Boundary And Garden Wall To St Mark'S College

The boundary and garden wall to St Mark's College in Saffron Walden is a Grade II listed structure, originally known as the boundary and garden wall of Abbey Farm. This enclosure wall dates back to the 17th century, with later repairs and additions. It is constructed from small red bricks with wide joints and has an irregular pentagonal shape, measuring approximately 110 meters by 70 meters, with the college block located at the western end.

The western section features a front garden wall made of 18th-century brick, standing about 1 meter high, with shaped coping and two gateways. The northwest and north sections primarily consist of 17th-century brickwork, with a plinth and a height of 2 meters. The principal gateway at the northern corner includes piers topped with low pyramidal caps and a two-leaf gate. The northern run's eastern end has a wall that rises to approximately 2.5 meters and continues south with a high plinth, featuring two 18th-century buttresses on the eastern side.

Inside, on the western side, there is 17th-century walling alongside a ruinous early 19th-century barn that was formerly listed. The wall at the southern corner has been progressively reduced but retains an original battered early 17th-century buttress and a high plinth. The southern end is now missing, but the southern side includes a well-preserved 17th-century section that stands 2.5 meters high and extends back to meet the front garden wall. At the midpoint of the southern run, there is an early 19th-century inner garden wall that extends towards the southeast corner of the college, although it does not connect. This wall is made of brick framed panels with flint and erratics, standing 2 meters high with shaped brick coping.