Bridge House

Bridge House is an 18th-century house, extended and altered in the 19th century. It is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, partly painted, with a roof of handmade red plain tiles. The main range faces northwest, with an internal stack at the left end, and has an original rear wing to the right side, with an internal stack at the junction. A 19th-century single-storey extension projects beyond, with an internal stack at its junction. A further 19th-century rear wing is located to the left end, creating a half-H plan, with an internal stack at its left side. The house has two storeys, a cellar, and attics. The front elevation has a 5-window range of sashes with 2 and 4 lights, flat arches of gauged brick, and crown glass. There are also three 18th-century casements in hipped dormers. The central door is a 5-panel design, with the top three panels glazed and framed within a doorcase featuring fluted pilasters, a triglyph frieze, and a dentilled pediment, reached by three stone steps. The elevation is symmetrical. A plain brick band runs between the storeys. The left return is painted and features a similar sash window on the ground floor. The house abuts No. 116 (Wyvern House) to the right. The rear elevation is painted and includes a mid-19th-century half-glazed door with coloured glass in an early 19th-century reeded surround, and above, an early 19th-century sash window of 12 lights with crown glass. The left rear wing has 19th-century French windows and a hipped roof. The left side of the right rear wing has a 19th-century horizontal sash window of 9 and 9 lights.

Inside, the 18th-century staircase has an open well and gallery, with a wreathed moulded handrail, three turned balusters to each tread, carved scrolls on the tread ends, and constructed of pine. The entrance hall features a 19th-century panelled dado, three semi-elliptical arches in the lobby on the left, a plaster egg-and-dart cornice, and three papier maché crestings over the front door and two internal doors, incorporating scrolls, strapwork, and shells. Internal doors are four-panelled, except for a single 18th-century two-panel pine door in the right rear wing. All folding shutters are complete on the front ground-floor and first-floor windows, and the French window in the left rear wing. Axial box beams are present in the front range. The right rear wing contains one chamfered transverse beam with lamb's tongue stops, and exposed plain joists of vertical section. In the left front ground-floor room is a Victorian cast iron grate with a plain surround of grey and white marble. Another Victorian cast iron grate is positioned in the front right room on the first floor. A large wood-burning hearth is blocked in the right rear wing. A plaster egg-and-dart cornice is found on the first floor. Deeds from 1768 are held by the owners or at the Essex Record Office.