The Saffron Hotel (Part)

The Saffron Hotel (part) is a hotel located in Saffron Walden, dating from around 1500 and the early 19th century. It features a timber-framed structure that is rendered, topped with a concrete plain tile roof that rises to a large hipped roof at the rear. The building has two storeys, with attics and cellars. There is one 20th-century flat-roofed dormer and two rendered stacks on the front roof slope, with slate covering part of the roof at the rear.

The front elevation includes a plain parapet with 20th-century lettering and a painted timber moulded cornice. The main facade has two canted bay windows that extend to full height, with a cornice wrapping around the tops. It features small paned double-hung sash windows and panelled corner pilasters. The central entrance has a pedimented Doric doorcase with a six-panelled door and a rectangular fanlight made up of six semicircles and curved triangles at the intersections. There is also a cellar grille.

To the south, there is a recessed section of the facade with a 15-paned double-hung sash window and a square double-hung sash window with a central vertical glazing bar on the first floor. The ground floor includes a large carriage opening leading to the yard, supported by iron spandrel brackets, as well as a pedestrian opening at the side with exposed floor joists above. The rear range is constructed with red Flemish bond brickwork.

Inside, the entrance hall features a spine beam from around 1500, complete with clamps and decorative moulding and leaf designs. There is a cupboard in the rear wall with decorative glass panes and Greek fret decoration. Some early 19th-century cornices and doors are found in the upper rooms, along with an early 19th-century staircase that has stick balusters.