Cromwell House

Cromwell House, Church Street, Saffron Walden

House, formerly a shop. 16th century with a 17th century rear addition, 19th century refronting, and rear 20th century refurbishment. Timber-framed and plastered with a peg-tiled and slate roof and red brick stacks. The plan is L-shaped with 2 storeys, attics and cellars.

The front north elevation displays a 3-window range with 2 doorways alternating with windows. At the east end, the 19th century frontage was rebuilt and raised over a previous jettied run that partly remains in block form. The roof pitch is cranked through this raising, with the front covered in slate. Traces of ashlar lining remain visible on the plasterwork. At ground floor level, an east-west 19th century doorway with moulded architrave holds a 6-panel door with upper glazed panes. A 19th century shop window follows, with a bracketed sill and moulded architrave containing 3 casement lights with glazing bars in 3x4 panes beneath a jetty with an east-end bracket. A slight building break in the jetty is marked by a bracket and a doorway with a 6-panel door. Two 19th century flush-front windows follow with bracketed sills, wide moulded architraves, and horned sashes with side margin lights. The first floor has a window over the shop with moulded architrave and a sash with thin glazing bars in 4x4 panes, followed by 2 windows with margin glazing similar to those below. A stack runs through the roof pitch at the west end.

The rear south elevation features a street range with a slate-roofed wing to the south at the west end, which has its own stack. A lower wing with a peg-tiled roof was added at the south end with a ground floor peg-tiled lean-to on the east side. The street range comprises 3 bays with a red brick lateral stack at the east end. At ground floor, 2 fully glazed 20th century doors with glazing bars flank a 20th century 2-light casement with similar glazing in 4x3 panes. The first floor has a 20th century double cross casement window, a 2-light metal casement in 4x3 panes, and a 19th century cast-iron casement window with Gothick-style arched glazing bars in 3x4 panes. The rear wing includes a ground floor fully glazed 20th century door with overlight and side lights, a second stable door, and an adjacent 2-light casement window in 4x3 panes, plus a 3x4-paned Gothick-style window matching that in the street range. At first floor level are a 20th century sash window in 4x5 panes and two 2-light casement windows in 4x3 panes. The east end elevation abuts the carriageway of No. 25.

Interior features include framing of late 15th century date from a long jettied house, partly exposed, with jowled posts and halved and bridled wall plate scarf. A central entrance doorway leads to an undershot cross-passage; doorways to both a buttery and pantry are evident in the east room, each featuring 4-centred heads with hollow chamfer mouldings. Wattle groove and mortice evidence indicates former division of the service rooms. Mortice evidence of former spere screens on the west side of the cross-passage toward the ground floor hall indicates its original configuration. Above, the framing of a chamber is exposed with a blocked 16th century tripartite frieze window to the street and an end frame against the carriageway of No. 25 as an open arched braced truss, suggesting that No. 23 was built later than its neighbour. The chamber ceiling, with attic above, was inserted circa 1600 and features a lamb's tongue stop-chamfered bridging joist. Above this is a simple crown post roof continuing into the west bay.

A large cellar below the service rooms is constructed of flint cobble and brick of various periods. Its east wall contains a flat 4-centred arched recess and a triangular-headed candle niche in late medieval brickwork.