Trinity House

This is a house, dating from around 1700, that was later refronted and enlarged. It is located in Saffron Walden, Essex.

The original house was timber-framed and has been refronted in gault brick with scored pointing, and significantly enlarged in the 18th century. Some small 20th-century additions and minor internal alterations have also been made. The building is timber-framed with red brick stacks and a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan with a continuous ground-floor rear addition and a further similar addition to the west end.

The north-facing front elevation has three bays featuring brick pilasters that define the attic storey. These pilasters have recessed panels, one of which has been replaced by a 20th-century window with 2x3 panes. The roof is hipped with a pair of brick stacks on both the east and west end walls. The central doorway has a flat cornice hood with simple capitals and bases, an overlight and a six-panelled door. All windows are sash windows with glazing bars: those on the ground floor have 5x4 panes, first floor windows 3x4 panes, and attic floor windows 3x3 panes. Stuccoed voussoirs are present on the windows. A cellar grating is visible in the eastern bay.

The south-facing rear elevation shows plastered timber framing, with the east end breaking forward on its centre line. A flat, lead-roofed ground-floor addition runs east to west, featuring a French window with four panes, a glazed door with two panes and an overlight, and a sash window with 4x4 panes. A further brick addition is at the east end. The west-facing elevation has a similar French window and a 3-light 20th-century casement window. The first floor has sash windows with moulded architraves, with an inserted 4-centre arched casement window in the centre. The second storey has sash windows with 3x3 panes, with one central 3x4 pane, and a small 20th-century casement window to the east of the centre.

The east end elevation has a return wall of gault brick with pilasters from the street, and plastered timber framing at the south end with paired stacks joined by red brickwork. The lower wall is now rendered, showing evidence of several phases of building. The west end elevation is hidden by an adjoining property.

The interior is generally plain. The breaks in the rear wall and the irregularity of the east end suggest several phases of alteration to the original house plan and elevations.