Description

SAFFRON WALDEN

TL5338 CASTLE STREET
669-1/1/71 (North side)
28/11/51 Nos.41 AND 43

GV II*

Formerly known as: No.43 CASTLE STREET.
House, now 2 units, one of 3 `Wealden' recessed hall houses in
a row. Early C16. Timber-framed and plastered, peg-tiled roof,
red brick stack. L shaped plan of original street range with
C19 and C20 rear additions extending to N behind No.43. 2
storeys.
Front, S elevation: broad recessed bay to W, shorter jettied
bay to E. Integral roof has typical Wealden exterior arched
braces rising to flying eaves of W bay. Single windows on each
floor in each bay. Ground, floor, W-E, doorway of passageway
through to rear, door C20, boarded with upper iron grilled
light, C19 bay window with glazing bars, 11x4 panes, doorway
with moulded architrave and C19 6-panelled door, mid C19
canted bay window under jetty with glazing bars, 6x3 panes.
First floor, W-E, two 4x4 paned sash windows, plastering round
W window has remnants of basket pattern pargetting with rustic
serpentine border on E and W sides.
Rear, N elevation: has shared continuous ground floor lean-to
of C19 brick and cobble with slate roof. All now refurbished
in C20 with new doors and windows. Further extension N of
No.43 similar with weatherboarding and corrugated asbestos
roof. No.43 has additionally a narrow slate roof swept from
house to outshut eaves. Passageway to street in No.41 shows
some principal outer framing with slender post-medieval stud
infilling. Principal range, first floor, No.43 has early C19
sash window with glazing bars, 3x4 panes and moulded
architrave. No.41 has central 2-light window with leaded
panes, each side, a small narrow round headed window with
central rectangular lift in soffits.
INTERIOR: ground floor division of original open hall and
storeyed jettied end with original joists clear. Stair trap at
rear, also principal posts of spere truss towards W end. First
floor, spere truss has evidence of original arched bracing.
Rear hall window rebate remains. Storeyed bay has window
shutter grooves, both at back and front with associated
edge-halved and bridle-butted scarf joints in wall top plates.
Simple crown post roof partitioned at hall ends with soot
remaining. Present E end of building not differentiated by a
truss as the original end appears to lie within No.45 (qv) at
a crown post truss. Indentical construction in Nos 45 & 47
implies a common building date. The original form of Nos 41 &
43 was of a Wealden house, having a central hall with a spere
truss to divide off the cross-entry (now occupied by through
passage at W end to rear). The hall proper was of a single bay
with large window to rear as well as presumably at front. The
E storeyed bay was a little longer than appears from the
street. RCHM notes the removal of an internal doorway with
4-centred arched head to the Saffron Walden Museum. Now on
display, it comprises one doorway of the service pair. It has
central post with seating for second head, cyma and hollow
chamfer moulding. Also, RCHM recorded areas of wall painting,
copy of which is in the museum, described as cross-hatched
vase with flowers, zig-zag black lines. The house was a full
Wealden house, as RCHM records the removal of the W storeyed
(low) bay. The preserved service doorway will have come from
the present W end of the building, adjoining Bellingham
Buildings (qv).

Listing NGR: TL5369738692

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534627

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability