Orbell House Post Office Residence is a Grade II listed building in the Braintree local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 June 1962. House, shop.

Orbell House Post Office Residence

WRENN ID
gaunt-passage-plum
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Braintree
Constituency
Braintree MP: Sir James Cleverly (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
21 June 1962
Type
House, shop
Address
Orbell House Post Office Residence, St James Street, Castle Hedingham, CO9 3EJ
OS grid reference
TL 785 355
Coordinates
51.98963, 0.59897
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Orbell House is a building that serves as both a house and a shop, dating from the 16th century or earlier, with later additions and alterations. It features a timber frame and plastered exterior, with the frame exposed on the first floor and 20th-century cruciform pargetted bands and plaques. The building is two storeys high and has a cellar.

On the first floor, there are two 20th-century flat head oriel windows and one small paned casement window. The ground floor has two 20th-century bow windows. To the right, there is a six-panel door with tracery above in a rectangular fanlight, which is accessed by steps. To the left, there is another 20th-century six-panel door with an Ionic surround, also approached by steps, featuring 20th-century moulded posts and rails.

Inside, the building is said to contain 16th-century panelling and linenfold panelled doors, along with heavy chamfered bridging joists on the ground floor.

Local climate

Orbell House Post Office Residence sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 73% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  5. Outbuilding to Rear of 5 Grade II 32 m
  6. 2 and 4, King Street Grade II 34 m
  7. Hedingham House Grade II 37 m
  8. 1, Queen Street Grade II 38 m
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  10. 11 and 12, Falcon Square Grade II 41 m