The granite Victorian exterior of The Old Vicarage, St Ives, seen across its lawn

Welcome to The Old Vicarage · St Ives

A peaceful Victorian retreat in St Ives

A warm, family-run guest house set within peaceful wooded grounds, just over half a mile from the beaches and heart of St Ives.

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4 Star Guest House•Award-Winning Breakfast•Free Private Parking

Welcome

A St Ives stay with a little more character

Dianne & Martin Van Staeyen have made The Old Vicarage what it is today: a traditional, family-run guest house where guests are welcomed by name and looked after properly.

The house itself was built as a Victorian vicarage in the 1850s, and much of its original character remains — granite walls, generous windows and quiet, comfortable rooms — alongside everything a modern stay requires.

Set within its own secluded wooded grounds on the western side of town, it offers real peace at the end of the day, with the beaches, harbour and galleries of St Ives just over half a mile away.

Dianne & Martin

The Old Vicarage and its conservatory viewed from the sunlit lawn

01
Six En-Suite Rooms
Comfortable double, twin and family accommodation, each fully en-suite.
02
Free Private Parking
Ample parking within our own grounds throughout your stay.
03
Award-Winning Breakfast
Freshly prepared each morning using quality local ingredients.
04
Peaceful St Ives Setting
Secluded wooded grounds, just outside the bustle of the town centre.

Accommodation

Stay at The Old Vicarage

Six individually presented en-suite bedrooms, arranged across the old house. Doubles, twins and family accommodation, with single occupancy of a double room available at selected times. A room-only option is also available.

En-suite bedroom at The Old Vicarage with brass bedstead and floral wallpaper

Double Rooms

Restful double rooms with original Victorian proportions and garden or woodland aspects.

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Twin Rooms

Twin beds for friends and family travelling together, all fully en-suite.

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Family Rooms

Family accommodation with space for children, and single occupancy at selected times.

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The glazed conservatory set against the granite and ivy of the old vicarage

Over 160 years of character

A Vicarage With a Story

Welcoming guests since 1970. Standing here since the Victorian age.

Built of silvery granite beneath a slate roof, the house was designed as the vicarage for St John's in the Fields and served the parish for more than a century. Left empty in the late 1960s, it was carefully modernised as guest accommodation — and much of its Victorian detail survives to this day.

1857
Robert Hichens purchases land and contributes towards St John's in the Fields Church and its vicarage.
1859
The final design for the Vicarage is completed by local architect Jas P. St Aubyn.
1970
After standing empty, the building is converted and opens as The Old Vicarage Hotel.
Today
A family-run four star St Ives guest house, still full of Victorian character.

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Mornings at the Vicarage

Breakfast worth getting up for

Breakfast has built The Old Vicarage a quiet reputation over the years, and it remains the part of the day our returning guests talk about most.

Everything is cooked on the Aga, with locally sourced ingredients wherever possible and homemade elements on the table. Choose a full Cornish breakfast, a vegetarian version, fish, or something lighter to start the day.

Cooked on the Aga

Discover breakfast

The breakfast room at The Old Vicarage, laid with white linen and blue china

Lawns, palms and established planting in the wooded grounds of The Old Vicarage

Grounds & parking

Space to slow down

The Vicarage sits within its own secluded wooded grounds, well away from the busiest parts of St Ives. Lawns, seating areas, established trees and generous planting give guests somewhere genuinely peaceful to sit out with a book or a drink after a day on the coast path.

Free private parking

Ample private parking within the grounds, with space for up to 14 cars — free throughout your stay, and easy road access without driving through the narrow central streets.

The Victorian-style residential bar with red velvet stools, mahogany and gilt lamps

Bar & guest lounge

An evening at the Vicarage

When the day is done, there is the comfortable guest lounge — and the Vicarage's own licensed residential bar, kept very much in the Victorian manner: red velvet, gilt and dark mahogany.

It is unusual, it is entirely of the house, and it is a fine place to sit with a drink and compare notes on the day's walking.

The destination

St Ives on your doorstep

Beaches, harbour, galleries, coastal walks and good restaurants — all within easy reach, while you stay in a quieter position away from the busiest central streets. It also makes a convenient base for exploring West Cornwall.

Explore St Ives

Beaches
Porthmeor, Porthgwidden and Porthminster within an easy walk.
South West Coast Path
Some of Cornwall's finest cliff walking straight from the door.
Tate St Ives & Galleries
The town's celebrated artistic life, minutes away.
Harbour & Restaurants
Fishing boats, cobbled lanes and places to eat well.
West Cornwall
Zennor, Penzance, Land's End and the far west within reach.

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