A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

, parsonage, presbytery, rectory, or vicarage.

Function

A clergy house is typically owned and maintained by a church, as a benefit to its

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. This practice exists in many denominations because of the tendency of clergy to be transferred from one church to another at relatively frequent intervals. Also, in smaller communities, suitable housing is not always available. In addition, such a residence can be supplied in lieu of salary, which may not be able to be provided (especially at smaller congregations). Catholic clergy houses in particular may be lived in by several priests from a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. Clergy houses frequently serve as the administrative office of the local parish, as well as a residence. They are normally located next to, or at least close to, the church their occupant serves. Partly because of the general conservation of churches, many clergy houses have survived and are of historic interest or importance. In the United Kingdom, the 14th-century

Alfriston Clergy House Alfriston Clergy House in Alfriston, Polegate, East Sussex, England, was the first built property to be acquired by the National Trust. It was purchased in 1896 for £10. The house lies adjacent to the Church of St. Andrew, Alfriston, Church of ...

was the first property to be acquired by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. It was purchased in a state of near ruin in 1896 for £10, the vicarage having moved elsewhere long before. In some countries where the clergy houses were often rather grand, many of them have now been sold off by the churches and replaced by more modest properties. Numerous clergy houses have been acquired by families for use as private homes. Others have been adapted as offices or used for various civic functions. In many villages in England, the former clergy house is called the "Old Vicarage" or the "Old Rectory". In Scotland, a former clergy house may be known as the "Old Manse".

Nomenclature

There are a number of more specific terms whose use depends on the rank of the occupant, the denomination, and the locality. Above the parish level, a bishop's house was traditionally called a "

Bishop's palace A bishop's palace is a form of ecclesiastical architecture constituting the official residence of a bishop.The term was not used in the British Isles until the Church of England was restructured following the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. However, th ...

", a dean's residence is known as a

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

, and a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

lives in a canonry or "canon's house". Other clerical titles have different names for their houses. A parsonage is where the

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

of a church resides; a parson is the priest/presbyter of a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. A rectory is the residence of an ecclesiastical rector, although the name may also be applied to the home of an academic rector (e.g., a Scottish university rector), or other person with that title. In North American Anglicanism, a far greater proportion of parish clergy were (and still are) titled as rector than in Britain, so the term rectory is more common there. The names used for homes of ordinary parish clergy vary considerably and include the following: * The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

uses the terms vicarage or (more informal and old-fashioned) parsonage, and rectory if appropriate. *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s use the terms priory, clergy house, parochial house (mostly in Ireland), chapel house (in Scotland), presbytery, and rectory (especially in Massachusetts) if appropriate. In the Philippines, the term convent is used, a direct

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''convento''. An ''ecclesiastical residence'', sometimes called a presbytery, is the residence of a cleric in their diocese or parish. *

Manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

(cognate with

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

) is a Scottish term that is used in Scottish

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, and also in other parts of the British Isles by Non-conformist churches such as the Methodists and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

. This name is also commonly used by

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

in the United Kingdom and in some

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which i ...

. * Pastorium is the usual term in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, especially among

."Pastorium." Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastorium. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024. *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches often use parsonage. * The name "parish house" is used by many denominations.

Gallery

File:Pfarrhaus Ilmenau.JPG, A rectory in

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

, Germany File:Front Parish House Josephs Cathedral Allahabad Dec23 A7C 08450.jpg, Parish house, St. Joseph's Cathedral, Prayagraj, India File:Plebania BaczalDolny2013.JPG, The rectory in

Bączal Dolny Bączal Dolny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Skołyszyn, within Jasło County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Skołyszyn, west of Jasło, and south-west of the regional ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(1923) File:Valoprastgard.jpg, The rectory in Valö, Uppland, Sweden File:Edsleskogs prastgard 2007.jpg, The rectory in Edsleskog,

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

File:Alatornio Old Rectory Tornio 20150806 03.JPG, The rectory in

Alatornio Alatornio () is a former municipality in the province of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, Finland. It was annexed with Tornio in 1973. In 1970, Alatornio had a population of 8,575 people.

, Lapland,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

File:Halton Vicarage.jpg,

Halton Vicarage Halton Vicarage is in Castle Road, Halton in the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The vicarage was built in 1739 by Sir John Ches ...

, England; 1739 and still used File:The Old Vicarage, Morwenstow. - panoramio.jpg, The old vicarage,

Morwenstow Morwenstow () is a civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Morwens ...

, England File:The Abbey Sutton Courtenay.jpg,

The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay The Abbey in Sutton Courtenay is a medieval courtyard house in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). It is located in the Vale of White Horse near the River Thames, across the road from the twelfth-century Norman Hall and the ...

, former rectory of

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...

, England File:West Manse Sanday.jpg, The West Manse, Sanday, Scotland (formerly the Free Kirk manse) File:Vieux presbytère de Deschambault 02.jpg, Old rectory of Deschambault (1815–1818), Canada File:Sacred Heart Rectory Davenport IA.jpg, Sacred Heart Cathedral Rectory in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, USA File:Immaculate Conception Rectory at Botkins.jpg, An 1887 Catholic rectory in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

File:Ashburton House.jpg,

Ashburton House Ashburton House, also known as St. John's Church Parish House or the British Legation, is a historic house at 1525 H Street NW, on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. Built in 1836, it is notable as the residence of Lord Ashburton in 1842, d ...

, the parish house of

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square is a historic Episcopal church located at Sixteenth Street and H Street NW, in Washington, D.C., along the former Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Greek Revival building, designed by Benjamin Hen ...

, Washington D.C.

Function

Nomenclature

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading