Symonds House

Symonds House is a Grade II listed building located on Symonds Lane in Linton. Originally built in 1836 as a home for the aged and formerly known as the Union Workhouse, it was designed by Hallet and Newman of London, with construction overseen by contractor Woolacott of London. In 1913, stables were converted into new tramp cells by Edwards and Walden.

The building is constructed of red brick with flint side walls and red brick dressings, featuring internal walls made of unfired clay bat bricks. It has low-pitched hipped slate roofs and is mainly two storeys high, with cellars. The layout is cruciform, consisting of blocks and linking ranges that enclose three courts. The main facade on the southwest side includes a central block with a slightly projecting pedimented section, which features an elliptical arched main entrance and a similar arch above a large window. The pediment has a roundel, and a dentil brick eaves cornice is repeated on the two lower 'bays' on either side, each containing two ground floor and two first floor recessed twelve-paned hung sash windows set in segmental brick arches.

Originally, lower single-storey ranges linked the central block to the main side ranges, featuring three 'bays' with three round-headed windows with glazing bars. The left-hand range remains intact, while the right-hand range has been altered with an inserted floor and new windows. Each side range has two small ground floor recessed twelve-paned hung sash windows in segmental arches, topped by a large elliptical arched three-light window.

Inside, the plan has been altered but retains coherence, with some original details still visible, including original doors with bolts, features from the board room and chapel, and Newcastle glass in the original windows. The workhouse was built to accommodate 200 inmates at a cost of £3,823.11.3d, and the construction was a revised and less ambitious scheme. The flints and some bricks were collected and made by paupers from the parish, with the brick walls and gates completed in May 1837.