Details
SAFFRON WALDEN
TL5338 BRIDGE STREET
669-1/1/31 (East side)
28/11/51 Nos.24 AND 26
GV II*
Pair of houses, originally constructed as an early C15
`Wealden' open hall house. No.24 occupies the service end and
hall, No.26 the solar bay. Altered in the late C16 by
insertion of floor into hall and addition of wing to rear of
solar bay (No.26). Timber-framed and plastered. 2 storeys with
early C20 pargetting, peg-tiled roof with large late C16
central stack behind roof apex, second C19 stack through roof
pitch at S end. Plan L-shaped with late C16 rear wing to E
added to N end bay (No.26).
Front, W elevation: central hall area between jettied ends is
also jettied at a slightly higher level with a C16 bressumer
decorated with folded leaf between twin roll mouldings. Below
bressumer, doorway with original flat, depressed 4-centred
arched head (leaf and bud decorated spandrels) at S, low end
of hall. All over pargetting has panels containing basket,
chevron and circular combed decoration. All windows are
casements or sliding sashes with glazing bars. Ground floor,
S-N, No.24, 2-light late C18 sliding sash window 6x3 panes,
hinged C20 shutters each side, C16 doorway with restored
boarded and battened door, small C16 2-light moulded mullioned
window, slightly projecting late C18 bay window on original
hall window site with sliding sash of 2 lights, 6x9 panes.
No.26, C20 doorway in `Tudor' style with 4-centred arched
head, boarded and battened door, adjacent, 2-light casement
window 6x3 panes. First floor, S-N, (No.24), late C18 2-light,
sliding sash window, 6x3 panes, C19 single casement, 2x2
panes, peg-tiled gabled dormer window (lights first floor
room), 2 casements, 6x3 panes. No.26, single 3-light casement
window 9x6 panes.
Rear, E elevation: principal stack in 2 phases, stepped
sections have bricks of differing thicknesses, wall rendered.
No.24, fenestration all C20, irregular casements with glazing
bars. Ground floor, one 2x3 lights, one 3x5 lights, one double
casement 6x4 lights, fully glazed door as windows, 3x4 lights.
First floor, 2 double casements, each of 6x3 lights. No.26, to
N, full width wing has traces of old basket decorated
pargetting on timber-framed and plastered first floor of S
long side, below is of C18/19 brick, all now rendered and
colourwashed, peg-tiled roof, stack c1800 at W end. Ground
floor had central C20 door with upper glazed panel and lower
sunk panel, to W, C20 3-light casement 9x4 panes, to E, C20
2-light casement 4x4 panes. First floor, 2 C19 sliding sashes
with bead moulded frames, to W, sashes C20 renewed 6x4 panes,
to E, original, 4x4 panes.
E end elevation: C20 rendered and textured, half hipped gable,
ground floor, C20 double casement window 4x4 panes, first
floor, C20 top-opening single light casement 2x3 panes.
S end elevation: side of No.24, medieval framing exposed with
c1900 red brick nogging, diagonal and herringbone pattern.
Frame shows tension bracing of first floor and 2 blocked first
floor windows, one, to W, original and one, to E, inserted.
Projecting horns of wall plates and collar purlin joints
visible. Ground floor has single C20 hinged casement window
2x3 panes.
INTERIOR: No.24, principal tie-beam of hall set off-centre
towards service partition and carries tall refined decorated
ocatagonal crown-post with moulded capital principally of
hollow mouldings, `bell' moulded base, 4-way bracing. Post has
expanded head bridled round collar-purlin and is heavily
sooted. Rear of truss has arched brace to tie-beam. Front of
truss cut through for inserted floor and first floor doorway,
joints though remain of original `Wealden' arrangement of
flying eaves plate with end-brace and bracket under supporting
tie-beam, down to principal post of recessed hall. Rear hall
window site indicated by stud gap in wall plate. Hall/service
partition truss remains with tension bracing and crown post
with foot bracing and carpenters' marks. One service doorway
remains with 4-centred arched head, sunk spandrels and double
hollow-moulded jambs. Second doorway site shown by long head
chase-mortice. Pantry/buttery partition central in service
bay, evident from stud mortices and wattle groove. Halved and
bridled scarf joint in plate of room above. Plain crown-post
roof from hall continues over service bay, seen to be covered
by additional C20 rafters. Inserted stack set behind and
against hall crown-post and backs onto cross-entry from old
street door. Rear face of thin C16 bricks with some courses on
ground floor set on edge to create a pattern. Ground floor
fireplace has steeply cambered mantel-beam (reused?) and jambs
rebuilt in C20. First floor fireplace of larger C17 bricks,
4-centred arched head of secondary build (after inserted
floor). Sides and back of stack on first floor has mortar of
bricks painted in original pink colour. Ground floor ceiling
joists of inserted floor framed round stack with simple
chamfers. C19 fireplaces on both floors in SW corner of house,
both now blocked.
No.26 (solar bay). Heavy original ground floor ceiling
bridging joist is step-stop chamfered with segment headed
fireplace c1800 at N end. First floor, arched braced truss
supports hall/solar partition, foot-braced crown-post and old
roof intact over block. Rear wing of independent build with
mid C16 framing, jowled posts. The 2 bays were once jettied to
S side but are now underbuilt in brick. Large kitchen stack at
W end backing on to original building, now with C20 fireplace.
The complete building (Nos 24 and 26) shows alteration phases
very clearly with the mid-C16 infilling of the hall, and
construction of the stack, and the continuous, decorated long
jetty rear extension all probably contemporary. Also rear wall
plate and studding in No.26 was replaced to accommodate the
kitchen stack. A further flue was added to the principal stack
in the early C17 to provide a fireplace in the chamber over
the central room. RCHM records the removal of a hollow
chamfered mullion from the original window in the S end, (now
blocked) and deposited in the Saffron Walden Museum.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Ratcliffe E: Essex:
London: 1965-: 336).
Listing NGR: TL5351338719
