Gazebo And Wall Adjoining North East Corner

The gazebo and adjoining garden wall at the north-east corner of Common Hill in Saffron Walden are notable structures. The wall dates from the late 16th century, while the gazebo was built in the early 19th century. The wall is constructed of flint cobble with brick dressings and measures approximately 9.5 meters long and 2.25 meters high. It features thin bricks laid in a random bond, with a triangular coping made of brick and a supporting ovolo moulding. The original gateway at the west end has piers made of moulded panelled brickwork that were originally plastered to resemble stone, and these piers still show remnants of tooth-moulded brick capitals. The gateway has been blocked with similar brickwork, although the original plastering remains visible between them. The northern end of the wall has been rebuilt in the 20th century with a pier.

The gazebo is approximately 3.25 meters square at its southern end and is built against an earlier blocked gateway in the wall. Its north, south, and west faces are made of flint cobble with brick quoins and dressings. The structure is two storeys high, with the principal face slightly convex. The ground floor features a four-centred arched doorway with a label, and a 20th-century boarded and battened door. The first floor has a window with a similar head and label, originally framed in oak, but now fitted with a 20th-century two-light casement. There is also a blind arrow slit and a castellated parapet with a cornice that surrounds the entire roof. On the north elevation, there is a ground floor window with a four-centred head and label, along with a 20th-century two-light casement window above. The east elevation has a lower part with a blocked brick gateway and a 19th-century brick section featuring a 20th-century three-light segment-headed casement window on the first floor.