10, 12 and 14, Castle Street

A row of three terraced houses on Castle Street, Saffron Walden, dating to the early 16th century, with substantial alterations in the early 19th century and later 20th-century additions to the rear. The houses are timber-framed and plastered, with a peg-tiled roof to the front and a slate roof to the rear, and a red brick stack. The plan forms a street range with 19th- and 20th-century rear additions that create an irregular "F" shape.

The north-facing front elevation has three similar early 19th-century doorways approached by steps, each with a simple flat cornice hood. The doors are of four panels; number 14 has upper panels glazed within arch-shaped heads, number 12 is fully glazed, and number 10 features recessed panels. Adjacent are two-light casement windows with glazing bars (4x3 panes), number 12 and 14 being early 19th century, and number 10 larger and of 20th-century origin. Three 20th-century dormer windows have two-light casements with glazing bars (4x3 panes), larger in number 10. Number 14 has a barred cellar window and an early 19th-century stack at the roof apex.

The south-facing rear elevation shows 20th-century flat-roofed additions to numbers 12 and 14, enclosing a yard that projects from a 19th-century slated out-shut with 20th-century casement windows on both the ground and first floors. Number 12’s additions include a fully glazed door and a single-light casement window on the east and south sides. Number 14 has a 20th-century “stable” door with upper 2x2 paned glazing, and a 20th-century three-light casement window (6x3 panes). This addition is linked to a 19th-century brick and flint panel out-house with a four-panel door and a 2x2 casement window. Number 10 has a similar rear addition to number 12.

The interior of number 14 exhibits heavy timber framing and a simple crown post roof. A four-centre arched doorway on the west end of the street wall indicates the building’s early origin. Visible are 16th-century halved and bridled scarf joints on the front and back wall plates, and a window shutter rebate under the plate at the front, along with associated marks from candles or tapers. Number 10 shows an obvious roof break with number 12, which suggests a cross-wing to a single-bayed hall (number 12). Number 14 is thought to have been the service bay, as it lacks sooting on the roof members. Later work includes the insertion of a 19th-century stack into the cross-entry area and a 19th-century rear out-shut with a segment-headed kitchen fireplace.