1 and 2, Museum Yard

1 and 2 Museum Yard are two houses built around 1800. They are timber-framed and plastered, with a slate roof and a red brick chimney. The buildings have a Z-shaped plan with a principal range and two later additions. They are two storeys high and have cellars.

The south elevation features a shared central chimney and an additional stack at the east gable end. No. 1, on the west side, has all 20th-century features, with two window ranges that include casements with glazing bars on both the ground and first floors. One window has two lights with four by three panes, and another has six lights with six by three panes. There is a central doorway with a door that has upper glazing with two by three panes, along with a cellar light.

No. 2 retains its original plastering, showing traces of ashlar lining. It also has two window ranges, with windows that have original moulded architraves and early 20th-century casements, all with four by three panes. The ground floor at the east end has a front door site that is covered by a 20th-century single-storey brick extension to the south. This extension has a monopitch slate roof, a plain door with an upper light, and a window with three casements and glazing bars, with six by three panes.

The rear north elevation is influenced by the house that abuts the earthen bailey bank of Saffron Walden Castle. It features a solid wall of flint cobble and erratics, topped by brickwork at the west end, along with a 19th-century single-storey lean-to with a slated roof and skylight. There are three 20th-century casement windows, including one with two lights. The east end elevation has 19th-century red brick that is partly buried in the earth bank, a timber gable triangle, and a plastered stack at the southeast corner.