17, 19 and 21, King Street, Saffron Walden, Essex

Description

SAFFRON WALDEN

TL5338 KING STREET
669-1/1/249 (South side)
28/11/51 Nos.17, 19 AND 21

GV II*

Large medieval hall house, hall (No.19) and cross-wings (Nos
17 & 21). Late C15, early C16, later C16, C18, c1800 and early
C19. Timber-framed, exposed and plastered with peg-tiled
roofs. 2 storey L plan of principal range parallel to street
with medieval extension at rear of No.21.
N front elevation: central range (No.19) has facade of c1800,
central doorway with fluted jambs, simple flat hood, door has
6 recessed panels,window each side on both floors each with
sashes, moulded architraves, glazing bars, 4x4 panes. C19
stack through front roof pitch and off-centre to E. E
cross-wing, (No.17) has exposed C15 timber framing of plain
studding, jettied to front and round side to Cross Street,
stout angle post with cyma and roll moulded capital, remnants
of moulded base, bold shaped bracket to jetty. Ground floor
has restored remnant of medieval shop opening and restored
doorway with 4-centred arched head, late C19 oak door with 2
upper glazed lights and lower panels. Central late C19
rectangular oriel bay window, plain glass, outer framing
shaped as medieval pilaster buttresses, embattled cornice.
First floor has heavily restored 8-light window with
cinquefoil head and original jamb mouldings. Tie-beam projects
over, moulded, original multi-cusped barge-boards with leaf
decoration. 2 apex dragons and shield with cross at base of W
board. W cross-wing, (No.21) similar barge-boards to E end,
showing contemporaneity, plastered frontage recessed below
tie-beam level implying similar tie-beam within. Ground floor
has C19 broad shop front intruded into hall block at E end,
with 7-light shallow canted bay window,slender vertical
glazing bars and simple slender upper transom bar, panelling
below and projecting, rectangular, flat, fleuron-decorated
hood above on corner brackets. Shop doorway at W end with
over-light, door has upper glazing with glazing bars, 3x3
panes, lower recessed panel with inset square corner
decoration. First floor, early C19 3-cant corbelled oriel
window with cornice, shaped leaded roof, windows sashes with
glazing bars, arched heads as in shop front below, 1x4,4x4,1x4
panes.
E elevation to Cross Street (Side of No.17) exposed timber
framing with first floor tension braces from ends. Ground
floor, 2 pairs of shop openings, restored, but 4-centred
arched heads and upper part of moulded framing original, also
sills of S pair. At S end, original moulded door frame with
head similar to shop openings and now restored to be a window
with late C19 lower boarding with embattled sill. First floor,
above jetty, 2 restored 2-light medieval windows as on front,
with cinquefoiled heads and original moulded jambs. Rear of
unit to S in Cross Street, extension, C20 work, present shop
now continued through from early block, construction in brick
and mock timber framing, jettied, twin shop windows with end
doors designed to echo medieval style. First floor, mock
studding with long central multi-paned window.
Rear, S elevation: hall and cross-wing units clear. Framing
rendered. Hall, (No.19) has slate roofed lean-to partially
weatherboarded. C20 door with upper glazing, 2x3 panes, lower
panel, also narrow C20 casement window. C20 sky-light in
peg-tiled roof and tall, narrow C19 red brick stack lateral to
old hall. E cross-wing gable has C20 plain light, C20 shop
extension to S plain rendered wall and slate roof. W
cross-wing is rendered with C20 ashlar lining, windows
irregular, mainly late C18, moulded architraves and glazing
bars. Ground floor, N-S, C19 glass-roofed porch. Doorway has
over-light, door has upper glazing with margin lights, lower
sunk panel. Large sliding sash window 10x5 lights, similar
sliding sash window 4x3 lights, C20 narrow casement window,
sash window 4x4 panes, simple doorway with C20 4-panelled door
with upper glazing. First floor, N-S, windows, 2-light
casement 4x3 panes, one sash 3x4 panes, one 2-light casement
2x2 panes. Small gault brick stack at N end. Red brick apex
stack halfway along range and adjacent roof break suggest
addition of S end.
INTERIOR: hall much rebuilt with early features obscured but
heavy hollow chamfer moulded tie-beams and arched braces of
hall central truss exposed. Spandrel on N side has
cinquefoiled tracery surviving and adjacent tenon of removed
interior cornice at eaves level. Octagonal lower section of
central crown-post with flared moulded base exposed. Heavy
inserted later C16 first floor has diminished haunched soffit
tenoned joists, flat laid with massive binding joist across
site of original central truss. Front and back of hall raised
approx 0.5m, now with C18 front windows but this raising was
probably contemporary with the C16 floor. Lateral stack to
hall obscured but said to be of early type and probably
contemporary with same C16 hall alterations. Stack through
centre of hall (adjacent to central truss) obscured but
probably C18/19. E cross-wing first floor interior rebuilt as
consequence of a fire in early C20. Ground floor has heavy
flat laid centre-tenon joists, diagonal dragon-beam and
partition evidence (stud mortices and wattle grooves) implying
2 medieval shops in one block with 2 paired windows to Cross
Street. W cross-wing, front of original unit reworked, cellar
below with some old pebble walling. Rear range to yard has
heavy joists carrying floor with sag to yard indicating
possible original jetty, also a principal truss with no jowls
on posts and a short corner tie-beam brace survives and also
joints for matching brace. Sturdy 2-way braced plain
crown-post above. S end of range is a separate build (as
implied from the exterior). It also has a simple crown-post
roof and therefore dates before c1570. The short gap between
the roof builds contains stack, either contemporary or
occupying site of an earlier timber-framed stack or smoke-bay.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Ratcliffe E: Essex:
London: 1965-: 336; Vernacular Architecture: Stenning DF:
Timber Framed Shops, 1300-1600: Comparative Plans:16: 1985-:
35-39).

Listing NGR: TL5379238457

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History in Structure

17, 19 and 21, King Street

A Grade II* Listed Building in Saffron Walden, Essex

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Description

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