In 1801, a second vicarage was built by the church in Poughill, it is believed literally close by the old rectory, over the road from where the first had once stood for two hundred years or more.

 At the turn of the century, Poughills clergyman was a man called Digory Jose. Grest name. He had been the  rector of  St. Olaf's church since June 14th 1756 and would remain at the vicarage until 1810. That's when the Reverend John Davis took over at his death.

The Reverend Jose lived at the vicarage with Rebecca his wife, John Vickry Jose his son, who would later build Reeds House and own the  first public house in the village, called the Union Inn and Ann Jose and Rebecca Jose his daughters.

 The Reverend Jose was described in the La Belle Assemblée, Volume 1, a popular womans magazine at the time and published from 1806 to 1837 as: " an eccentric character but an extremely devout man. "

 It is unclear what happened to the very first vicarage in Poughill as no evidence of it exists today, but we know it stood in 1844 when a vestry meeting was held to discuss its repairs. It was described well however in the 'Cornish Glebe Terriers'  as :

  " A building with a stone ground floor which included a kitchen, hall buttery and cellar, with four chambers above.

The first floor was constructed from cobb as were the outhouses, which included a barn and stable.

There were orchards to the south-east and north-west of the vicarage land, (which was situated in the area in Poughill now known as Orchard Close.)

To the south of the vicarage a row of cottages were built during this period", on the site of the present day Preston Gate Inn. "

 Glebe terriers were records of the property owned by and endowments of each parish. They include descriptions of glebe land, the parsonage and its furnishings, parish boundaries and charities, as well as inventories of church goods.

It would have stood in a commanding spot in Poughill, overlooking the church and with wide ranging views to the sea. A site chosen well, as through its garden flowed the stream that rises in the hills below Crabbe that gave life to the village.

 It has been suggested that the old Poughill vicarage probably burned down and was already in a worsening state of repair. The cobb walls would have supported a thatch roof, common to the village and that Reverend. Jose was living there. There is also mention of him latterly sharing the residence of the vicarage at Maer which is odd, unless he had to? Though he was not a poor man and had land and tenements and was a party to business loans to many a local entrepreneur and mortgagee, he would still have to wait until the new rectory building was complete and ready for occupation after it was built.

Stable block and hay barn?

 It's the design of the windows which poses an interesting question about these buildings here. Now converted into a private house, they were once a stable block, barn and coach house and are clearly visible as part of the St Nectans property, a late 19th century villa, in a map of Poughiil drawn in 1884. ( below)

But the site is tantalisingly close to where the old vicarage is believed to have stood and with the old vicarage definitely being in existence in 1844, it in turn should be accurately recorded in the Parish tithe map of Poughill, drawn in 1840 by George Braund and Henry Hearn of Exeter and held at Kew.

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