears to have been subdivided and incorporated into the rectory gardens and is depicted with a formal layout and standard trees. The small "garden" parcel and building had also been subsumed into the original garden space and the layout altered, with the entrance to the site to the northwest also reconfigured. [3] The 25 inch 2nd Edition map shows that the area in Higher Parsons Meadow no longer appears to be in use as a garden, although it is still subdivided from the rest of the field. [4] The 2022 MasterMap data shows the subdivided area of Higher Parsons Meadow occupied and in residential use, with "The Garden House" in the centre and a group of smaller outbuildings to the northwest. The land parcel has also been extended to the west. The main area of garden to the southwest of the rectory has been subdivided, reflecting the subdivision of the main house (MEM100743). [5]