Old School Room And Lych Gate And Building To West

The Old School Room and Lych Gate, along with the building to the west, is a historically significant structure located on Braintree Road in Felsted. Founded by Richard Lord Riche in 1564, the Old School Room likely originated as a Guild Hall from the 14th or 15th century. The building features two storeys and attics, with four hipped dormer windows on the front, three of which have small paned leaded windows from the 17th century, while the far right dormer is now blocked. The roof is covered with red plain tiles.

The timber-framed and plastered structure has a long wall jetty at both the front and rear, supported by brackets. On the first floor, there are two three-light small paned casements on either side, and the rear has five ranges of small paned casements along with one sliding sash window. The ground floor includes a 20th-century Post Office window, the Lych Gate, and four ranges of 18th-century sliding sash windows, with a central six-panel door approached by steps and a four-light window above. Above the door is a plaque commemorating the founding of the school. The rear ground floor is primarily weatherboarded, featuring three plain board doors and a four-panel door with two lights, accompanied by a slanting red tiled porch supported by wooden brackets. There is also one small paned sliding sash window and two small 20th-century windows. The weatherboard sections on either side of the door extend from the jetty and include ornamental false brackets and louvres, with a brick pillar to the right.

The Lych Gate leading to the Churchyard runs beneath the building to the left and retains its original lintels, curved brackets, and exposed ceiling beams. There are original doorway and window openings in the east wall, and window openings with original shutters in the west wall. The building has red brick chimney stacks on both sides.

Internally, the structure features a cross quadrate crown post roof with arched braces and stop-chamfered tie beams. A staircase at the rear has a tread and riser design and is lined with graffiti on the boarded walls. The interior showcases much heavy timber. Historical documents from 1378 reference shops located on this site. Currently, the building is used as Art Rooms by Felsted School.