36, 36a and 38, Castle Street

These are three houses located at 36, 36A, and 38 Castle Street, Saffron Walden. The buildings have a core dating back to the 16th century, with significant rebuilding in the 17th and 18th centuries, and subsequent renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries, along with rear additions. The construction is timber-framed and plaster, with a peg-tiled roof and red brick stacks. The layout is irregular, forming an "F" shape along the street, with three rear extensions, two of which are conjoined. The houses have two stories and cellars, although the cellars are now partially infilled.

The north-facing front elevation presents a continuous appearance for numbers 36A and 38, with a ridge stack at the east end, and number 36 being slightly higher with a western half-hipped roof and twin conjoined stacks. Number 38 has a 3-window front, with a central doorway and an early 20th-century 3-cant, flat-roofed bay window to the east. The lower windows are casements with 10x4 panes. The doorway features a flat hood supported by shaped brackets and double-ogee moulding, as well as corner roundels; the door is boarded with an upper light, with a 3-light casement window to its side, featuring 6x4 panes. The first-floor windows are 19th-century sliding sash windows with glazing bars, measuring 6x3 panes. Number 36A has a slight upper-story projection at the west end and a Sun fire insurance plate. It has a doorway and door similar to number 38, along with a 20th-century 3-cant bay window with casements of 10x3 panes. The first floor features a 3-light window with an early 19th-century moulded architrave and casements with glazing bars of 6x3 panes. Number 36 has a similar doorway and door to numbers 36A and 38. On the ground floor, it has a 19th-century sash window with a moulded architrave, glazing bars, and 4x4 panes; the first floor has a matching but smaller window with 3x4 panes.

The rear, south-facing elevation shows the street range clearly, along with 20th-century additions. Number 38 has a half-width, two-story, flat-roofed addition with a single-story addition on its south end. Number 36A has a similar two-story addition with a gabled single-story addition at the south end, offset and connected to number 36, which itself has a shallow two-story adjacent single-story lean-to. All the rear windows and doors are 20th-century casements, mostly with glazing bars. The west-facing elevation of number 36 has a single ground floor and attic 2-light casement window, measuring 4x3 and 4x4 panes respectively.

The interior of number 38 is primarily 17th/18th century, featuring slender hardwood framing, a large ground-floor fireplace with a rear niche and additional flue (with rebuilt jambs). Number 36A has heavy ground-floor ceiling joists and rear wall framing. The irregularity of the elevation suggests a 16th-century core of a unit that was originally jettied. The whole block was formerly the Old Bell Inn and Brewery. An advertising poster from 1857 relating to the property is held by the owner of number 38.