Description

SAFFRON WALDEN

TL5338 CHURCH YARD
669-1/1/119 (North side)
01/11/72 Vergers Cottage and Parish Room
(Formerly Listed as:
CHURCH YARD
The Parish Office adjoining the
Parish room)

GV II

House. Early C16 with C17/C18 lean-to and late C19 parish
rooms, also C20 addition to parish rooms. Timber framing,
stone and brick, peg-tiled roofs. Plan T shaped of original
house and principal parish rooms plus rear C19 wing. 2 and 3
storeys.
Front, S elevation: gabled and jettied C16 house at W end,
timber framing exposed, totally restored on ground floor,
original framing above but plate horns and jetty bressumer cut
back apparently to receive an all over plastered finish in
C17/C18. End jetty brackets now replaced by C19 version with
curve reversed and with continuous plain pilaster below. Sill
now on C19 snecked ashlar base. Ground floor has C19 2-light
arched headed window moulded framing. Doorway similar with C18
fielded 2-panel door. First floor, C19 3-light oriel window,
wooden corbelled base, similar to window below, flat leaded
roof. Framing of first floor and gable of original close
studding. W side of house has lean-to with catslide roof from
house, timber-framed and rendered with ashlar lining, 2-light
C19 metal casement window, 6x4 panes. To E, parish rooms of
1880's, continuous range with 3 large similar gabled windows
taken through roof eaves, timber decoration of `Cheshire'
style, herringbone gables and quadrant panels below. Windows
have 2 mullions and eaves level transom, 6 lights of leaded
panes. Row of recurved braces link windows. High snecked
ashlar plinth below sill. E end has 2-leaf boarded and
battened door overlight of 4 lancets. Central timber, lead and
copper lantern has turned baluster framing. E end of block,
C20 extension in red brick with segment headed casement
windows.
Rear N elevation: ground falls to N and house unit of 3
original floors, rendered framing. Prominent gable end stack
with stone and flint rubble base has 2-light casement window
4x2 panes in heavy rough timber frame cut through. C17 red
brick above with fixed light window cut through, rebuilt in
C19 at apex. Also second C18 shaft swept in from W side, red
brick with scored pointing. On E side of stack simple casement
window on each floor. To E, parish rooms with N wing, C19 red
brick but W face of wing has included flint panel work.
Irregular fenestration with mixture of flat and segment heads,
plain doorways, one though set in internal porch with fixed
2x4 paned side lights. C20 addition has segment headed
casement windows.
E end elevation: C20 work in similar style. W end elevation:
lean-to to house, doorway with C17 shadow planed moulded
boarded door and adjacent 2-light C19 iron casement window 6x4
panes.
INTERIOR OF HOUSE: close studded framing in semi-basement as
well as rest. External curved tension bracing at rear on first
floor. Open 2 bays on each floor. Ground floor ceiling binding
joist has cyma and hollow chamfer mouldings with run-out
stops, common joists roll moulded. Other members have
step-stopped chamfers. First floor, window shutter grooves at
front and back. Rear stair, ground to first floor flight in
secondary stair tower, subsequently raised. Upper doorway
site, pre-dates present stair system. Ground floor fireplace
construction with timber lintel suggests possible
timber-framed chimney before present stack. Lean-to has stair
to lower floor with second rear fireplace. The building does
not appear to have been a cross-wing to a hall but to have
been free standing. Similar buildings are known, built for
church use. cf. The Chantry Priest's House, Maldon, Essex
which also has a high rear doorway. Current renovation has
revealed C17 arrow protection symbols on upper rear doorway,
remains of original front doorframe behind restoration work.
Rubble footing of stack contains moulded fragments of stone,
predominantly double ogee, also, part of a doorway jamb with
double chamfer, brooch and ball stops. Traces of original
paint. These fragments probably came from the church when
rebuilt by Wastell and Clerk in C15/16.
(Hewett C: English Historic Carpentry: Chichester: 1980-:
198,199).

Listing NGR: TL5371638647

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26490702

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)